I am working on some teaching material at the moment, and from what the teachers are saying, children are even more difficult than they were ten years ago.
When are we going to just accept that TV is bad for you?
We have all heard plenty about computer games being bad for you, suggestions of movies being bad for you, but what about the audio visual drug pumped into your home every day?
It is a propaganda machine drilling your head full of political ideas, whether you agree with them or vehemently disagree, soap operas telling you to be unhappy, because family instability is good for the economy (think of the furniture you will have to replace and the new dates you will have to go on) a nanny to dump your increasingly unhappy children in front of.
My father used to use it as a method of subduing any possible input from the family when he returned from work, turning it up in response to any attempt at conversation. I developed my dislike of this challenge early on in life.
That is not to say I have never watched it, nor does it mean I fail to appreciate the work that goes into creating and producing the drivel. I just don’t allow it to determine what I do, how I think or what happens next.
I am sure my father was tired of listening to the two eldest listing their wants every day, and he certainly worked very hard, so I can’t really blame him for not wanting to be forced to deal with the family. I don’t want to either, they are very unpleasant. I objected to the idea that I wasn’t to get to know him at all, and the volume change in response to any question was just plain rude. Therefore I see TV as an unwanted guest.
The later generations are not so lucky. They have been encouraged to spend their lives looking for validation from a screen, and I do not see that they derive much in the way of happiness, connection with others or basic decency out of it. A meme drifts past, reminding them to be nice, and once they have clicked like the job is done. Then they go back to pointing, staring and getting people fired for a laugh.
So when are we going to accept that TV is poison? It causes unhappiness to make you buy more stuff. It ruins your relationships. It makes you unfit. It tries to tell you what to think and how to vote. It dissuades you from asking any questions in case you look stupid.
It is a dictator’s dream, and these teachers have just nailed it. People are losing their ability to parent their children or function.
