Sub TV
Television is the most powerful medium known for delivering information to the widest audience possible.
Is it being used sensibly, or is there some abuse of its power of mass persuasion and extensive reach?
Welcome to Sub TV and a philosophical way of looking at that most powerful of media that has infiltrated almost every home in Western society and has an enormous presence around the world.
We take a close look at the tactics used by program controllers to get us to watch certain shows in preference to others and how shows can be engineered to become more popular with viewers simply by the kind of promotion they get.
Television in Our Lives
There is little doubt that television has a great influence on most people's lives to a greater or lesser extent depending upon how much or how little they are exposed to this medium.
While people who work long hours rarely have much spare time for watching more than an hour or so of television each evening, others are capable of watching eight hours of more each day.
What Do You Watch on TV?
It doesn't seem to matter what some people watch, either. It can be programs on national stations or local TV stations and often even the quality of those programs is of little matter to many viewers.
Those that watch great amounts of television tend to have their whole lives center around what they watch in preference to real life. Many people are addicted to certain TV programs as well as to video, DVDs etc.
Those that watch a predominance of education programs may believe they are feeding their minds with useful information.
How Informative Are They?
However, the sad fact is that many so-called educational programs are rarely very informative. Many serve only to hook viewers into watching the associated commercials that are attached to every program on TV (except in the case of those rare commercial-free stations).
You could go so far as to say that ALL television programs exist purely to provide packing for the commercials that accompany them. Or is more like the programs that accompany the advertisements?
Alternatives to Television
Amazing as it may seem to some people, there are actually alternatives to television!
While this attractive medium may be the center of some people's lives and their lives literally revolve around its programming schedule, many more people find rather more interesting and fulfilling things to do with their spare time.
Hobbies
People still engage in hobbies to distract them from the stresses of their jobs. They find a creative outlet in enjoyable pastimes such as arts and crafts, model making, gardening, painting, music, photography and the like.
Instead of watching a TV in bed, many people actually prefer to read some good bedtime stories and expand their minds and their imaginations.
At the weekends there is more abundant free time for many nine to five workers. Some of these people are prone to wasting even more hours logged in front of the TV set.
Getting Out of the House
While other more enlightened people prefer to get out and about to learn about the world around them.
They do that by living it for real rather than watching it from a brightly lit screen in their living rooms. There is a lot to be said for really experiencing the world around you!
Back to Nature
It might even be surprising just how many people are interested in how nature works and how it interacts with their lives.
There are many people who enjoy learning how they can more fully interact with the environment around them, or learn to recognize the real-life body language that real people transmit to each other. This can all done well away from the TV set.
People like to get out of their homes and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine when it is available. Going for evening walks, perhaps with a dog or with some friends is a marvellous way to enjoy a greater level of health fitness and personal growth.
Others even go so far as to visit the gym in the evenings to get some more effective exercise and enjoy a social life afterwards.
Addiction to Television
But what of those people whose apparent sole reason for living is so they do not miss the next thrilling episode of their favorite soap opera, family games show or twelve part drama?
Or worse, they drop everything to catch an episode of a low budget reality TV where a collection of 15 minute fame seekers run through jungles or allow themselves to be humiliated in a number of different ways.
Reality TV, Really?
These kinds of so-called reality TV shows, in my opinion, can only be created by what can only be imagined as sadistic producers in the name of their twisted idea of entertainment!
Almost as bad are the proliferation of home makeovers, refurbishments and rebuilds presented by home designers and builders.
Makeover Shows
These shows all do essentially the same thing just in different ways. And the recipients of the made over homes are always so emotional and sickly about the transformations, it beggars belief how anyone would find that entertaining.
That large audiences are drawn to such dross is incredible in itself. Some of it even replaces real life, which is evident when looking for things like video dating tips that are designed to almost completely circumvent the more enriching path of human contact!
Advertisers rub their hands together at the prospect of yet more audience grabbing shows to sell their wares and find new ways of generating greater levels of monetary compensation and an increase and profit. But why are so many people drawn to not only watch such drivel, but to claim they can't live without it?
Is this way of life even healthy?
These and other searching questions will be raised at this website and discussed in our collection of associated articles on a variety of subjects concerning television as a whole.