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<title> Some Thoughts about Television </title>
"Television, as I have implied earlier," writes Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death, "serves us most usefully when presenting junk-entertainment; it serves us most ill when it co-opts serious modes of discourse - news, politics, science, education, commerce, religion - and turns them into entertainment packages. We would all be better off if television got worse, not better."

In his statement, Neil Postman writes that we all would be better off if television got worse. Why? Well, if television got worse enough, people would perhaps realise what crap they are wasting their time with, and then (hopefully) turn off their television sets and do something more useful with their time instead, and the world would be a much better place to live in. If we are lucky, this wonderful day will arrive soon. But in the meantime, we have to live with a situation where television dominates our minds and our lives.

Television has got way to much importance in our lives today. Many place the company of their favourite shows above that of their friends, and engage themselves more in the lives and adventures of their television heroes and heroines more than those of their friends. Of course, television might be good company for the elderly and the lonely, which do not have many friends, but does this not also tell us something about the society we live in? Probably their neighbours, children and others that could keep them company are to be found at home comfortably seated in the sofa, watching some silly quiz show or following the events in the latest "documentary soap". 

If you know more about the status of the characters in 'Days of our lives' than of your own friends, if the participants of today's 'Ricki Lake Show' seem to have more interesting (sex) life than yourself, if the sayings and doings of the participants of Swedish Channel 3's 'Baren' are not to be missed at any cost - can you then be said have a rich life? Or is it rather a pseudo-life you are living? Is television a replacement for other, more creative pursuits, such as exercise, hobbies and social relations? Are social relations hard to upkeep because of television?

As it is now, you can't speak to people while they are watching their programmes, as their attention is elsewhere. Is the following scenario familiar? You call a friend one evening, looking forward to discuss last week's events or an interesting book that you have read. The next twenty minutes are spent talking to deaf ears and listening to the faint sounds of 'X-files' in the background. You do not even receive any "polite noises" as a reply - it might as well be a corpse on the other end of the line instead of a living person. Finally you say goodbye, hang up and find something else to do for the rest of the evening - preferably something that does not include a television set.

You can sit beside them in the sofa while they are staring at the screen, perhaps with a long since forgotten cup of now ice-cold coffee in their hand, and a far-away expression in their face. Any question, remark or even compliment gets an uncertain or mumbling answer, as they do not listen to what you say, but are more interested of what is happening on the screen. Not a very pleasant company, or what do you say?

The watching of television is one of those activities that seem to require uninterrupted concentration. It is much easier to set things aside in other activities, such as reading, cross-stitching, or almost anything else, and continue at a later time, but television craves the viewer's attention all the time during a specified period of time. However, contrary to many other activities, it does not truly stimulate the imagination of the user, it just replaces it, even if it does help wear away the long hours. 

But is it worth it? Does television truly enrich their lives so much that they can forget about their friends and relatives, the rest of the world, and just sink into the television shows, immersing their brains with nonsense, entertainment and pseudo-culture, turning them into passive users? And as the television programs get less and less depth, what do this mean to their lives?

I cannot see how it could be to any good in the long run, so I hope, truly hope, that television gets bad enough, so that people will start doing something more healthy, enriching and productive with their lives.
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