Older women who say talk shows and soap operas are their favorite TV programs tend to score more poorly on tests of memory, attention and other cognitive skills, researchers reported Monday.
That doesn't mean that daytime television is a brain drain, they say, since it's not clear that there's a direct relationship between the two.
Yeah, and cigarettes don't cause cancer, either...
More:
But the findings do point to some association between TV choices and intellectual function, and that could prove useful in evaluating older people for cognitive decline, according lead investigator Dr. Joshua Fogel of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
I can vouch for this--every so often my wife will put on a TV show that I feel is worthless--just utter crap. However, there's probably SOMETHING entertaining about it, so I find myself distracted from my work while it's on. I keep leaning over at my desk so I can see the TV. Suddenly I start griping that Santini is actually a cool guy and I don't understand why the other fashion designers hate him so much. Maybe it's just that I have seen enough of the episodes where he's a jerk. That reminds me, I have to check the listings to find out when Project Runway is on again so I can find out why everyone hates him so much.
Wait--what was this post about?
I feel the same way -- when I read a book, I tend to ignore whatever work I was doing before I picked it up; and forget about going to a play, I'm completely oblivious to the outside world then. What a wast of time and a bad influence, the both of them.
ReplyDeleteWow, I think you managed to completely miss my point--did you have the TV on while you were writing that?
ReplyDeleteThe point is that some shows make you stupid by filling your head with vaccuous crap that doesn't make you think. Some books and plays do this, too. Just depends on the quality. But I can literally feel the stupidity taking over my brain when I watch such shows, no matter how entertaining they are.
Vaccuous??? WOW!!! Such a big word... :P
ReplyDeleteIf you can "literally feel the stupidity taking over your brain" when you watch this bad, vacuous TV, how do you explain being both entertained and engaged by what you're watching?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you want to vilify TV here, based on a tenuous connection between viewing habits and cognitive ability. Your choice over what to be entertained by is no more TV's doing than it is little dumb old ladies' preference for little dumb TV shows. Would it make a difference whether your vilified entertainment be soap operas, Project Runway, US Weekly or www.fark.com? People like what they like, so don't confuse correlation with causality. And you, Pete, like Project Runway:P
Maybe your headline should be "ENTERTAINMENT BAD FOR YOU AFTER ALL"?
Tim, it's just a show, you should really just relax.
ReplyDeleteSo why'd you post on it?
ReplyDeleteDude... it's my blog, I can post on whatever I want. Besides, I'm not sure why you are playing the troll here since I clearly posted a light-hearted entry that is about 70% joke and 30% "serious" commentary. That's why I said relax, Tim. This is hardly a post worthy of this many comments.
ReplyDelete