Information/entertainment overload

My analog Satellite TV gave me about 40 channels of which we actively watched about five. CNN went digital on April 1st and I lost them, so I decided to go digital. I now have about 600 channels covering numerous countries with languages I don’t understand. I spent the better part of the day going from one channel to the next. There are programs covering every subject imaginable – from porn to scorn. What a waste of time. It’s simply too much. I used the off button feature and went for a walk. I enjoyed the colors of spring. New blossoms on the trees, the beauty of the flowers, birds busy building nests, bees buzzing, the wonderful smell of nature and the solitude.
On the Internet there is also overload of information and websites with invitations to participate with book promotion websites and forums. To give attention to these sites while trying to write and have a life means tough decisions on the use of time. Spending quality time with family is priority one. How to spend quality time writing and promoting takes discipline and that also means declining invitations. I have reduced my participation on various sites. At the moment, I actively belong to just one author’s forum. This one.

I've often wondered about that Abe. 1400 TV channels?

Reminds of what Mafalda (my favorite LatinAmerican cartoon character) said back in the seventies, "It doesn't make a difference how many channels you get. They all have television on them."

I think a lot of it is what I call "yuppie numerology". There's a whole class of people who will buy anything with "better numbers" so they can brag about it without understanding anything. So you see bicycles with 15, then 21, then 35 speeds. (No higher or lower ones...you just have to shift more). People shooting pictures in bright sunlight with 1600 ASA film because it's got a higher number and is therefore better. 400 hp cars are better than 300 hp cars. Etc. So they'll quickly get an 1800 channel package so they can one-up some other twit down at Starbucks. Of course, if they look at each one for a single minute, it would take three working days just to sort them out.

Abe,
Yes is my answer and it's a very important topic. By watching all that many channels it messes up one's brain. I think it's important for parents especially to realise that their children don't need all that knowledge. It destroys one's inner sense of peace and mental well-being. In fact, it is a form of mental harrasment..

I believe in pursuing very niche types of interests and being highly selective in life otherwise I could end up going cuckoo!

Bruce Springsteen said it a long time ago -"57 Channels and Nothin' On."

1600 ASA film ...people still use film?

Sure. It's got more numbers.

There are several Satellites servers to choose from and one can use multiple servers. I selected Astra. If I added others the number of channels would be unreal.
German, Polish, Spanish, Hungarian, French, English, Arabic, etc.
Have you ever heard John Wayne speaking French or German? Sometimes the voice of the translator is more like a comedy when you know the actual voice of the person.

What was really a screm was in the Far East back in the sixties when TV was just coming out and you'd see John Wayne and Matt Dylan yammering in Japanese with unsyncronized lip movements.

We used to imitate it. A guy picking a fight at school would move his lips, then blurt out a challenge in sing-song without moving them.

I don't Twitter and I don't Facebook either. I have been told that I should, because these are faster growing networking sites giving more exposure to your books.

Maybe I have missed a trick or two but I just haven't had the time.

Actually, having a fan page on FaceBook might pay off for you.

I enjoy Facebook--mainly to keep up with friends who are scattered around the country and world. I've tried to Tweet...but I have to admit, I just don't get it. Most of my thoughts bore me, so why would I want to share?

Learning to filter out the fluff is a real challenge. If I'm not vigilant, whole clumps of time disappear. I am learning to tune out and enjoy the things I love. I wonder at times if people are afraid of the white spaces in their lives. Why does every moment, every dadgum second, have to be filled with SOMEthing?

I need a nap.

I'm Type A and like it. I like having most of my time filled with something to do. When I'm elderly I expect I'll have those big chunks of white spaces. I look at people in their 30's-50's who have more white space in their lives than anything else -hours and hours spent watching TV- and I consider them elderly young people.

4/11/2010


Cabe or satellite is a watseland..
At one time it was suppose to be
educational ! I only watch educational
channels...

Cheers..Joe

Facebook is great for reunions. But all the pointless virtual gifts?
I do not see the point of most of the stuff.
Twitter? Well I've got a twitter acount but all I get is spam followers.
They are over rated.

Having white space doesn't mean sitting around turning into a vegetable, LC...think you missed my point on that.
I just tire of the avalanche of sometimes senseless information. Time away from all of the buzz gives me the opportunity to think, to create, to write.
I am active, too, and hope to be well into my advanced years.

At fifty-plus, I have come to appreciate and enjoy my own company.
I am a modified Type A.

I agree we are bombarded by information, but I don't think it's any worse now than it was, say, in the 1980's. Plenty of stuff had to be tuned out then, too, to be productive.

I have never cared about who is pregnant in Hollywood, what celebrity is running around on their spouse, sports news of any kind, cute kid and pet stories, plots and characters on TV shows.

Such white noise has been around forever and is the stuff of many people's lives. The internet is just one more form of delivery. The people who love and devote 6+ hours/day following it don't think of themselves as "vegetables." I do, though. Well, semi-vegetable, lol.

Quote :

I have never cared about who is pregnant in Hollywood, what celebrity
is running around on their spouse, sports news of any kind, cute kid
and pet stories, plots and characters on TV shows.

Shocking. How do people LIVE like that?

We fill the void by posting on message boards. lol

Here, but for the grace of God, go I.