How ContourTV is Ruining Us
To be fair, it isn't JUST Contour--- but as I watched their commercial for the gazillionth time telling me how great it would be if all my entertainment was selected for me based on what someone else thinks my interests are (or should be), I couldn't help but wonder why we are cheerfully engaging in--even paying for--mind control. Is it so convenient to let others do our thinking for us, that we are willing to trade in our freedom of thought, exploration, and wonder?
As a rabid fan of libraries I used to wander the stacks browsing through all variety of subjects. In general people might expect me to read about religion, philosophy, or classic literature (which I do), but on one occasion I happened upon "Faust in Coppenhagen" in the science section. It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time and started a love-affair with physics. (That's right Dr. Grabask, despite sleeping through most of my science classes I am now voluntarily reading about physics.) The ability to wander about looking around at the unfamiliar-even distasteful- creates opportunity for expanding our minds, perspectives, and compassion. Yes, it can be more uncomfortable to switch from a news channel that only reports things out of a worldview I already share, but is comfort my ultimate reason for watching the news?
What started as a sort of nifty convenience where Amazon was going to make a few suggestions of books I might like based on my consumption history, has grown like fungus into every aspect of my life. This do-as-I-tell-you marketing culture feeds me everything I need to grow more deeply entrenched in my tendencies--good or bad. Facebook will only display what the algorithms predict I should enjoy; the library's e-service will make the first 150 recommendations based on what I've read---even if that means continuously displaying the books I've already read. One might think that such a soft and squishy landing strip for our intellects would result in a more peaceful community, but read a few threads of comments on ANY topic at all, and you will see that instead it tends to reduce what might have been an opportunity for constructive dialogue into a vicious my-team-against-your-team duel to the death.
Never was this more apparent to me than when I received a series of emails from a list-serve to which I had subscribed. Filled with name-calling and character-bashing, the anger and hate attacking my eyes through the screen was flavored with a shot of righteousness because the author assumed I would share in it. I was amazed. The list-serve? Pax Christi.
I recently saw a "cross-over" talking head raising concern about the American government's widely ignored shift from a checks-and-balances MO to a self-declared mighty pen & phone unilateralism.
Perhaps the cross-over was necessary, because the speaker's usual audience would be made uncomfortable by his impressions. Best to feed that line into the stream where the hungry consumers are already biting.
I don't want TV "just for me" or news just for me or advertisements just for me. I want to know what other people are thinking and why. I want to learn about things I don't yet know. I want the chance to fall in love with physics, to consider that my perspective might be wrong, and to respectfully share with others when I might be right. I don't want to sink deeper and deeper into my well-worn spot-like Sheldon Cooper on a couch. I want to channel surf in uncharted waters, because even though there may be sharks, there will also be dolphins.
Surrender of the intellect to the convenience of a contoured mind- that's the direction we are heading...based on our recent behavior...
As a rabid fan of libraries I used to wander the stacks browsing through all variety of subjects. In general people might expect me to read about religion, philosophy, or classic literature (which I do), but on one occasion I happened upon "Faust in Coppenhagen" in the science section. It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time and started a love-affair with physics. (That's right Dr. Grabask, despite sleeping through most of my science classes I am now voluntarily reading about physics.) The ability to wander about looking around at the unfamiliar-even distasteful- creates opportunity for expanding our minds, perspectives, and compassion. Yes, it can be more uncomfortable to switch from a news channel that only reports things out of a worldview I already share, but is comfort my ultimate reason for watching the news?
What started as a sort of nifty convenience where Amazon was going to make a few suggestions of books I might like based on my consumption history, has grown like fungus into every aspect of my life. This do-as-I-tell-you marketing culture feeds me everything I need to grow more deeply entrenched in my tendencies--good or bad. Facebook will only display what the algorithms predict I should enjoy; the library's e-service will make the first 150 recommendations based on what I've read---even if that means continuously displaying the books I've already read. One might think that such a soft and squishy landing strip for our intellects would result in a more peaceful community, but read a few threads of comments on ANY topic at all, and you will see that instead it tends to reduce what might have been an opportunity for constructive dialogue into a vicious my-team-against-your-team duel to the death.
Never was this more apparent to me than when I received a series of emails from a list-serve to which I had subscribed. Filled with name-calling and character-bashing, the anger and hate attacking my eyes through the screen was flavored with a shot of righteousness because the author assumed I would share in it. I was amazed. The list-serve? Pax Christi.
I recently saw a "cross-over" talking head raising concern about the American government's widely ignored shift from a checks-and-balances MO to a self-declared mighty pen & phone unilateralism.
Perhaps the cross-over was necessary, because the speaker's usual audience would be made uncomfortable by his impressions. Best to feed that line into the stream where the hungry consumers are already biting.
I don't want TV "just for me" or news just for me or advertisements just for me. I want to know what other people are thinking and why. I want to learn about things I don't yet know. I want the chance to fall in love with physics, to consider that my perspective might be wrong, and to respectfully share with others when I might be right. I don't want to sink deeper and deeper into my well-worn spot-like Sheldon Cooper on a couch. I want to channel surf in uncharted waters, because even though there may be sharks, there will also be dolphins.
Surrender of the intellect to the convenience of a contoured mind- that's the direction we are heading...based on our recent behavior...
posted by smurp at 10:07 AM
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