Daily Leadership Thought #115 – What Are You Watching and Reading?
Be mindful of what you read, watch, and listen to.
How are you spending your free time? Hopefully, some time is spent enjoying family and friends, exercising, and participating in volunteering or charitable activities. Most of us, however, spend a significant amount of time in front of the TV or, to a lesser degree, reading. What fascinates and depresses me is what people decide to watch and read.
There is a great deal of trash out there. We are bombarded with mindless entertainment that does nothing to bolster the soul or educate the mind. It increasingly feels like we are becoming victims of the lowest common denominator in television production and book publishing. Ironically, as the number of choices continues to increase, it seems like the quality diminishes as well. At a time when we need Public Television now more than ever, our politicians, in their infinite wisdom, are attempting to defund it.
I understand the need for people to take a mental break, but this shouldn’t be a lifestyle choice. When media programming preys on your vulnerabilities, stokes your fears, and deliberately misinforms you and/or distorts the facts, there is something wrong. Even worse (in my humble opinion) is when what you are watching or reading “dumbs down” your perspective on things and acts more like “brain candy” (which is defined by the Urban Dictionary as an enjoyable experience because it stimulates the mind pleasantly but doesn’t actually make it work); you run the risk of becoming less intelligent and more narrow-minded if you are not careful.
Related articles
- NBC announces its depressing plan to become the network of the lowest common denominator (boingboing.net)
- Exciting, unpredictable thrillers with intelligent characters? (ask.metafilter.com)
