Isn't it odd that as our attention span grows shorter and shorter, movies and records keep getting longer and longer?

It's amazing how many people have zero hobbies outside of just sitting in front of the TV all night and all weekend. Got rid of mine 10 years ago - apart from the fact I was paying for output 99% of which was just completely unwatchable junk, I could not stand another second of the jingles, trailers, ads and other "filler" which they bombard you with. It really feels like wading through trash.

I think TV culture affects mass psychology in a big way. Today's junk reality shows, for instance, are turning people into some of the most insufferable douchebags in human history. And I wouldn't mind betting that it's making them more aggressive too. Reality TV is full of these fake "confrontations" in which people go tooth and claw at each other, safe in the knowledge that it's in front of the camera and thus potentially millions of witnesses should anything get out of hand. And so idiots are adopting the same kind of confrontational actions and body language in real life, only things get a little more serious when there's no camera crew around to make people think about consequence.

I truly believe that if everyone got rid of their TV's the world would be a better place.

sharke
It's amazing how many people have zero hobbies outside of just sitting in front of the TV all night and all weekend. Got rid of mine 10 years ago - apart from the fact I was paying for output 99% of which was just completely unwatchable junk, I could not stand another second of the jingles, trailers, ads and other "filler" which they bombard you with. It really feels like wading through trash.

I think TV culture affects mass psychology in a big way. Today's junk reality shows, for instance, are turning people into some of the most insufferable douchebags in human history. And I wouldn't mind betting that it's making them more aggressive too. Reality TV is full of these fake "confrontations" in which people go tooth and claw at each other, safe in the knowledge that it's in front of the camera and thus potentially millions of witnesses should anything get out of hand. And so idiots are adopting the same kind of confrontational actions and body language in real life, only things get a little more serious when there's no camera crew around to make people think about consequence.

I truly believe that if everyone got rid of their TV's the world would be a better place.

Monkey see, monkey do... It's pretty incredible when you take a step back to see just how much people will imitate what they see and hear, even speech patterns and intonation. Ever heard of that speech trend called "vocal fry"?
 
I don't watch TV but I do watch series on the net - Star Trek and stuff. The minute the commercial break starts I hit mute. And this allows me to focus on mannerism, and how people just mimic one another and how even corporal expression has been brought down to a set of clichés. 
 
As for the rest, if you put something on tv, you make it legitimate. I remember I first noticed that way back when a show back home mocked common flaws among us back there. But instead of getting people to change, it actually made those flaws even more common, dare I say trendy. People gave in and indulged 100%, and adopted the idioms of that show, going as far as mimicking the comedians speech patterns and accents.

Yes, and then there was the old or still Jerry Springer show. I have to laugh at any of it. You should feel more emotions perhaps about any of that. As well as American Teen Age Idol or whatever it is nowadays, the Voice, the Stars Dancing, but I refuse to watch too much of any of it.

 
But you should want to help people. Here I will help people  - turn off the TV, even the News has become a commercial anymore for health problems and medicine people should be taking.
God, we all should be dead I guess!
 

Let us not foregt that John lennon and Elvis were both big TV fans and both died prematurely. I suppose this proves the hypothesis conclusively.

I've noticed that having an appropriate sample size merely gets in the way of a good theory. 

If they said immature death--then I'd be worried.  

Old55
If they said immature death--then I'd be worried.  

That's saved for the FSF. 

Rain
So basically, if shows like Jersey Shore & Honey Boo Boo were extended to 3 hours, 

I just broke out in a cold sweat even considering that possibility.
My wife finds it hilarious that  with my disdain for TV, I work for the cable company here.
Fortunately, we also provide awesome internet service, and keeping those modems on line is my prime focus.

RobertB

Rain
So basically, if shows like Jersey Shore & Honey Boo Boo were extended to 3 hours, 

I just broke out in a cold sweat even considering that possibility.
My wife finds it hilarious that  with my disdain for TV, I work for the cable company here.
Fortunately, we also provide awesome internet service, and keeping those modems on line is my prime focus.

Confession time - I never saw either.
I'm aware of them through South Park.
Like lots of things in pop culture - from Kanye West to internet sensations like the Chocolate Rain guy... 
What I get through South Park is more than enough for me.