2008
“TV rots your brain” Everywhere we go these days, a television is there, begging to be watched. No longer is television something only seen in the privacy of ones home. Now they’re at gyms, beauty salons, restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, and retail shops. Is television really a necessary part of the dining and socializing experience? Or are we addicted to TV?
addiction- a psychological or physical dependence on a particular experience that must be repeated in order for a person to be comfortable.
According to medical data, while watching television, the higher brain regions shut down, and activity shifts to the lower brain. The function of the lower brain is reactive — it merely responds to stimuli, which implies that watching television is neurologically analogous to staring at a blank wall.
I’m no PhD but it seems like TV’s in public places aren’t a good fit.. What is the answer to this growing epidemic? The universal remote control!
First Stop of they day.. Home Depot (opens at 6am) to purchase a pocket sized Universal Remote Control: $19.95.
On to my morning caffeine fix at a popular downtown SLO watering hole, packed with caffeine junkies reading the paper, enjoying a morning conversation, and yes, watching a large screen television. I casually stroll by CNN’s 24 coverage of whatever horrible thing is happening in the world today, noticing the model of the flat screen, before settling down to enjoy my velvet foam. I program the TV’s code into my remote; point and click ‘OFF’. Suddenly, the screen turns to black.. Its magic! And guess what… the coffee house didn’t get any quieter, people didn’t start rioting, those who were watching, simply looked away and paid attention to something else; the person sitting across from them. Imagine that! I stayed there for almost an hour, thinking, at some point, the TV would be missed and turned back on, but it stayed off.
Next Stop, Vienna Via; a downtown sidewalk Italian café. The perfect afternoon spot to people watch while enjoying an ice cold glass of Chardonnay… Nothing like a little Fox News to spoil the fun, so I point and click ‘OFF’ once again.. Oh happy day, all this joy for only $19.95. Shortly after I raise my glass in celebration of another TV free establishment, a very surly and wily eyed woman sits down next to the TV and turns it on to General Hospital for her afternoon dose of drama. Point, click ‘OFF’. The TV is blank again.. She looks around with her stink eye before turning it ‘ON’… Two can play that game. Point, Click. ‘OFF’. Drunk with power, I accidentally let out a giggle. She turns to me and begins hurling insults for not letting her watch Sonny sleep with his wife’s sister, who may also be his daughter.. I smile and politely inform her of the recent findings of a 30 year study of TV habits that revealed unhappy people watch considerably more TV than happy people.
Time to go!
I couldn’t end my adventure without a jaunt to a sports bar to find out if people are really interested in ‘the game’ or just addicted to TV. Welcome to Firestone Grill; wall to wall TV’s playing every sports game available (hence the name ‘sports bar’). I settle down next to a rowdy group of sports fans, all watching a heated game of basketball in their colorful jersey’s on the larger than life screen in front of them. I program the TV into my remote and casually hold it up to my ear as if it were a cell phone.. With just a few taps of my finger, the intense sporting match is replaced with Oprah Winfrey discussing how to live a better life with a panel of gurus. I brace myself for the manhunt that is sure to follow.. but to my shock, nothing! Instead, the group continues to stare at the TV, as if Lady O is just another baller shootin’ hoops. Shortly after, the bartender notices the faux pau and switches it back to ESPN but the men don’t skip a beat.
Who knew turning off TV’s could be more entertaining than turning them on?