Television is a large part of American life. The number of hours per day
that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes.


How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?


Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

I don' think anyone is consciously using tv to keep us under control - or at least, not in the West, where there are too many differing private interests for that to happen.

I used to watch a lot of tv, but was to cheap to buy a tv licence (in Britain you have to pay about £110 a year for a licence to own a tv. Essentially it is a tax on tv owners that is used to fund the BBC. ) whilst I enjoy BBC shows a lot, I objected to being forced to pay for it simply because I owned a tv.

So I sold my tv - and found that it is pretty easy to fill the time with something else - reading, socialising (I finally got around to joining the army reservists !) etc. However, I wouldn't say that cutting down on my tv time has encouraged me to take up more intelligent pursuits - just to do more different things.

So I don't know if it makes us less intelligent, but I do think it makes us lazier and less sociable, which is a real shame....

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

Two words: Reality TV. 'nuf said.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?


Conspiracy theorists of the world, UNITE! No, I don't think even Mel Gibson could make this case. If anything, TV is used more as a means of creating controversy than keeping us under control. Ditto for all the other mediums as well. I think politicians are getting better and better are using TV to suit their purposes, but keeping us under control isn't one of the driving factors--getting us to support them is. This is no where near Orwellian magnitude--if anything, it is used by the media to contradict government control.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

I suppose it depends upon what a person is watching on television and how often. There is a certain amount of quality television out there, some that is educational and some that exists for pure entertainment value, which is fine. Sometimes being entertained is enough.

I think that the main problem with television is that a large number of people don't know when to utilize the off switch, and it's a little bit freaky when they get into that zombie television watching state that inevitably occurs after 4 - 5 hours of attentive viewing. This is something that I experienced many times as I was growing up, because we had a television in every room except for the bathroom, and gaining the attention of my step-father was always an unwinnable battle against the TV. It was a very frustrating experience, and I remember trying to read in my bedroom and being distracted, because I could still hear the television through the wall.

As an adult, I don't get television reception in my home, and I'm not willing to pay for cable. I find lots of things to do, and when I feel like watching television, I throw in a DVD. I personally find that life has been much better for me without a TV, and I do participate in more intellectually and socially stimulating activities than I would be able to if I sat around and watched television all evening. I don't think that it makes me any more intelligent, but it probably does more for greasing the gears.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

Nope. I don't believe the government has anything to do with it. Television is what it is, because that's what makes money for television broadcasters. Reality TV may be stupid, but it's obviously getting the ratings that it needs to stay on the air.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

My father used to call it the BOOB TUBE. As we get older, we begin to understand where our parents were coming from. TV is a drug that a majority of Americans are 'hooked' on. If you pay a cable company, then you are an addict. People living in Montana watching the "Nature Channel" while their SUV sits undented in their driveway.




Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

TV is a major cause of laziness in America and leads to non-original thought. I don't know if the Government is behind it, but it sure plays into their hands. It keeps us asleep and provides the Government a picture perfect propaganda machine.

The question supposes that Americans would be smart if there was no TV, so I have a problem right there.

Seriously though, I don't think that television by itself makes us dumb. I mean, I don't think anyone voted for Calvin Coolidge because of his well formed economic policy. Nor do I think that the era before television was a golden age of intellectual and spiritual growth and discovery.

All TV does, imho, is provide an easy way out; a way for us to focus that inherent, latent laziness that North American/Western culture breeds.

Does the government use it to keep control? Not really. However, Idealists (not the personality trait, but rather the school of political discourse) argue that they do use it to keep us distracted.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we becoming less, or more, intelligent?

I wouldn't say that we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but certainly TV takes up time that could be spent doing other things, for example debating on AD or god forbid reading a book, magazine, newspaper or just talking to people.

I think saying we are becoming intellectually out of balance, because of not only reliance on TV, but net, would be a better description.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

No. This would really be one heck of a conspiracy.

Affecting our intelligence? No. Affecting our ability to concentrate for extensive time periods on anything else (like reading) and not complain that something is B-O-R-I-N-G? Yeah. This is particularly evident in the younger population.

I think they're trying (flag-waving and "either you're with us or with the terrorists" as in you must support the war on Iraq to call yourself patriotic), but we're not under control yet. The herd mentality is always useful to officials of a country at war; dissension is often stifled. But the government will not succeed until there are no options for us on what to watch but their propaganda.

I agree with the general consensus so far, on this thread.
I believe that television has become a wonderful tool, utilized
by many different entities, that does distract, distort, and to
some degree control our lives - if we let it.

I watch very little tv, nowadays. The Daily Show is about the only
show that I watch on a regular basis - because it gives me my dose
of news and humor!

Television has worked very well in the political arena. Not only
is it a great propaganda distributor, it is a sort of sedative that
makes us apathetic. The more apathetic we are, the more control
our government can exert.

Overall, too much television kills intelligence. I do think folks watch too much television for their own good. Still, society produces some pretty darn smart folks, so in the overview, television might not matter.



Do you think? Love that expression. I'm sure the government is overtly and covertly trying to use television as mind-control. It just doesn't work that well. It's not working as well now that we have more interactive things like the Internet and spawns of a world-wide network.

The potential of television has disappointed parts of our government. The unleashing of human communication through interactive networks is destroying the effectiveness of television as a mind-control tool.

This must drive some parts of the government up the wall. Good.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we becoming less, or more, intelligent?

I don’t think TV is affecting intelligence so much as it is affecting learning, imagination and energy. Instead of studying or being outside engaging in imaginative play, kids are glued glassy-eyed to the boob tube, getting lazy and fat. This is the parents’ fault, not the government. Media companies engage in supply and demand, as in putting out what gets ratings and yanking what doesn't; if low-brow crap gets ratings and good, thoughtful shows do not, the media will supply the public with more crap than good programming. It astounds me that shows like Fear Factor are still on the air...in my opinion, the biggest, stinkiest pile of crap on TV.

But intelligent people watch TV, too. It can be an inane escape from the stresses of the day. (I confess; I have to see CSI, American Dreams, and Law and Order-Criminal Intent.) It's like beverages; sometimes you want a fine imported wine, and other times you just want a cold domestic beer.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?
Not unless pop culture perpetrated by the media can be considered a government plot. (psssst, Britney Spears is a WMD – Woman Most Depthless!!).

I don't watch much TV at all. Maybe a hour or 2 a day and it is not sitcom. Usually the news in the morning to see what is going on and the weather. At night for the same reason.
Is Televison affecting our intelligence?
I guess that would depend on what you chose to watch. If you sit in front of the "BOOB TUBE" to just watch a reality show or a sitcom maybe. But TV has such a wide range of what is offered with cable.
There are many channels such as the History channel, The Nature Channel etc.
There are numerous News channels.
Is the Government trying to keep us under control? I don't see that at all. They can't control what you watch.
(personally I sometimes put Golf on. It bores me. I put the volume on low but just enough hear something and I can really get a good nap)

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?
I think that we're probably becoming more gradually intelligent and educated overall, but that the type of intelligence and education we have is shifting. Television, especially commercial television (both in the sense of advertising-driven stations, and the massive profileration of channels) is playing a big role in this, but not the only role.

The idea that a broad general education for it's own sake, coupled to a sceptical and rationalistic evaluation of facts being the driving factor of the formation of opinions, is the best objective - that idea has gone out of fashion.

Only a few liberal intellectuals still place much esteem on it, though it is not a liberal idea a such (just a late 19th century one).

[aside]Of course, this ideal hasn't really been achievable since the Renaiisance - the body of human knowledge is now just too large for any one person to have an expertise in all areas. It's doubtful that Leonardo da Vinci would be able to be such a polymath, and be taken seriously in all his areas of activity, if he were alive today. However, IMO some goals should be striven for even if they will never be reached.[/aside]

Instead, education (and by implication, intelligence - I believe they are implacably linked) is now almost totally driven by the needs of the market. Employers want the education system to produce the skills they need, and aren't really interested in ideas like independent thought, sceptical inquiry, and so on. Workers who challenge every idea for the business justification tend not to be the most useful.

Indeed, much of commerce relies on their absence in the target audience - why else would shampoo & cosmetics commercials place so much store on "fruit micro-acids", "active liposomes", and (the piece de resistance) "Boswelox" , unless they are relying on the ignorance of their audience to lead them to be impressed by such pseudo-scientific nonsense?

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?
Not sure. My default setting it opposition to conspiracy theories. I think, however, that "the market " in it's widest sense is becoming very sophisticated in manipulating us, especially in areas where we have the most chioice. It's as if our behaviour when faced with many choices is that the actual process of choosing doesn't matter much, so we make it without thinking. I think that advertising has the most impact on these subliminal choices we make. How much thought do we give to which brand of candy to buy? More or less none, I'd say, so we reach for the brand that is most familiar from advertising. How much thought do we give to buying a house or car (or to voting)?

A good deal more, so (as yet), I'd say advertising, PR, and "spin" have much less impact (though not none) on these decisions - we base them far more on the distinctive features & benefits of the product, service, or candate.

Now, politics across the board is perfectly aware of this. The commercial pressures of the media have moved the agenda-setting moments from hours to minutes to seconds (the average political soundbite on US network news, which is still the majority's source, is seven seconds today, compared to two or three minutes in the 1950s, I heard recently). The general journalistic and public tone is that politicians are all the same anyway - untrustworthy, self-seeking, power-hungry, etc.

So we are getting to a point where the choice at the ballot box is not perceived to matter much either. Which (following my logic) means that people don't give the decision as much conscious thought as they sued to, which in turn means that they are more open to manipulation by the media. Despite the fact that they might be colossally intelligent and knowledgeable in their own feild of specialism.

Polticians in government are also bound by these modern constraints. It's easier to spin and manipulate than it is to expect people to engage with the arguments and follow lines of reasoning. This is not only because the people are out of the habit of doing so, but also the politicians might lose some of thier power if we draw back the curtain and see they are just ordinary and fallible men and women pulling levers they don't really understand. And not the superhuman leaders who can save us from fear or threat (which, often have only arisen because of their own whisperings) that we really yearn for, because we naturally prefer not to think about something if we can get someone else to do it for us.

Now, now, don't put down "Fear Factor". It is one of my favorite shows! In fact, when my cat died, I was severely distraught, grief-stricken, and couldn't find the energy to do anything. "Fear Factor" was the only show on TV which got my mind off the loss of my cat. I can't really explain why--but ever since then, I've grown a newfound respect for the show. Besides, at least it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. It's a game show, nothing more, nothing less.

I'd much rather watch it than "CSI". I'd like it a lot more if it wasn't jammed pack full of horribly cheesy one-liners. But I guess we all have different tastes.

I know people who leave their televisions on all day long even if nobody is watching. Perhaps this deceptively skews the results of the study upward.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

For this to be true you would have to prove that either watching any kind of TV programming produces easily suggestible zombies, or that the government has a large role in dictating the type of programming private media must portray. Given the current state of affairs in the USA, I'm skeptical.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

Some of us have spent considerable time around open fire. Campfires don't really count, unless you lived by one, but they can provide a clue.

Fire is hypnotic. Mesmerizing. People who have lived with fire, and lived with television, often notice that there is quite a similarity between what is going on in our organic response to these two things. They both plug into the same brain-socket.

This also suggests that the lack of content in most TV-fare is not a problem, and probably irrelevant. We may have been pre-adapted to TV, from way back.

It has been speculated that our eons of sitting around the evening fire, living out in the open bush, did things to our brain ... presumable good things. Certainly, we became intelligent without education. Without jobs. Without anything.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

This question is a little too easy to dismiss. On the surface, it doesn't wash. We got too many choices, we're too different from one another. And George already warned us.

Certainly, passivity is a very useful and desirable condition. The atrophy of initiative - what's not to like? Consumption ... ommmmm.

It would be nice to find a suitable scapegoat. But I think I know the real culprit.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

I think television, including cable, plays to the lowest common denominator. For several weeks Joe Scarborough has had a bad back. Pat Buchanan and Monica Crowley have filled in with less than spectacular improvement. The conversation last night involving Buchanan, Bill Donahue, Jennifer Giroux and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was completely unbelievable. After Donahue and Giroux had made patently anti-Semitic comments, the “unbiased” Buchanan reprimanded the rabbi for “name calling.”

I don’t see how anyone can take the conversation with more than a grain of salt. The issue was supposed to be about whether Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 or Mel Gibson’s The Passion should be nominated for Academy Awards. It devolved into this. Here’s some sampling:

Bill Donahue, President of the Catholic League



<snip>

Jennifer Giroux, Women Influencing the Nation



<snip>

Rabbi Schmuley Boteach



<snip>



Scarborough Country with Pat Buchanan 12-8-04

Rush Limbaugh’s listeners sometimes refer to themselves as ditto heads. I am sure there are people who hang onto every right wing inflammatory word uttered by Scarborough, Buchanan, Donahue or Giroux, but the whole concept of Scarborough should be an affront to the intelligence of viewers.

The only thing I find appealing about Scarborough Country is that it capsulizes ion one hour whatever obnoxious right wing notions are floating on the airwaves that day. Scarborough one hour or Rush three hours? It’s a no brainier.

Ann Coulter will be along tonight with her own patented flavor of right wing idiocy.

I would say that television does more than just play to the lowest common
denominator. Television shapes thought. It is not only less intelligent people
who are affected. We are all affected by what we watch, and most often
it is in a negative way. For example, the news stations play on our fears;
anything from catching the viruses on park benches to terrorist threat
levels - "Today, the security warning is at orange," meaning you only have
to be partially terrified of an attack. Tomorrow the level will be raised
to red to keep you tuned in, and so forth..... (that's just one example
of how tv adversely affects us all).

I stopped watching the news a few months ago. I am a much happier
person because of it. As a matter of fact, I've given up watching tv
altogether (except for the occasional baseketball or football game).
That may sound extreme to most, but I have never been more productive.
In my spare time I study, come and read posts here, read books, or rent
DVD's.

If you go to the right places, then watching the news is useless. I either come here (and learn a hell of a lot more about what's going on), or I read the paper. And if I do watch the news, I opt for the "news" with the Daily Show. For me, the only things worth watching are either educational/history/comedy shows, everything else is pretty much useless.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

I'd say depending on what you're watching, it either is helping or hurting, though probably doing more harm than good. To me TV watching is something I do to stop thinking for a half hour or so and try to relax and learn something. Most of the times though (and I'd say this is especially true for some channels) TV can be giving people negative or stupid stereotypes of all types of people.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

No, I don't think so. If it were the law to have a TV in every house, or mandatory to watch a certain show at a certain time, then I'd say yes. But for now I'll go with no.

Absolutely. The Daily Show is worth watching. And, yes, there are many
comedy shows that have entertainment value.

The regular news, though, is a total waste of time. And, most television
programs are geared towards keeping people glued to the tv, so they
can pedal their products. And, let's face it, tv keeps Americans busy.
It is a sedative, of sorts, that is utilized by various entities, including the
government.

How is all of our television viewing affecting our intelligence? Are we
becoming less, or more, intelligent?

Depends on what you watch, and how much of it you believe. I love the science and history type shows. Intelligence, once obtained, can't be affected much by television. But I do worry about the young ones whose parents use the TV as a pacifier. Sort of like giving tobacco and caffiene to toddlers, it stunts their intellectual growth.

Is television being used as a means, by our government, to keep us under control?

Don't think so. The news media is another check/balance in our system. Yes, there is a lot of garbage to sift through, but when the situation warrents, the TV executives will expose our government officials as needed. Especially if it is good for ratings.

I agree with the majority of posts: It really depends on what is being viewed.
Many of us that bother to stay moderately informed would never turn to network television for news.

Unfortunately, it is undeniable that the major networks still have a dramatic effect in shaping American opinions when it comes to candidates and elections. This is not government driven or conspiricy, just a sad fact.(or lack thereof)

I personally watch a limited span of programming which includes:

South Park
Simpsons
Daily Show
Iron Chef (lol, I can't help but get sucked in)
Animal Planet
Travel Channel
Various history/war documentaries on History, Discovery Wings etc..