the big, bad tube living in our homes

Once upon a time, I used to be quite the TV addict. And since I was the impatient sort who could never wait to see what was gonna happen next in a particular television drama, I usually would end up watching my DVDs all night long. Right now, I've moved on and become addicted to the Internet. Ah wells.

Anyway, I guess I do relate to the idea that television promotes distorted views of life. The truth is that most television dramas tend to overdramatize situations, violence for one, as well as form unrealistic expectations of beauty and relationships. Television dramas such as the OC, 90210, Greek and Gossip Girl make teenagers all over America strive for the kind of unattainable perfection you can only see in the media, whereas dramas such as CSI, Criminal Minds and Bones makes you more wary of the people around you and gives you the impression that the crime rate is higher than it really is.

My concern is really about a hot favourite channel of teens - MTV. It's strange how overly sexualized MTV has become nowadays. They seem to portray a certain kind of lifestyle in their music videos and the reality shows that they produce such as The Hills and Laguna Beach.

What I've gathered from watching certain rap videos is firstly, it is cool to club all the time, secondly, guys who have rad dance moves are automatically chick magnets and thirdly, there are almost always multiple women surrounding a guy in a rap music video. For some reason, females aren't appalled by how sexist they are being portrayed; instead, they indirectly encourage the stereotyping.

The same goes for MTV reality shows; it has become the IN thing right now to be head to toe decked in branded goods and to be a 'fashionista' and work in the high fashion industry ala Lauren Conrad on the Hills. Because of television shows like that, our views and perceptions become extremely warped. Even people our age can be easily affected by all the glitz and the glamour portrayed on television, let alone the young and susceptible teenagers who are exposed to MTV.

Well, it definitely seems as though kids nowadays are all starting to watch MTV at a younger and younger age. Look at the influx of teen idols popping up recently - Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers. Their fan base are as young as 6 years old! Watching Disney channel is one thing, it's another thing to accidentally expose your kid to the content featured in MTV nowadays while trying to find a music program for he/she to watch.

Ultimately, television is just another form of entertainment. I think that it's fine for kids to watch it, as long as they stick within the right channels for their age groups. With the right parental guidance and information, I believe that we all aren't that affected by television afterall.