I stopped watching commercial television (television with commercial interruptions) decades ago. When I made the decision, I had just attended a short presentation by a renowned psychiatrist at McLean Hospital. The presenter had made a compelling argument that television, especially violent television with commercials, is psychologically toxic. I happen to think he was on to something.
Recently, there has been media promotion of the endings of two commercial television programs, Lost and 24. I know little about either show. As an objective observer of the hype, I have to speculate that these shows have touched an unsettling emotional current in American culture. Lost is a show about existential angst, wrapped in surreal mysticism. 24 is a show about spies, government corruption and terror.
Those who dream their way through life by attaching themselves to public, fictional narratives, designed to sell cars or iPhones, are bound to be insecure and ill-equipped to deal with reality. The reality of their own lives has no relevance to the television or media dream. The attempt to conform or relate ones life to these two-dimensional realities is simply unhealthy.
I find it particularly troubling when these entertainment vehicles become the grist of human relationships. Lost and 24 fan groups abounded with tearful last episode parties. Similarly, some people built their lives around Survivor. Couch potatoes, working their way to obesity with fake-buttered, microwave popcorn, while fixated on buffed strangers on tropical islands; the worst of voyeurism, combined with extremely soft pornography.
Stepping away from the television and out of your home into your real community is healthy. It is good for you and your community. Walk your neighborhood and say hello to people. Patronize a local, non-chain cafe. Be a regular at a local library or book store. Volunteer at a local nursing home or hospital. You'll soon find that you will have no time to watch the latest TV craze. Your own life will be its own, fascinating narrative with a cast of real-life characters.
