“Television often tells the truth. We can therefore have a reasonable degree of certainty that when we understand the ideas we receive from it, we possess some measure of true knowledge.” This statement is true and false. It is possible to gain some degree of true knowledge but it is not inevitable. The information we receive from any kind of television program is regulated and we are not always able to get true information from it but it is not impossible. The information on television is not organic information that one could find in intellectual conversation, a classroom, a textbook or even primary research, but not all of the information presented on television is completely useless. Famous media critic, professor, and writer of Amusing Ourselves to Death – Neil Postman has some very rigid yet broad ideas about how television affects human psychology and culture. San Grewal also wrote an article, called Surfing for a New You that was published in the Toronto Star, about how greatly people are manipulated by makeover television programs. Both of these pieces dictate some very strong and persuasive opinions about how much they believe television to be affecting people. Their fingers are so sturdily pointed at the television and all the people whose life decisions are apparently made because of it. It’s true that we cannot always be sure that things we see and hear on television programs are true, or completely true, but if or when they are true, understanding the information presented can give us some form of true knowledge.
Born in the early 1930’s, Neil Postman had a very biased opinion on television. As he saw all the changes that were happening to society because of the rapid advancements in technology, he became unhappy with how fast people were adapting to it. His way of communicating was very rigid and persuasive; his “black and white” statements showed his frustration and his communication style showed that he was very closed minded and had no interest in listening. Postman didn’t only have grievances about television, but computers as well! Postman was a very smart man and there is definitely some truth to the things he said, but I’d like to point out some of the things he believed that I do not agree with and why. Neil Postman saw the television as solely a device for entertainment. He did not think that any of the information presented on television had any use other than to amuse the viewer. He stated this because he believed that the ideas presented on television had not been examined to see if they came from one of the unchanging processes to attain true knowledge. What he failed to think about, or maybe just failed to state, is that the information obtained from an informative and serious television program, such as local and world news or a documentary style program can be used as the foundation to create permanent and true knowledge through these thinking processes, processes such as logic, intuition, or sensation. Postman also believes that everything coming from television is irrelevant and people are placing import on this information without reason, saying that it has BECOME our culture and changed our definition on reality, truth and knowledge. Now I do agree that there are some television programs that are so highly irrelevant and incoherent and can really distort a person’s perception of reality. These programs are programs that are referred to as “reality” television, soap operas, sit-coms, and dramas. These programs are mainly used for entertainment and are not learning tools. But there is much more to television than what Neil Postman is saying. There are plenty of television programs that are meant to inform and give knowledge to people. Local news is an important form of television that helps people understand what is going on in their community in order to keep them safe and healthy. Whether this is referred to by Postman as “temporary knowledge” or “permanent knowledge” does not matter because news always changes. However, just because it is not a necessity for this kind of knowledge to be permanent (requiring an unchanging process of obtaining it), it does not make it any less important. If Neil Postman would have liked to spend his days walking around entire cities to figure out what is going on, that would be good for him, but most people don’t have the time for that and need to find out local information in 1 hour daily newscasts. Self-help shows that are hosted by doctors are also not full of useless entertainment and can be a great way to attain knowledge. Now that I’ve established that not all information from television is useless, I’d like to discuss how this important information can become true knowledge. People are completely in control of themselves, they are able to choose what they want to view on television. Useless information is not forced down the throats of people like Postman is trying to convey. People can choose when they want to watch television, which program they want to watch, and which segments can be of use to them. From this, they are able to choose which ideas they consider to be important or of use to them (they can write these ideas down or keep them in their mind. Once the ideas they found interesting are in their brains, they are able to create a framework of relationships between these ideas in order to deal with the complex questions they have about the topic. In order to have true knowledge, the person may come to a conclusion through: intuition- accepting the conclusion that comes right to them in the most clear and distinct manner, logical thinking that makes mathematical sense and causes them to know that the knowledge cannot be contradicted, or through sensation- being able to or having already experienced the situation or object in discussion. This way, viewers are able to attain true knowledge from information they received from television. I don’t see what part of that Postman considers to be “drowning” in information with no control over it and do idea what to do with it. There is also no part of learning about one’s health or community events that is trivial or irrelevant. Although he is a smart man, Neil Postman is not a psychologist and he is therefore unqualified to express how people deal with the information they receive from television and how it affects their behaviour as anything more than a personal opinion. He is also not a sociologist, and is therefore not able to say that the information presented on television is not important to society. Postman is not an anthropologist and cannot say that “television has BECOME our culture”. Being educated in none of these areas, as well as having conducted zero research, citing no research essays or experiments, and being educated in education, the only thing Neil Postman is able to do is convince people to share his own grievances.
The popularity of makeover shows including home makeovers and clothing makeovers has raised along with the amount of money spent on home renovations and cosmetic procedures since 1996. Is this change in society completely based on the glorification it gets on television? Not exactly. While home and self improvement shows have definitely risen in popularity and show home renovation and cosmetic procedures to be easy, there has also been an increase in technology making cosmetic surgeries and procedures to be quicker, more accessible, and have a shorter recovery time. The way things are advertised have probably always tugged on people to do something to make themselves or their homes look more attractive, billboards and magazines are just two examples of places where people are told what they should look like. I still believe that television has something to do with all of this though, especially the home improvement movement. A lot of people who spend a lot of time watching morning/breakfast television will be drawn to home improvement, self improvement, and decorating. The reason people are drawn to these kinds of television shows is because they believe that they are learning ways to gain more control over the happiness they get in their lives by making themselves over. Each kind of television program has a different purpose, to inform, to entertain, to warn, to help, or to enlighten. The aim of each individual television program is determined by its creator. Some programs are not truthful and some are somewhat truthful. I would say that makeover shows are not very truthful and it is the responsibility of the viewer to decide how much of the program that they would like to accept as true knowledge. Because television is not always truthful in this area, the viewer should be aware of this and not rely solely on television to give them all the information they need in order to make a big life decision such as a home renovation or cosmetic surgery. People do get some form of knowledge from these shows but it in order to validate the truth of that knowledge, more research should be done. From seeing a television show like The Swan, a woman might be more inclined to get plastic surgery because of how easy and rewarding it seems on the show. This is not true knowledge because getting actual plastic surgery is dangerous, expensive, and the recovery time can be a long and painful process. This kind of television is meant for entertainment purposes and only small amounts of information should be accepted as true, this is why viewer discretion should be used. We cannot always be sure that we are getting completely informed when watching a television program, that is why the information must be processed in our minds before we accept any of it.
There are three types of television programs that I actually regularly watch; these types of programs are sit-coms, self-help shows and the news. I watch sit-coms for amusement and the news and self-help for knowledge. I do not believe that sit-coms are meant to teach or inform and the content of these programs is meant to amuse the viewer. I am aware of this and do not try and attain true knowledge from these programs nor do I believe that it is a good idea to replace true knowledge with amusement. However, I know that the ideas we receive from local news and shows like Dr. Oz can lead to some measure of true knowledge when we understand them. I am able to accept the ideas that I get from the local news as true knowledge when I validate them through my senses. If I hear on the news that it is going to rain the next day, I believe it and trust it but I am not certain of it until I am able to experience it for myself. When the next day comes and it begins to rain I know that what I heard on television was the truth because I feel raindrops falling my skin, I hear the rain hitting the ground and the rooftops, and it is not bright outside because the rainclouds are covering the sun. My sense perception gives me several ideas that I can find a relationship between the ideas that come from each of these different sensations. I arrive at a smaller conclusion that is the complex idea that this is rain. I can also use logic and reason from other knowledge that I have about how rain comes to be, that the clouds fill up with moisture and it eventually falls from the sky in small drops of water, I can come to this conclusion from my memories of experiences from the past days. If I remember experiencing a warm, muggy feeling, then I can logically believe that the rain happening today was inevitable because the clouds couldn`t hold any more moisture. I could also come to this conclusion through intuition because I and all people since the beginning of time have experienced rain since birth, it immediately comes to my understanding that it is raining and I cannot question it. At this point, I am certain that it is raining and the prediction that I heard on the television was true. Similarly, when I am watching a self-help television program like Dr. Oz, I am watching it for advice that I can get and later decide whether it works and then whether I can get knowledge from it. If I hear about a health and wellness tip that sounds interesting to me, my first assessment is to try it. The same unchanging process goes into validating this information, if I am able to understand the ideas then I receive them as true knowledge.
It’s true that we cannot always be sure that things we see and hear on television programs are true, or completely true, but if or when they are true, understanding the information presented can give us some form of true knowledge. It is important to attain knowledge about one`s health and it is also important for one to attain knowledge about their surroundings. These types of information are important whether they come from television, a book, or conversation, but television is a quicker, more convenient way to attain knowledge.
Born in the early 1930’s, Neil Postman had a very biased opinion on television. As he saw all the changes that were happening to society because of the rapid advancements in technology, he became unhappy with how fast people were adapting to it. His way of communicating was very rigid and persuasive; his “black and white” statements showed his frustration and his communication style showed that he was very closed minded and had no interest in listening. Postman didn’t only have grievances about television, but computers as well! Postman was a very smart man and there is definitely some truth to the things he said, but I’d like to point out some of the things he believed that I do not agree with and why. Neil Postman saw the television as solely a device for entertainment. He did not think that any of the information presented on television had any use other than to amuse the viewer. He stated this because he believed that the ideas presented on television had not been examined to see if they came from one of the unchanging processes to attain true knowledge. What he failed to think about, or maybe just failed to state, is that the information obtained from an informative and serious television program, such as local and world news or a documentary style program can be used as the foundation to create permanent and true knowledge through these thinking processes, processes such as logic, intuition, or sensation. Postman also believes that everything coming from television is irrelevant and people are placing import on this information without reason, saying that it has BECOME our culture and changed our definition on reality, truth and knowledge. Now I do agree that there are some television programs that are so highly irrelevant and incoherent and can really distort a person’s perception of reality. These programs are programs that are referred to as “reality” television, soap operas, sit-coms, and dramas. These programs are mainly used for entertainment and are not learning tools. But there is much more to television than what Neil Postman is saying. There are plenty of television programs that are meant to inform and give knowledge to people. Local news is an important form of television that helps people understand what is going on in their community in order to keep them safe and healthy. Whether this is referred to by Postman as “temporary knowledge” or “permanent knowledge” does not matter because news always changes. However, just because it is not a necessity for this kind of knowledge to be permanent (requiring an unchanging process of obtaining it), it does not make it any less important. If Neil Postman would have liked to spend his days walking around entire cities to figure out what is going on, that would be good for him, but most people don’t have the time for that and need to find out local information in 1 hour daily newscasts. Self-help shows that are hosted by doctors are also not full of useless entertainment and can be a great way to attain knowledge. Now that I’ve established that not all information from television is useless, I’d like to discuss how this important information can become true knowledge. People are completely in control of themselves, they are able to choose what they want to view on television. Useless information is not forced down the throats of people like Postman is trying to convey. People can choose when they want to watch television, which program they want to watch, and which segments can be of use to them. From this, they are able to choose which ideas they consider to be important or of use to them (they can write these ideas down or keep them in their mind. Once the ideas they found interesting are in their brains, they are able to create a framework of relationships between these ideas in order to deal with the complex questions they have about the topic. In order to have true knowledge, the person may come to a conclusion through: intuition- accepting the conclusion that comes right to them in the most clear and distinct manner, logical thinking that makes mathematical sense and causes them to know that the knowledge cannot be contradicted, or through sensation- being able to or having already experienced the situation or object in discussion. This way, viewers are able to attain true knowledge from information they received from television. I don’t see what part of that Postman considers to be “drowning” in information with no control over it and do idea what to do with it. There is also no part of learning about one’s health or community events that is trivial or irrelevant. Although he is a smart man, Neil Postman is not a psychologist and he is therefore unqualified to express how people deal with the information they receive from television and how it affects their behaviour as anything more than a personal opinion. He is also not a sociologist, and is therefore not able to say that the information presented on television is not important to society. Postman is not an anthropologist and cannot say that “television has BECOME our culture”. Being educated in none of these areas, as well as having conducted zero research, citing no research essays or experiments, and being educated in education, the only thing Neil Postman is able to do is convince people to share his own grievances.
The popularity of makeover shows including home makeovers and clothing makeovers has raised along with the amount of money spent on home renovations and cosmetic procedures since 1996. Is this change in society completely based on the glorification it gets on television? Not exactly. While home and self improvement shows have definitely risen in popularity and show home renovation and cosmetic procedures to be easy, there has also been an increase in technology making cosmetic surgeries and procedures to be quicker, more accessible, and have a shorter recovery time. The way things are advertised have probably always tugged on people to do something to make themselves or their homes look more attractive, billboards and magazines are just two examples of places where people are told what they should look like. I still believe that television has something to do with all of this though, especially the home improvement movement. A lot of people who spend a lot of time watching morning/breakfast television will be drawn to home improvement, self improvement, and decorating. The reason people are drawn to these kinds of television shows is because they believe that they are learning ways to gain more control over the happiness they get in their lives by making themselves over. Each kind of television program has a different purpose, to inform, to entertain, to warn, to help, or to enlighten. The aim of each individual television program is determined by its creator. Some programs are not truthful and some are somewhat truthful. I would say that makeover shows are not very truthful and it is the responsibility of the viewer to decide how much of the program that they would like to accept as true knowledge. Because television is not always truthful in this area, the viewer should be aware of this and not rely solely on television to give them all the information they need in order to make a big life decision such as a home renovation or cosmetic surgery. People do get some form of knowledge from these shows but it in order to validate the truth of that knowledge, more research should be done. From seeing a television show like The Swan, a woman might be more inclined to get plastic surgery because of how easy and rewarding it seems on the show. This is not true knowledge because getting actual plastic surgery is dangerous, expensive, and the recovery time can be a long and painful process. This kind of television is meant for entertainment purposes and only small amounts of information should be accepted as true, this is why viewer discretion should be used. We cannot always be sure that we are getting completely informed when watching a television program, that is why the information must be processed in our minds before we accept any of it.
There are three types of television programs that I actually regularly watch; these types of programs are sit-coms, self-help shows and the news. I watch sit-coms for amusement and the news and self-help for knowledge. I do not believe that sit-coms are meant to teach or inform and the content of these programs is meant to amuse the viewer. I am aware of this and do not try and attain true knowledge from these programs nor do I believe that it is a good idea to replace true knowledge with amusement. However, I know that the ideas we receive from local news and shows like Dr. Oz can lead to some measure of true knowledge when we understand them. I am able to accept the ideas that I get from the local news as true knowledge when I validate them through my senses. If I hear on the news that it is going to rain the next day, I believe it and trust it but I am not certain of it until I am able to experience it for myself. When the next day comes and it begins to rain I know that what I heard on television was the truth because I feel raindrops falling my skin, I hear the rain hitting the ground and the rooftops, and it is not bright outside because the rainclouds are covering the sun. My sense perception gives me several ideas that I can find a relationship between the ideas that come from each of these different sensations. I arrive at a smaller conclusion that is the complex idea that this is rain. I can also use logic and reason from other knowledge that I have about how rain comes to be, that the clouds fill up with moisture and it eventually falls from the sky in small drops of water, I can come to this conclusion from my memories of experiences from the past days. If I remember experiencing a warm, muggy feeling, then I can logically believe that the rain happening today was inevitable because the clouds couldn`t hold any more moisture. I could also come to this conclusion through intuition because I and all people since the beginning of time have experienced rain since birth, it immediately comes to my understanding that it is raining and I cannot question it. At this point, I am certain that it is raining and the prediction that I heard on the television was true. Similarly, when I am watching a self-help television program like Dr. Oz, I am watching it for advice that I can get and later decide whether it works and then whether I can get knowledge from it. If I hear about a health and wellness tip that sounds interesting to me, my first assessment is to try it. The same unchanging process goes into validating this information, if I am able to understand the ideas then I receive them as true knowledge.
It’s true that we cannot always be sure that things we see and hear on television programs are true, or completely true, but if or when they are true, understanding the information presented can give us some form of true knowledge. It is important to attain knowledge about one`s health and it is also important for one to attain knowledge about their surroundings. These types of information are important whether they come from television, a book, or conversation, but television is a quicker, more convenient way to attain knowledge.