Something that stood out to me in Wallace’s article “Television
and U.S. Fiction” was how lonely an act watching television really is and how
it among other media replaces actual human connections with technological
ones. In his article he states, “For the television screen affords access only
one way. A psychic ball-check valve. We can see Them; They can’t see Us. We can
relax, unobserved, as we ogle. I happen to believe this is why television also
appeals so much to lonely people. To voluntary shut-ins”.(p.152) I agree with this
notion that people can be who they want to be without human interaction or
having to be out in the real world. Because to them the screen right in front
of them is enough. It allows people to be a part of the outside world in a way
and lets them understand and feel what the characters are feeling without ever
having to do any work. Sometimes being lonely cause people to consume large
amounts of television and sometimes the large amount of television causes the loneliness.
This type of media isn’t the only one that keeps giving our society the
opportunity to become more isolated from one another. With social media sites
like Facebook or Twitter and the constant text messaging happening every
second, the need to have face to face interactions declines. Whereas social
networking gives us the means to talk with others without seeing them,
television provides us with the “sights and scenes”. Wallace explains how
television can completely replace our need to be in the “human world” because
after a while we forget what it feels like and being a “teleholic” is what’s
normal. It’s addictive like so many other things in our society and just cycles
as more and more people give into their desire for mass media.
I agree with your analysis of what makes TV so amusing to its viewers: the concept that we are free to judge others in the comfort of our homes while they can't see us. It is ironic the relationship between loneliness and large consumption of TV was explained because it could be seen as a chicken vs. egg theory, which comes first, does television cause loneliness or does loneliness cause the consumption of television? I also agree that our technology can increase isolation, while social networks like Facebook and Twitter are supposed to allow us to communicate freely with others, coupled with our iPhones and Laptops it has become a tool for increased isolation and new identities are create freely to replace the identities unwanted by the social network consumers. Terms like "Catfish" have been created to name people who pretend to be who they are not. I feel like society is looking for a balance between the social media and being social in the world.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, it's frightening to know people can live practically in an alternate universe. I think this voluntary isolation involuntarily promotes illicit perceptions of humankind. Mindframes that don't connect with reality anymore, and isolation leads illicit thought into behavior. Behavior becomes habit and habits can spread throughout a community.
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