Do Television Shows Influence Who We Are?
If you talk to people about their favorite television shows they’ll give you the names of what’s popular on ABC or NBC. These shows which range in genre tend to capture the interests of different demographics who make special times in their day to catch the program. Studies show that the average American watches 20 hours of network television a week, but can it be possible that this fascination influences our everyday lives personally?
I know that sounds funky, but it’s an interesting scenario that happens too often. Have you ever noticed one of your friends change their appearance, voice, and interests based on a character on a television show. Since Americans have a variety of shows to choose from, they can pick and choose subconsciously to which show connects with them on a personal level. Now day’s characters on television can be seen on the internet and on physical advertisements, so they travel with you all day. This phenomena can do damage to one’s psyche; especially if they see these characters more than members in their family.
So what is it about these characters that inspire viewers?
Television shows offer viewers a chance to get involved in the lives of the characters. These relationships often correlate with the persons profession or hobby. Like the average housewife who watches network television might watch Desperate Housewives, or the working father may watch 24. These shows spark the interests of viewers, causing them to tune in every week. These shows are generally an hour, but now that the episodes are available online, viewers can go watch their favorite shows longer, depending on the show.
Members of my household watch an average of 30 hours of TV a week. Since 2/3 of my family is out of the house most of the day at either work or school, this leaves the third member of my family alone watching TV. Now this isn’t a good scenario, but it’s what’s happening currently, so I’m surprised when this person talks to me about fictional oddity’s that are seen in television.
This adoption of image is not an uncommon trend for Americans, and its effects are rarely talked about or studied. An acquaintance of mine, for example basis her fashion, dialect, and sense of humor off a character off her favorite ABC show. She watches television during the week literally from 8pm to 1am every day, and has become a mere image of what she’s watching on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that could affect a larger audience in the future.
Americans are becoming more and more immobile, relying too heavily on machines to provide entertainment. This along with the current economic climate gives people more time to watch television. If consumers continue to watch their favorite shows regularly they should make sure their minds can perform an activity during the commercials to keep themselves distracted. This will help their minds from getting too glued to the screen.
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Dustin Ruttenberg is a writer for the DePaulia at DePaul University.Since moving to Chicago from the SF Bay Area,he's been involved in a number of different blogs, where he has written about college sports and Chicago's local music scene. Like many his age, Dustin has been influenced by the benefits of social media, and so his perspectives should appeal to the masses. In his spare time, Dustin's a DJ on Radio DePaul, where he features local Chicago artists.