Posts tagged television

Are TV Shows Destroying Our Ability to Trust?

Business Consulting Leadership Organizational Commitment 1 Comment

television-0829f2bf70If anyone knows me, you probably know that I don’t watch television.  I find that TV is a time waster.  However, I do tend to watch movies on Cable and Netflix and recently, in a need to decompress, my wife and I have been watching a few different TV shows.  Last night my wife made a very interesting revelation.  She said, “After watching these shows, I think I’m growing to not trust anyone anymore.”

After some thought and a review of what we’ve been watching, she’s right.  The four shows that we’ve absorbed are The Agents of Shield, Arrow, Continuum (she’s watched this, I haven’t), and Merlin.  In all of these television shows, there are lying and conniving characters right in your midst.  No one tells the truth and everyone is living out separate lives on the screen.

Now, I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I did, and many people do.  Think about this influence.  Are all TV shows the same–they live out a drama of a series of lies and deceits where the characters are all hiding something sinister from the rest of the characters?  Think about this influence in our youth…

This is what we’re taught.  Life is full of half truths and no one…not even yourself can be trusted.  Then they enter the work world, where everyone is lying…everyone is living a secret life.  Think about our ability as employees to trust when we grew up in this environment.  The constant digital bombardment of “this is the way it is” from television shows.  In work today, the need and importance for trust is paramount.  Authors and consultants make millions off the concept, yet all the while, our environment is destroying your ability to trust.

Are we fighting a war that we have already lost?  I trust that you’ll think about this.

For me it’s computer games

Meandering Genius

TV can be a giant time waster. I talked about this about a month ago in a blog. Several years ago, I used to watch a great deal of TV and it’s amazing the difference that it makes in the time I have in my life not watching it.

Computer games have the same effect on me. Every once in a while I will get a ‘diversion’ computer game. It’s meant to entertain for a little bit, but let me tell you how a computer game can really wipe out my day.

Yesterday, after I wrote my leadership and management blog, I was surfing Steam and found an interesting and free online multiplayer role-playing game.

Needless, I played that stupid game all day.

Television is such a time waster

Meandering Genius

When I was a kid, I remember my parents and I gathering around the television on Sunday evening to watch Disney. Boy that was exciting as a kid–Escape from Witch Mountain and Apple Dumpling Gang were two shows that I remember.

But, back then, we didn’t live in front of the television watching show after show. That’s how things are today.

Back in 1997 to 2002, I was stationed in Germany with the Air Force. We had very little channels–nothing like cable and dish here in the states. The big channel to watch was Sky out of England. Man those Brits have a odd sense of humor.

When I was over there, I found myself watching a lot of TV when I wasn’t doing something else…basically when I was home the box was on.

I never realized how much time I spent in front of that machine. I never realized what I was missing in Germany because of it.

When I moved back to the states in late 2002, I decided to stop watching most television. Eventually I stopped watching all television shows…I don’t even watch news. One might think its odd since we have six televisions in the house and we’re thinking about getting a seventh. But aside from big sporting events, the television stays mostly off.

That is, except for cable movies and Netflix movies. I do watch the television to watch movies…that’s pretty much the reason I even pay for satellite TV.

The thing is, I notice when the television is on, even for a movie, I get nothing constructive done.

When I stopped watching TV shows, I found I had all the extra time in my day (evenings mostly). This allowed me to go back to school, to read and write, and to travel. These things I wouldn’t do because there is always some show on that you have to watch to keep up with the story and to talk about it at work the next day.

Recently, I have watched a lot of the Olympics. For me, a lot is very little, but I have seen how less has gotten done around the house because of the TV being on.

Up until I moved all the furniture out of my office and started to remodel it, if I turned on the television while working on the computer, nothing got done on the computer. I am definitely more productive in my office without the TV on, even if it is a movie I’ve seen ten times.

Are you an avid television watcher? Do you have several shows that you have to catch every week that keep you in the house and in front of the box? When you sit down to dinner, is the TV taking over conversation?

If so, try this for a month…unplug.

That’s right, unplug the televisions in your home for one month. Just turn them off and pull the plugs from the wall.

Notice what your day is like…notice the free time you have without the television.

You will find it a challenge and you’ll probably be pretty darn bored, but this will be a good experience for you. I suggest that be prepared with a house project, like working in the yard or a dedicated hobby that you can fill the space with.

Let me know if you choose this challenge and how it goes.