Poll: Is modern TV dumbing down the youth of today?

[SinisterDeath]

Turn to Nikelodean, or Cartoon Network, Hell Disney channel and you will see how it starts.

I grew up watching.
X-men
Transformers
Spiderman
He-Man
GARGYOLES
hell, Loony toons!
Discovery Channel
Animal Planet
History Channel
Duck Tales

Look at any of the 'cartoons' these kids watched when they watched them...
MY GOD, some of that shit is sooo annoyingly stupid... This is where it starts. Then they feed them a nice big bottle of Reality TV...

I bet you, even at Escapist, barely half of you will know what the sitcom, Married with children is, let alone how awesome it was!
/fshaw.

 

[coda di lup]

Having just seen the absoloute crap my sister was watching on 'MTV' I feel the urge to ask if the stupid and largely innapropriate content of what kids watch is having a negative effect on kids today (As all the experts call the latest generation the "blame shifters" or some such name).
I think that because TV is constantly showing spoiled, unintelligent brats as role models, kids are following. And I don't just mean MTV, disney channel is worse, the dumbed down american sitcoms actually made my brain cry, I could swear this wasn't the way it was when I was a kid.

Reading back over my post, I'm unsure how clear I've been, and because I couldn't find a like topic to relate it too most of you are probably going to have no clue what I'm ranting about, but still, hit me with some opinions. I want to hear what my fellow escapians thing.

I totally agree with you about MTV. I can't stand to watch it. Every time that i see a dumb show there, i feel the physical need to change the channel or to go away.
I think that the problem is in the choices we make: there are a lot of interesting and smart show on TV, but most of the people prefere watching my sweet 16 or stuff worst than that.
The fact is that if you want to be smart you have to work hard and most people are just plain lazy.

 

[Simriel]

Witty statement disparaging the promiscuity of the opening posters mother and/or sister.
Edit: no offense meant Op, i just could not resist it.

 

[kolompi]

TV has too many "reality" shows that make dumb.

 

[Inverse Skies]

Nope, because they've used the same argument for years, even back in the 50's when TV was just starting to become mainstream. It's cyclical like so many things in our society. It's all been speculated on before and hasn't amounted to anything so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[xxnightlawxx]

i think shows like the one on CN and Nickelodeon
are because everyone of those shows have something in them that is retarded
good shows otherwise though

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

It's necessary to point out that the great Glass Teat isn't just dumbing down people my age, it's infiltrating most people, regardless of age. To quote Fight Club "What I care about is celebrity magazines". We're taught to be stupid, to pay attention to what the face on the screen is telling us.

It's the same sort of psychology as surrounds the 'TV president' syndrome. That is, we believe we understand our leaders because we see them all the time in the media. Never mind the fact that it's mostly spin and propaganda.

Your post reflects a topic I've been meaning to discuss here once. All this damned worshipping of people on the telly absolutely disgusts me. So what, he made a song that some people like. So what, she is quite beautiful and appears in some magazines. So what, he is of not much more then mediocre intelligence, yet black and running for president.

I wonder how much stuff like this we see on TV actually represents the people, and how much is intended to make the people think that this is what the people like to see. I like to believe that the newer generations are less vulnerable to such intrusions, though as the OP stated, this indoctrination begins at much younger ages.

It almost makes me shudder every time I think about it.

 

[Flishiz]

I don't think it's as much a matter of content that dumbs down kids, but rather the overuse of ideas and creativity being fed to children rather than them creating their own. What it does is makes people content with others' ideas, and absorbs them.

 

[Beefcakes]

TV has too many "reality" shows that make dumb.

This, to a point, its not the fact that it makes people dumb, it just shows them that people out there are worse than them, and allows them to lower their standards

 

[Labyrinth]

Oh wow. This is an impressive piece of Necromancy.

Your post reflects a topic I've been meaning to discuss here once. All this damned worshipping of people on the telly absolutely disgusts me. So what, he made a song that some people like. So what, she is quite beautiful and appears in some magazines. So what, he is of not much more then mediocre intelligence, yet black and running for president.

I wonder how much stuff like this we see on TV actually represents the people, and how much is intended to make the people think that this is what the people like to see. I like to believe that the newer generations are less vulnerable to such intrusions, though as the OP stated, this indoctrination begins at much younger ages.

It almost makes me shudder every time I think about it.

Film is an illusion. The Fourth Wall between the acting and us is there even in news bulletins and celebrity angst. We don't look through the camera into the soul, as much as it might be a comfort to think of it like that. A pity that the general assumption is to stare slack-jawed.

 

[Nazulu]

No, the youth of today is getting dumber. TV is a reflection, not a cause.

Bingo! Give this guy a medal.

Unfortuantly we don't know what the cause is of the stupidity in alot of people these days but I reckon we have hit our limit. I mean, how can it get any worse than most of the crap thats already on TV?

 

[InProgress]

Yes, TV, at least in my country, is dumbing people down. Cartoon Network, no matter how bad the cartoons are, at least taught kids English. Now they changed it to a poorly dubbed romanian which doesn't even make sense. And since most programs are the ones you see in the US, the ones with the big ratings, doesn't surprise me how shallow most people become. In conclusion, yes.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Wow, TV dumbing down the nation? Never heard of that.

I think the TV programm of today is actually quite excellent. I never dreamed of witnessing the thrilling challenges of Fear Factor and how they lower the dignity of their contestants into abyss. ALso reality TV shows give kids some ideals about life and a fatherly figure for them since the parents won't be around anyway.

Cartoons these days have A LOT more quality . Gone are the days that Ren & Stimpy poisened our children with crazy talk and wierd animation. Today the characters are more bland and relatable so our kids to have some role-models. The old Ghosbusters? Fuck them, today we have some extreme baddies that are sure not to confuse our children with political incorrrectness while fighting ghosts.

Man... TV today sure is awesome.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

Oh wow. This is an impressive piece of Necromancy.

*snip*

Film is an illusion. The Fourth Wall between the acting and us is there even in news bulletins and celebrity angst. We don't look through the camera into the soul, as much as it might be a comfort to think of it like that. A pity that the general assumption is to stare slack-jawed.

Oh my, I didn't realise your post was made about six months ago! Glad I haven't lost the power to deal with otherworldly affairs!

And I have to say, nice comment below the quote. I can envision the drool dripping down the apathetic faces.

 

[Labyrinth]

And I have to say, nice comment below the quote. I can envision the drool dripping down the apathetic faces.

The hoards of TV drones doth slouch across the world.. their acidic saliva dissolving pavements and wreaking havoc upon the supreme Gaming Master Race..

Oh wait.

While I'm intensely sceptical when it comes to television, I have to say that it's not all bad. Yes, there are any number of apathetic, drooling sheep just staring at the box and occasionally tapping the remote, there are people doing much the same in front of games. Those in glass houses should be careful where they leave their masonry.

Gaming may not be as bad, but we shouldn't delude ourselves that those effects don't occur in our preferred medium. We're just a smaller audience, and the stigma is far greater.

 

[Parsley]

Well, comparing what i watched as a child, (Sooty, winne the pooh, magic roundabout etc) to the ones of today... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt9wteElPZI

Just plain creepy.
I'd say yes

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

And I have to say, nice comment below the quote. I can envision the drool dripping down the apathetic faces.

The hoards of TV drones doth slouch across the world.. their acidic saliva dissolving pavements and wreaking havoc upon the supreme Gaming Master Race..

Oh wait.

While I'm intensely sceptical when it comes to television, I have to say that it's not all bad. Yes, there are any number of apathetic, drooling sheep just staring at the box and occasionally tapping the remote, there are people doing much the same in front of games. Those in glass houses should be careful where they leave their masonry.

Gaming may not be as bad, but we shouldn't delude ourselves that those effects don't occur in our preferred medium. We're just a smaller audience, and the stigma is far greater.

True, we might be sheep, but remember that we are considered to be black sheep. If we flock together, we do so knowing that we are different. Even though not everybody, plenty of us are sceptic enough, and scrutinise daily civilisation on a level that general couch wetters can't even imagine.

We can safely cling to our favoured mean of entertainment, while still remaining our humanity and individualism. Those couch wetters though, being the supposedly white sheep, would flock to their couch wetting role models. Sceptics in that society will be forced to leave their intended way of Escapism.

I think we are safe enough. As long as a medium like the Escapist doesn't disappear or gets invaded by the propaganda machine of mainstream media, I will be comfortable in the knowledge that like minded sceptics like me will be here, fighting for the cause of humanity, behind their desks with their beloved cup of coffee.

 

[Ghadente]

Yes, most of it. MTV should just be abolished for example (it doesn't play music anymore), and pretty much 90% of reality shows.
there is a lot of STUPID tv out there, most of its fake and/or retarded (involves idiots doing idiotic things to make the viewers feel better about being idiots themselves)

its sad

 

[Fraeir]

Cartoons these days have A LOT more quality...
...Today the characters are more bland and relatable so our kids to have some role-models.

Man... TV today sure is awesome.

Serious? ._.
I suggest you look up Disney TV-series from the late 80's and early 90's
THAT is quality, I'd rather have my (hypothetical) young uns watch that than all the other shit that equals crap like modern kids' shows (many of the ones I think as crap features people in oversized stupid plush-suits...)