The 21st century is an era fascinated with and centered on the vast amount of growth in the technology industry. Science benefits from new computing powers and new sources of energy. Accessing a variety of cultures and connecting with people is simple and fun thanks to the Internet and social media. Even entertainment is moving away from the physical world and into a more technological sphere. Let’s face it — why bother attending a play when we can binge watch “Parks and Recreation” and eat pizza rolls in bed?
Clearly, our lives are connected to the world through our screens. Beautiful things stem from our relationship with electronics, and there is an ugly truth to it all: Technology is slowly turning our minds to mush.
I’m not saying screen time makes kids stupid or deteriorates the value of the arts, but there is something atrocious that’s been normalized when it comes to our interactions with machines. People are becoming more and more enthralled with engaging in mindless staring contests with their screens.
When it comes to sourcing entertainment from technology, I’m concerned with the lack of intellectual stimulation. I fancy myself a good cartoon every now and again, and I think we can all appreciate a good, farcical show plotting a rabbit against a hunter or what have you. However — and maybe I’m just losing my 11-year-old interests here — it seems like cartoons nowadays are mere junk. If I had a family, I don’t think I’d like my li’l squirts plopping down in front of the picture box every Saturday morning. Instead of irony and wit and reversals and true humor, cartoons have evolved to the point where it’s essentially stupid characters interacting with stupid situations. Why are shows like “Uncle Grandpa” this popular?
Cartoons are more visually pleasing than ever. I think cartoons have turned away from comedy, something that requires at least an attentive mind to appreciate, and toward pure visual stimulation, which encourages the minds of our youth to shut off for a while.
Advertisements are equally as disgusting. I don’t know how TV and Internet users have been so tolerant for so long. For a generation accustomed to speed and accuracy, we sure do allow for quite an amount of distraction and useless material to poison the source of whatever we’re watching. Need I give examples? Perhaps not, but I believe it is necessary to do so.
Let’s start in the physical world. Take a trip to New York and I’m sure you will find particular places bejeweled with advertisements. The screens are huge, colorful and bold. They are there to catch your attention and distract your eyes from anything else. Now in this case, the advertisements aren’t particularly “evil,” as they usually don’t take away from any other engaging experience. But they’ve become commonplace and they simply take up space. Frankly, ads aren’t effective anymore. If people want something nowadays, we Google it, find the best value and have it shipped to us. We choose our products without the influence of advertisements most of the time, yet we allow them to take up entire buildings in Downtown New York? There’s just really no need anymore.
Let’s move to the virtual world of advertisements. I understand the business value of commercials and advertising, but should we really allow for so much of it? Of course not. Don’t let stupid things distract you from wonderful things.
It’s an inconsistent punishment for your poor brain. You could be researching or learning about nature, and all of a sudden you see an ad about deodorant or a loud man yelling at you about cars. There is no other situation in which humans allow for such blatant interruption of mindful activity. The time for advertising is behind us.
Commercials, simply put, are a pain in the ads.
