Effects Of TV On The Brain
- TVÂ has everything you need to program the mind!
- Your Subconscious thinks TV is real!
- 5-6 hours is the average amount of time people watch TV each day!
- TV physically damages the brain and reduces intelligence! Â
You may be surprised to see TV here as a means for influencing the mind, but I decided to include it because 1) almost everyone watches T.V and 2) the basic technology is used in more advanced forms of mind control.
T.V is therefore an excellent example of how to influence the mind due to its effects on the brain.Â
The Effects Of TV On The Brain
1 - Watching TV puts the viewer into a highly suggestible sleep like hypnotic state. This provides easy access to the subconscious.
2 - When you watch TV, brain activity switches from the left side of your brain (responsible for logical thought and critical analysis) to the right side.
This is significant because the right side of the brain does not critically analyze incoming information, instead it uses an emotional response. This means there is little or no analysis of incoming information.
3 - Right brain activity causes the body to release chemicals which make it feel good (these are called endorphins, a natural sedative with similar properties to heroin).
It is therefore not only possible, but probable, to become physically addicted to TV. This ensures constant daily exposure, a critical factor needed to program the mind.
4 - Reduces higher brain activity, promoting activity in lower brain regions. In other words it makes you less intelligent and behave more like an animal.
A Perfect Tool To Program The MindÂ
As you can see, TV is an excellent tool to program the mind. It provides easy access to the subconscious, reduces your ability to analyse incoming information and ensures constant daily exposure via a physical addiction. So why don’t I recommend it to program your mind?
The main reason is that you have no control over what is coming into your mind, somethings may be good, others bad. I also have concern whether everything I consciously see, is all that there is to be seen. For example…
- Are subliminal suggestions being hidden in advertisements? (such as the word RATS used by the Bush campaign on an Al Gore advert).
- Are words and phrases being used in specifically crafted ways to influence your thoughts? (terror alert, fair and balanced etc…).
- Is TV creating a sense of fear within the subconscious, effecting growth and healing of the body? (e.g. constant exposure to death & murder, such as on the news).
- Does TV make the general population feel powerless and inadequate? (e.g. by being surrounded with beautiful, slim and rich celebrities, who people then compare themselves against).
Unfortunately the answers to these questions are yes, yes, yes and yes. Whilst there are many other examples I could provide, the important point is to recognize that TV is an ideal means for programming the mind.
But who is doing the programming? And do they have our best interests at heart?
For more information on TV mind programming and videos of the above examples see What Are Subliminal Messages. For more information about TV advertisements, see this video.
The Brain Thinks TV Is Real!Â
You may think that TV does no harm because you know it’s not real, but did you know that your subconscious believes it to be real? (this is why your heart beats faster whilst watching horror films).
TV And The Army
After the 2nd World War the US Army recognised the need to create a soldier that was more willing to kill. This came after reports that many soldiers would purposely miss or aim low when shooting the enemy. Soldiers did not want to kill, and when they did kill they would feel lots of remorse.
To remedy this, one method that was used (amongst others) was to watch violent images on screen, especially before going into battle. The effect was to desensitize the solider to violence, thereby making them more willing to kill.
Skip forward 50 years to the Iraq war and what do you see? “Hi 5’s” and cheers after shooting or bombing the enemy. That’s programming for you!
Some now feel that the negative effects of TV violence are being passed on to young children, who often imitate what they see on screen.
5-6 Hours Of Programming A Day
On average people watch 5-6 hours of TV a day and this is why I have discussed it first. This amount of TV will make it almost impossible to reprogram your own mind (unless viewing is eliminated or reduced).
This figure is only an average, many people (especially children) watch far more than this.
This not only programs their mind from an early age, but may also damage their brain causing them to grow up and behave more like an animal than a human (i.e driven by basic desires such as sex, violence and food).
If you would like more information on the effects of TV on the brain see this article.Â
Make Sure You Are Programming The Brain, Not Your TV!
If you want to program your subconscious for success then you must make sure that YOU are doing the programming not someone else!
The following articles will discuss techniques that allow you to do this. If you are unable to see the video below on how TV changes belief systems, you need to install the free adobe flash player.
Extra Information -
Please see the comments directly below this article for additional information on TV and how it effects you.Â
If you would like to watch films or documentaries for free you can find them here :Â free films on the Internet.
How TV Shapes Your Beliefs
Email This
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:22 am
Thanks for the information. I liked your article. I should have known. I must admit watching TV has really an effect on me.
September 17th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
This site is very usefull. im doing a science fair project and your site is helping alot on finding the info requirred for my project!
Thank you ALOT!
September 18th, 2007 at 7:20 am
excellent! good luck on your project!
October 11th, 2007 at 10:41 am
This message needs to be in every home. Please send more information if possible. I want to promote this needed truth.
Good job on the project.
October 27th, 2007 at 3:31 am
This is so true. TV is really a big waste of time. We watch TV for hours together and don’t realize how much time is wasted.
Instead we can do something productive and constructive.
Keep up the good work!
Cheers.
Aftab
November 1st, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Hi,
Do you not approve watching news as well?
And the programs which make you more knowledgable,
Thanks for your response
November 1st, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Hi Sandeep
I prefer not to watch the news for 2 main reasons:
1 - The news is mainly filled with negative information, very rarely is there positive or uplifting news. This affects you subconsciously, instillng fear into the mind.
2 - i do not believe the news that is shown on tv is completely truthful and unbiased. Many things of importance are not reported.
If you would like to learn more about the news and how it is reported watch this excellent documentary.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6737097743434902428&q=outfoxed&total=227&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
In terms of watching educational videos, i do watch them and feel they can be great sources of information. However the effects of TV on the brain discussed in this article will still apply.
November 13th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Yikes - I’d hate to see the take on video games - LOL
November 13th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
dood. so tru.
and who rote this?
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:48 pm
what would be the effects of watching too much porn?
November 23rd, 2007 at 5:55 am
Watching TV regardless of content will still have the same basic effects on the brain. However certain content may change your attitudes or beliefs regarding certain things.
For example watching violent films may increase violent behaviour, and encourage the use of bad language.
Regarding porn, i did see a study on the effects of porn on males once. From memory i recall it mentioning something about lowering mens opinions of women, and seeing them more as sex objects.
It also mentioned about how watching porn can reduce sexual performance in males (when with a woman) and that there was a negative effect it had on relationships.
Overall the message was that it reduced a males chances to attract and date women. When men did form a relationship with women it usually did not last very long.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I quit television nearly 2 years ago and am quite happy that I did so. Can’t say it will be permanent, but I find I sleep better than I did. Could be as simple as I go to sleep when I am tired rather than watch television. Or could be that my brain isn’t being put into a coma for a few hours a day making it unready for sleep. Who knows. All I know is I am very happy to not watch the news.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Hi David,
Yes you are right, TV can have an effect on sleeping patterns. Although this will vary between individuals, some being more susceptible to sleep disruption than others.
You may be interested in this article about TV and sleep
http://www.mattress.com/Howdidyousleeplastnight/Sleep_tv.aspx
There was also a study done on sleep patterns and tv viewing. You can view the report here
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/104/3/e27
Many people fall asleep whilst watching tv, due to its effect on brainwaves. Slowing them down into a sleep like state.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Thx for this very informative article. This article provided the sufficient information I needd for my speech( which I got an A on).
November 29th, 2007 at 12:39 am
excellent well done!
November 29th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
i stopped watching tv on november 27th 2007.
instead of tv i read books on my computer, listen to music or draw.
i feel better
November 30th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Thats good new Deven, and that certaintly will benefit you, especially the brain. It will be interesting to see how long you can go without watching TV before the desire to watch returns.
Stopping watching TV completely can be a very difficult thing to do, although if you can go 30 days without TV you stand a very good chance.
However with that said I don’t think occasionally watching TV is a problem, its when you spend several hours every day that you can start to do damage to yourself. But stopping watching and reading like you are doing can help to repair any damage caused by the TV to the brain.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Its not the TV taking over your mind.. its your mind becoming attached to the TV.. Accept the television for what it is and take control of your lives. Stop believing everything you read or hear!! The world is big enough to find evidence for anything you would want to porve..
December 14th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I wish this was the case, unfortunately there is much scientific evidence to prove otherwise. For example, your brainwaves do slow down and you are put into a hypnotic state whilst watching TV (this can easily be measured). This is largely due to the design of the technology. Please see the scientific studies i have linked to, there is lots of hard evidence out there about the damaging effects of TV.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Hello,
I am doing a report for school on the effects that telivion and video games have on the imagion and was wondering if you have any resources on this.
Thanks
December 16th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Hi Scott,
TV has been shown to decrease creativity, so while doing this project you may want to stop watching TV to ensure you produce the best work possible.
In general you want to focus on the effects of TV on the brain, and how this effects creativity.
To start I would focus on how TV slows down brainwaves, putting the viewer into a sleep like state. In addition i would also mention that TV viewing decreases brain activity because when watching TV the brain doesn’t have to construct images by itself.
For example when reading if talked about a ps2 your brain would have to make up that image itself, and so will require greater brain activity than if you saw a ps2 on TV.
If you do not challenge your brain very often, this will lead a reduction in creativity as you are not used to thinking for yourself.
Here are some articles on effects of tv on brainwaves and creativity of the mind.
http://www.corporations.org/media/tv.html
http://dieoff.org/page24.htm
http://www.cyc-net.org/today2001/today010907.html
http://www.chicagowaldorf.org/newsletter/school-bulletin-for-the-week-of-december-13-2006
http://www.br-online.de/jugend/izi/english/televizion/16_2003_1/e_singer_television.htm
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro05/web2/xlim.html
I also would discuss how this effects child and adult life, for example links between TV viewing and ADHD in children and Alzheimer’s in adults. This is directly linked to under activity of the brain. Remember, a healthy brain is an active brain, when it is not used it begins to weaken and break down.
Here are some articles on this
http://www.neuropsychiatryreviews.com/may04/npr_may04_excessiveTV.html
http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp?slug=ADHD%20Toddlers
http://www.mindfully.org/Health/2004/ADHD-TV-Link5apr04.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1204894.stm
You may also want to mention the effects of tv on sleep, which i provided a link to in an earlier comment. You may want to incorporate that study with the following research which talks about the importance of sleep for creativity. This can be another way tv reduces creativity by affecting sleep.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/21/sleep.creativity.ap/index.html
So basically focus on how TV effects the brain, and how it reduces brain activity which then reduces creative and independent thinking skills.
Maybe you could structure your report something like this?
Start by saying what the aim of your report is
Briefly describe what creativity is
What happens to your brain when you watch TV (this will be the meat of your report) for example, imaging in the brain, brainwaves, concentration, brain activity etc.. show studies that talk about school performance and watching tv
Possible harmful effects of TV in child and adult life, e.g. ADHD, Alzheimer’s due to under use of brain
conclusion - what does the evidence suggest. is tv good or bad for creativity? and why.
additional resources -
http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/school.html
http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/alpha.html
http://changingchannels.org/pages/articles.php
http://www.screenblock.com/data.htm
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,3984,00.html
http://www.myfavoriteezines.com/articles/TV-watching-pros-cons.html
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s1532785xmep0603_3
http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/article/id1149/pg2/
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/
http://uaedining.com/ShowPage.aspx?PageID=216
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3197375.stm
http://books.google.com/books?id=58kUg63ASpwC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=watching+tv+decreases+imagination+in+children&source=web&ots=rJtxJvBOFv&sig=Bs8XDMINkMD9kvtqlF7dZp2DqNU#PPA110,M1
Video Games -
I am not really sure about the effects of video games on creativity but here are 2 studies you may want to look at
http://www.newsflash.org/2002/09/si/si001321.htm
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro02/web3/mschlimme.html
I would just point out that it really depends on the type of video game you play. Give examples of different types of games, in particular educational games that are on the nintendo ds. i wrote an article about how nintendo ds was used to improve children’s grades at school in the mind power section. So some games (learning based games) can improve creativity.
I would very much be interested in reading your final report and possibly publishing it on this website when it is finished. So if you don’t mind please send me a copy when you are done.
Martin
December 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Thanks, you helped alot.
December 24th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
umm..what exactly would be the procedure of this project?
i am doing a science fair project just like it. THANK YOU!
December 27th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
This is not a project, just an article i wrote. Although many people seem to find it useful for their science fair project!
Scott was writing about the effects of TV and video games on imagination.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I had a dream . . .
that I would finally sever the TV sat cable and go on living a successful, gratifying life and be challenged.
I did it, on the 25 of January 2008 at about 2 past midnight!!
I found that after lot of exposure to TV (would personify myself with characters and motifs on the tube) I would get depresses (especially in the morning) because I havn’t done anything the night before. I reckoned that I could just limit watching TV but there was often a relapse on my part. By simply cutting out TV altogether I feel absolutely free, I’m law unto myself! In the back of my mind, I can assure myself that if I wanted to enjoy a film, I could always grab one in a store SeleCtively!, thereby making me more attentive and critical instead of being slow. By using by freetime in this way I can lay the ghost of the past.
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:26 pm
wow im very impressed, such posotive and intrieguing work thankyou for this great informative article, i was oblivious to just how detrimental Tv is. Im writing an A-level article reguarding the effects on infants and children and this is a great resource thankyou very much and keep up the good work geting the message out there x
February 6th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
wow That is really cool
February 6th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
i mean scary
February 13th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Found this article today called “The Myth Of Educational TV”.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080212/tv_nm/sigman_dc
February 15th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
hi,
I have a project on how tv distort people’s estimate of affluence in real world…your article has been a great help for me.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Hi,
I am giving a speech in a few days. I was given a real court case and i have to prove the innocence of a 15 yr old who burglarized a home then shot the 80 yr old woman inside then took off in her car. The defense is pleading not guilty by reasons of insanity due to watching 6 hours or more of tv a day, loving crime shows, and had just finished a movie which had a similar scene in which he had just committed. Do you have any links or any information to try to prove that tv can make one go insane, or possibly the fact that the brain never switched back “on” leaving in a state where he was brainwashed and diddnt know what he was doing was wrong?
Thanks
February 18th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
…and one more thing…your site has been very helpful but i have to give reasons as to why my sources are credibile. Are you just a journalist, or do you have a degree of some sort in this field?…oh and could you tell me where you recieved your infomation about the army and tv as well?
Thanks again
February 19th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Ok, well there are studies which claim to show an increase in violence with TV viewing. If you have a look at the links I provide, you should be able to get more information to support that claim.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1949427.stm
http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/reports/stateindustryviolence/main.asp
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/310/6975/273
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/TF33120/tv-violence_and_kids.html
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/violence_entertainment.cfm
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=1108
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2109-tv-viewing-linked-to-adult-violence.html
http://www.tgorski.com/news_analysis/child_tv_violence_linked_to_adult_violence.htm
http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME05/MIRROR/Msnbc.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1899533.stm
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/301205mindcontrol.htm
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2006/020206torture.htm
http://www.apa.org/releases/media_violence.html
http://www.ppu.org.uk/education/media_violence_survey-c.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/parenting/03/28/kids.tv.violence/index.html
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/research_documents/reports/violence/nat_tv_violence.cfm
Although you must be prepared for counter arguments, as some believe there is no link between TV and violence.
http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME05/Television_aggression.shtml
Personally I do believe TV has an effect, although there are many other factors to consider. Was this person on any kind of psychotropic drug (e.g Ritalin, Prozac etc…)? There seems to be strong link between these drugs and violent shootings. There is more information here…
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/2000-05-16-School-Shootings-Psychotropic-Drugs.htm
Video games are another factor to consider, especially for the age range you are talking about. Video games seem to increase and develop an instinctive firing response.
What this means is that if you see something pop up in front of you, you become trained to shoot it without thinking. Like a reflex action. If you look at the military and their training, you will see that in WW1 and WW2 soldiers were less willing to kill than they are today.
One of the training programs implemented after WW2, was to train soldiers by having them shoot at things that pop out at them unexpectedly. This helped to develop an instinctive firing response.
Today we see a more advanced form of this in video games. The US Army has even created a video game called Americas Army, and it is known they use video games for training. Here is some more information about this…
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0%2C13190%2C122704_SubstanceAbuse%2C00.html?ESRC=dod.nl
http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2002/10/can_videogames.html
http://tkdtutor.com/06Concepts/Psychology/Killing.htm
this link has some good information about the army
http://enmasse.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?p=133459&sid=a14b60189e91ee586d087b456bc69cbc
http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/211037.html
So TV viewing, psychotropic drugs and video games all seem to be key factors in violent behavior. Other factors to consider could include location, is the area known for guns or gangs? Poverty is usually interlinked with this.
If you are giving a speech and your audience is going to make a decision immediately after you speak, it would be best to go after the first person has spoken. This will invoke something called the recency effect, and your points will still be fresh in your audiences mind.
People will remember the first and last parts of your presentation the most. So use those parts wisely, and make sure you conclude your main points properly. Make it very clear the conclusion you have come to, otherwise the audience will come to their own conclusion.
Repetition of key points will also enhance acceptance of them.
In general, try to make every word count. Speak simply, clearly and to the point. Try to avoid technical jargon, and use commonly used words.
Also use pauses for dramatic effect, or to highlight key points. Do not talk without pauses. This lessens the impact of your message, and makes it seem rushed.
If you can use vivid, graphic, descriptive language, this will make your presentation more powerful. A good way to do this is through a story. This creates interest in the audience, and will stay in their mind. For you this could include a quick description of the crime.
If you have a complex idea, use analogies to make them easily understood.
If possible use visual aids. Today people are very visual, and so images or charts will add greater impact to your message and make it more memorable.
You could even use shock tactics with images. This will also gain you attention and interest from the audience. For example, show a picture from a 1950s movie, then show something from today, like a torture scene from Hostel. However make sure you make eye contact with the audience, rather than continually look at your visuals.
I understand your need for valid references. Hopefully you will be able to find some amongst the links I provided. This site is not meant for research, but rather general information and public awareness of key issues. That’s why I don’t reference anything, as it’s more of a casual information site expressing my thoughts and information I have researched in the past.
Yes I do have a degree, which I obtained here in England. My field of interest largely focuses on the brain.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Thank you so much!!!
and thanks for the tips about speaking…but I only have 3-4 min to talk so not sure if i can do the whole pausig thing. I have so much research on this topic now that it is very difficult to condense it to only 3 min of talking.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Your welcome Victoria. Good luck on your speech!
March 19th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Martin,
Im doing a research paper on the negative effects of the media on the brain. Alot of what you said I agree with completely however due to the fact that this is a research paper I cannot quote you unless I provide statistical information to back up what has been quoted. I would greatly appreciate it if you knew of studies that proove that television induces a hypnotic state, causes the viewer to think less intelligently, shows right brain stimulation over left, prooves that t.v can be addictive. If you have knowledge of such articles or studies please share them. Also If you think there may be some other statistics or studies that could be of assistance I would appreciate those. Thank you for the help.
Big Al
March 21st, 2008 at 4:53 am
Hi Big Al, Here are some articles you may find helpful regarding television, brainwaves and addiction. I have included some other articles for general reference.
You may find it easier to right click and then open the article in a new tab.
http://www.salient.org.nz/features/television-tune-into-static
http://www.tri-vision.ca/documents/TV_Addiction.pdf
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=0005339B-A694-1CC5-B4A8809EC588EEDF (original source of link above)
http://truthaddictsanon.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-television-is-doing-to-you.html
http://fleurdelalune.blogspot.com/2005/10/medical-facts-about-watching-tv.html
http://www.causeof.org/brainwaves.htm
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1979-03-01/Television-Dims-Mind.aspx?page=3
http://www.trance.ch/papers/interview.htm
http://www.whale.to/b/television.html
http://www.sondraslair.com/television.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers216.html
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20060218.htm
http://earthops.org/cult/influence.txt
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/addiction/addiction.html
http://www.mondediplofriends.org.uk/documents/sigman_voodoo1260.pdf
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB9-4HMFJGJ-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=37b210ce645b7d4c32d621d0dab6364e
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro05/web2/xlim.html
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s1532785xmep0603_3
here are some additional links
http://www.mackwhite.com/tv.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/TVADHD.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/brainwash.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/2006/03mar/massmindcontrol.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/news/2005/03mar/tvminds.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/news/2005/04apr/tvbully.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/news/2004/TVhealth.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/winterwonderland/dreamtv.html
http://kentroversypapers.blogspot.com/2005/06/tivo-disrupts-tv-viewers-hypnotic.html
http://tvsmarter.com/documents/websites.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060425015643.htm
http://www.theturning.org/folder/tuningout.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4795287.stm
March 21st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Thanks so much Martin
March 27th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
do u disaprove watching shows such as animal planet and discovery chanlel and what about sports?
March 29th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Hi Hannah,
Watching TV regardless of content still has the same basic effects on the brain.
Does this mean you should not watch TV at all? Well that is for you to decide.
I do watch TV occasionally, mainly documentaries, although I also enjoy watching films. However I know that when I do watch TV I am damaging my brain and reducing my intelligence.
There certaintly are benefits watching educational documentaries, although the negatives outweigh the positives, so I feel it is best to limit TV and read more instead.
The only people I disprove of watching TV are young children, because they do not know about the harmful effects of TV and their brain is still developing which makes the effects even more harmful.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Thank you so much for this article! I was just wondering where you found the study about the training the soldiers to go fight after WW2- Thanks!
April 16th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Hi Atara,
Here are some links you may find useful :
http://www.focusonyourchild.com/develop/art1/A0001089.html
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0316330116?filterBy=addFiveStar
http://enmasse.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?p=133459&sid=a14b60189e91ee586d087b456bc69cbc
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0517-09.htm
http://www.neiluchitel.com/?p=155
http://davecoop.net/killing.htm
http://www.west.net/~antipas/magazine/articles/trained_to_kill.html
http://www.thewe.cc/contents/more/archive2004/august/ww2_soldiers_did_not_kill.htm
http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/2007/08/soldiers-who-don-shoot-and-those-who-do.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001984566_combat21.html
Although watching violent images on screen certainly may desensitize someone to violence, I am not suggesting that watching violent films will turn you into a trained killer. Rather it is a useful aid, in conjunction with other training methods.
One of the changes that were made to army training was to increase the realism of that training. So for example, rather than shooting at pop up targets that looked like a target (i.e. a bulls eye) soldiers began firing at more realistic looking targets that resembled people.
This was primarily designed to overcome the soldier’s natural desire not to fire at a person, whilst also creating an instinctive firing response, whereby they become trained to shoot rapidly when a threat appears (rather than hesitate and risk being killed).
Because technology is far more advanced today, training can be made even more realistic. In live fire exercises some training grounds incorporate a variety of special effects to make the experience as realistic as possible.
Training may also occur via computer games, or virtual reality simulators. One of the first games used for this purpose was a game called Doom.
One game which is now used for training, and attracting new recruits, is called Americas Army and was produced by the US Army. It is designed to be as realistic as possible, both in terms of locations and weapons a solider is likely to encounter.
With computers getting even more powerful, games are becoming more and more realistic. A good example of this is Call of Duty 4.
All of these training techniques serve to desensitize a person to violence, which means that it will take increasing amounts of violence to shock a person. A good example of this can be seen with children and horror films.
When a child first watches a horror film, they are likely to find it very scary and be scared by it. However over time, the more horror films they watch the less likely they are to be scared by them.
Eventually there will come a time when they are no longer scared by these films, and will require more extreme and violent forms of horror to be disturbed.
This has lead to ever increasing amounts of violence and gore, both in films and video games. So much so that now more violence and gore is considered to be “better”.
In fact the film maker Quentin Tarantino once commented about this trend, by saying something along the lines that making films is easy. You just give the people what they want, violence and gore.
There are now many sites on the internet which now provide people who have become desensitized to “traditional violence” with videos of real executions, real suicides/murders and accidents captured on film.
I would not be surprised if in the near future we see live executions on TV. But what will happen when people become densitized to that?
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 am
I’ve something similar for video games… on the nintendo ds i believe.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Very interesting topic here… certainly watching stations such as MTV, reality shows, and music videos everyday are the most negative influences. It is possible to watch sensible shows, discovery, animal planet, history channel, and other such channels and come out more knowledgable than before watching. As well, the same TV shows may affect different people in different ways. Some may be very strong and not easily influenced by TV while others may get carried away.
The producers don’t care at all, they will do whatever it takes to get the ratings and the cash. 20 years ago no one would have dared to broadcast anything to do with gays and lesbians, today it is common on TV (shows like will and grace, tila tequila, etc). Today we might think that it would be terrible to broadcast things such as executions, but who knows what the future holds.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Actually, gay and lesbian issues were first addressed, albeit in a comical way, in the 70s by shows such as “Three’s Company”, “Soap”, and singular episodes of programs such as “All in the Family” and “MASH”.
Martin, can TV ever be educational? If so, how? Is there any benefit to watching TV (including videos and DVDs)? Is watching images online (e.g. YouTube) just as bad a watching broadcast television? Thanks for the info!
July 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Hi Jim,
I believe TV can be educational, especially in todays society where people watch TV far more than they read.
However there are still the negative affects of TV which must be taken into consideration. So if using TV for education it should be done in moderation.
When it comes to children, TV should ideally be eliminated completely as their brains are still developing.
So yes, TV can be educational, but it is also harmful at the same time. However anything done in moderation generally tends to be ok.
There was something very interesting i heard on the radio a few days ago. It was about stage hypnotists. They said that around 50 years ago, about 25% of the audience were naturally very sugestible and could be hypnotised very easily.
Today this figure is closer to 65%, whereby the majority of the audience can be easily hypnotised.
One of the reasons given for this was the increase in TV viewing, which over time can make people very sugestible to sugestion, turning them into “zombie” like creatures.
In terms of watching images online via the computer, i don’t know. However i have long suspected that watching images via a computer is less harmful than watching them via a traditional TV.
Although i believe it still is harmful to the brain (but to a lesser extent) as typically these images have been encoded which compresses the image and alters its structure. Somewhat similiar to how mp3 encodings alter a pure wav file.
I do virtually all my viewing via a computer, and do notice a difference when watching a standard TV. So maybe it is better, but its certaintly not good for you!
July 30th, 2008 at 5:09 am
i’m not sure if i know from experience or not, but seriously people that watch TV all night could be doing much more with their time and some get nothing out of it at all except a way to spend their time after work.
also, it seems that a computer could be capable of similar effects, such as in a game meant to be played for long hours, or simply a movie watched on the screen.