We live in a day and age where distractions are omni-present. TV, Sports, Social Networking (I have been myself guilty of spending too much time on sites like facebook), fashion trends, an infinite number of electronic gadgets, Lindsay Lohan's latest mishap, Reality TV, Advertising --just to name a few, are all around us. For God's sake, even the newscast is interrupted by advertising or what I like to call "non-news" such as Paris Hilton and consorts. The scary part about this development is, one cannot rely on TV news for information anymore, especially, if one actually wants to be informed and know what is going on in the world. This might be fine for the person, who actively seeks information, since he/she will go out of her way to find it elsewhere, like on the internet or other media. That person I'm not worried about, those who seek shall find.
What about the ones that do not seek? Joe Shmoe, sitting on the couch, relying on someone to bring the news to him, waiting to have it rain down on him from Heaven or the TV set, whichever comes first. He's getting battered with an abundance of useless information and force-fed a gigantic amount of whitenoise that does not have any informational value and no bearing on his life whatsoever. --That is if he even makes it to the newscast and doesn't first get distracted and sucked in by college basketball, CSI anywhere or some Jersey Housewives Show that may possibly cause you to lose a couple of braincells rather than furthering your knowledge in any kind of way..
I wonder if we've just gotten to the point where we have "untrained" our brains and consequently they have forgotten how to digest complex information, because they haven't been "fed" with anything worthwhile in so long. The information overload, overstimulation, and the vast amount of useless information, have literally paralyzed the sense for what's important in many people today.
Just yesterday I saw a commercial of a car that can update your facebook status and also read your status updates to you. Really? REALLY?
I come to two possible conclusions: We're either not supposed to be informed and think for ourselves, because independent thinking is "dangerous", therefore we're bombarded with all this useless crap to keep us busy.
Or we choose to be ignorant of truth for with knowing what's wrong with the world and society comes responsibility and accountability and nobody likes either of the two.
I cannot offer any solution other than, think about where in this equation you want to stand. Inform yourself. Don't take anything for granted. Don't accept just anything that you're being told. SEEK information actively and use your brain for independent thinking.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
What about the ones that do not seek? Joe Shmoe, sitting on the couch, relying on someone to bring the news to him, waiting to have it rain down on him from Heaven or the TV set, whichever comes first. He's getting battered with an abundance of useless information and force-fed a gigantic amount of whitenoise that does not have any informational value and no bearing on his life whatsoever. --That is if he even makes it to the newscast and doesn't first get distracted and sucked in by college basketball, CSI anywhere or some Jersey Housewives Show that may possibly cause you to lose a couple of braincells rather than furthering your knowledge in any kind of way..
I wonder if we've just gotten to the point where we have "untrained" our brains and consequently they have forgotten how to digest complex information, because they haven't been "fed" with anything worthwhile in so long. The information overload, overstimulation, and the vast amount of useless information, have literally paralyzed the sense for what's important in many people today.
Just yesterday I saw a commercial of a car that can update your facebook status and also read your status updates to you. Really? REALLY?
I come to two possible conclusions: We're either not supposed to be informed and think for ourselves, because independent thinking is "dangerous", therefore we're bombarded with all this useless crap to keep us busy.
Or we choose to be ignorant of truth for with knowing what's wrong with the world and society comes responsibility and accountability and nobody likes either of the two.
I cannot offer any solution other than, think about where in this equation you want to stand. Inform yourself. Don't take anything for granted. Don't accept just anything that you're being told. SEEK information actively and use your brain for independent thinking.
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
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