Why are people obsessed with television?

I must say I’ve never really understood the attraction to this type of television. Why not just move the couch and look out the window and see real people.

bevause Television is an anesthetic for the pain of the modern world

I suspect it might the same reason people get obsessed with Fluther or the new psychiatric addiction of young people obsessively texting that is being considered for addition to the APA’s list. Because it is there, and they can use it as a distraction from issues in their real lives.

my grandparents have been obsessed with wheel of fortune and eating hard candy ever since i can remember.

My mum likes to come home from a hard day at work and relax. TV is her way of relaxing. I’m not such a huge fan, I just catch up on particular things I like when it’s on dvd and watch them in my own time when I have nothing else to do. But hey, I really like mirza’s answer and yeah it’s a way to relax, chill out, silence your own thoughts…

while i can agree with the whole relax/escape from the outside world theory. I cant understand why people watch these crappy reality shows. How are you going to call something reality and be the farthest possible thing from the meaning of that word?

I also dont understand Deal or No Deal. Like come on! Your watching them open boxes wtf kind of entertainment is there to that? Atleast other gameshows you can kind of like play along and try to answer the questions. This is like “NO NO PICK BOX 17 AHHHH WHY DIDNT YOU LISTEN I SAID 17!!!” egh i hate tv.

Ok, I might not do a very good job at explaining this but I’ll try. Have you ever played greedy pigs? You pick a number and you roll two dice over and over again until you get that number and you’re out. But everytime you roll the dice and your number doesn’t appear then you get points. If you keep going until you hit your number you lose all the points from that round, but you can back out earlier and keep all the points you earned that round. It’s called greedy pigs because you have decided when you want to bow out and keep the money you’ve got or keep going and keep going because you’re greedy until you hit your number and lose everything. Deal or No Deal is just like that. It’s to see if someone is greedy enough to keep going or to keep the deal. The viewer will see how greedy they are in comparison with the person on the TV. It’s just a way of judging people or finding out something about yourself or if you believe you would have taken the deal, a way to boost yourself up by believing you are not as greedy as the next person.

i like the simpsons but i have a friend who is obsessed. he has spent over $6000 on anything simpsons. he has figures, the town, an 6 foot inflatable homer, and other junk. he also has a large tattoo of a bart fetus on the side of his neck. he has a couple other simpsons tats other places and dyes his hair blue to be like marge. i dont even know his last name anymore i just call him matt simpson. he wants a pink 4door next. i dont know why he is like that.

That still doesn’t explain people being compelled to sit in a house watching people sitting in another house on television though.

Big Brother UK being a prime example. When that show is on, I know people who will watch them sleeping. I mean seriously. What’s that about?

In the Great Depression, it was introduced to let people escape their daily troubles and forget about life for a while. It is the same today. People turn on the TV to destress from their busy day and to relax.

Why do people like to watch these reality shows ? Simple – they like to see people whose lives are more troublesome then their own. Lets face it – most of our lives aren’t exactly great. So when you get home and need to distract yourself, you have two options – watch a show about the things you dont have or watch the miserable lives of reality tv stars which makes you feel better since your life is obviously better .

@jstringham21 – That is historically inaccurate. While the television was pioneered in the late 20s and early 30s, it didn’t see widespread use until the 1950s. Prior to the post-War boom in the United States, television sets were simply too expensive to have in the home. Especially during a tough economic downturn like The Great Depression.

The radio was the popular gathering box in the 1930s and 40s.

I think it mainly allows people to live vicariously though other characters lives. That and it requires no work, talent, or skill to watch TV.

But, living vicariously still doesn’t explain big brother. Would someone please explain that to me…please…

I know it’s based on an Orson Wells novel…

1984 wasn’t it…

@osullivanbr

They live vicariously through the people absurd false drama that they create in those shows. Granted they’re mostly sitting on couches in the show as well, but they’re also having three-somes in the closets and backstabbing every episode.

The most exciting thing in the viewers demographic is usually when their McDonald’s extra value meal got accidently Super Sized for free at lunch.

If you can’t understand that, then you’ll never get it.

Yes, that’s the one, 1984

@Spargett
I guess I’ll never get it and to be honest I feel pretty good for not getting it.