Everyone needs a way to blow off steam. Some choose to toke joints, others read celebrity gossip and many simply take naptime. All of these are legitimate ways to relax. Personally, I unwind with mindless television.
And I have an issue when eyes roll and I get the holier-than-thou speech about the uselessness of Flavour of Love. I have one age-old phrase for these people: Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried.Since people feel the need to dump their wisdom on me when it comes to watching The Real World, I feel it’s fair to return the favour. Sharing is caring after all.
Sure, there are plenty of illuminating things I could do with 24 minutes of my life: Read a book, watch a short film, study – all forms of relaxation that could simultaneously expand my mind. I just choose to unwind differently. A fellow arts student, Adrien Potvin, said to me that reality television is “another step in totally diverting the masses from things that actually matter.”
Safe to say, he’s not a fan.
I’m picking up what he's putting down, but I can’t help look back at past trends – everything from wearing corsets to playing Pogs – and note that society was not ruined because of them. I just can’t see The Simple Life corrupting the human population. If anything, simple entertainment can improve how we handle stress.
The key word here: Simple. People tend to ask why I don’t watch shows that are more mentally stimulating: CSI, Criminal Minds, Discovery Channel programs — there are plenty of options. While spending my time watching more intelligent programming could expand my horizons, relaxation should be about taking a break from what makes you tired. Oftentimes – especially as a student – it is the constant thinking that tuckers me out. I would rather zone out while watching rich girls gossip than during an important lecture. Mind-numbing TV gives me a chance to stop paying attention for a short time. Pure, uninterrupted daydreaming.
Naomi Rockler-Gladen, a former post-secondary educator who now writes blogs for Suite.101.com, says that unorthodox relaxation — such as mindless TV – works just as well as conventional methods.
“After a long session with your textbooks, the last thing you want is something thought-provoking," she writes. "Veg out with the most mindless television you can find.”
This momentary break from critical thought gives the mind the break it needs, allowing it to take in more information later on.
For me, it’s just like meditation. Both activities achieve the same feeling of peace, but I find it extremely difficult to empty my mind completely without the accompaniment of background noise. Watching Jersey Shore is really just a form of meditation for the mantra-challenged (i.e. me.)
And look, it’s not like those who watch The Hills aren’t aware of the lack of mental challenge it offers. There is no doubt that mind-numbing TV is bad TV. But like a friend of mine, John Nixon – who recently graduated from Carleton's communications program – put it: “If you're halfway media literate you can realize that it's all scripted. No one's trying to pull the wool over anybody's eye here. It's simply entertainment.”
Trust me, I realize that with reality TV the acting, dialogue and plotlines are bad. That said, watching these shows doesn’t mean I’m a bad human being. I just choose to embrace numbness at times in order to function more highly at other times.
I am not childish, or dumb, and I am not wasting my time. Bad TV is my downtime. Having it as a part of my life makes me a better student, and – in theory – a better person.
Everyone has unique forms of escaping; for some, that means more naked drunks in hot tubs. And there is nothing wrong with that.