TiVo Disrupts TV Viewers Hypnotic State

As I had experienced in my own home, TiVo somehow breaks the hypnotic hold that television 'programming' forces upon its' viewers.


TIVO DISRUPTS TV VIEWERS HYPNOTIC STATE
by Kentroversy

I noticed something interesting when my wife and I joined the TiVo revolution. And no, I am NOT talking about commercial skip, watching at my convenience, or anything like that. Even though those features are definite selling points --- there was something much more important that I discovered. What I noticed was this --- TiVo has somehow broken the hold television had over my wife and her consciousness. She no longer falls into the deep trance-state she did BEFORE TiVo came into our lives.

In the article at the following link --- it is said that "It is known by measured changes in alpha states that an ASC [altered state of consciousness] occurs within 30 seconds or so of the commencement of watching television."

A Suggested Model For Trance

Here is the full quoted passage from the link above:

"It is known by measured changes in alpha states that an ASC [altered state of consciousness] occurs within 30 seconds or so of the commencement of watching television. The primary trance generating loop in this case is not the elements in the long story sequences, but is the loop between the image on the screen and the physiological reactions of the viewer which produces the desire to continue the experience. That is, the viewer looks at the images on the screen, associates to his own experiences, and this association access creates a desire to resolve or repeat the actual experience. The viewer therefore continues to look at the screen in order to obtain fulfillment of this desire. This trance generating loop is quite short and is the most important loop which induces the trance associated with television viewing. Broadcasting noise or images which do not create the associations or which do not create a desire to resolve or repeat an accessed association will not create the desire to continue to look at the screen. In such a case there would be no trance generating loop and therefore no trance. Those people who are already in an addictive trance could, of course, be fascinated by simple video noise."

A Suggested Model For Trance

This is what I personally observed --- with my wife watching hour after hour of mind-numbing mindless television broadcasts --- she would fall into a trance-state which was discernable through the glazing-over of her eyes and complete rapture of attention paid to the television program --- to the detriment of all else that surrounded her.

The great American comedian and political philosopher BILL HICKS called television "Lucifer's Dream Box," an assessment with which I wholeheartedly agree. They even came up with a name for America --- the "Blue Light Nation." It has been called this because on any given night, any person can drive down the darkened streets of their own neighborhood --- to see the BLUE LIGHT of the television emanating from behind the curtains of house after house, on street after street.

I have always suspected that there was some alternate signal broadcast that enduced this trance-state in viewers --- as the television sucks in so many people where literally entire years of their life are spent watching television --- sucking on "the glass teat" --- as writer Harlan Ellison himself stated the problem.

But all this changed as soon as TiVo came to our home . . .

We are now able to watch what we want, when we want. With a bit of hacking of the TiVo box itself, it can be programmed to skip the commercial breaks. With current trends in broadcasting, the removal of commercial breaks alone reduces a hour-long show to just over forty minutes. This is 33% LESS TIME spent watching whatever programs happen to be available for viewing on TiVo's NOW PLAYING list.

There are a whole list of reasons why I recommend that everyone who would like more time to enjoy life purchase a TiVo unit and subscription. For me, TiVo is only $4.95 additional charge on my DirecTV bill each month --- and just for the time saved by my NOT having to sit through 20 minutes of commercials every hour --- it is well worth the price.

A TiVo owner can record what they want, for later viewing whenever they choose. This even includes Pay-Per-View films, as well as the daily news, and whatever favorite shows they have. ALL of this can be set up to be recorded for later playback. There is a robust SEARCH mechanism that can locate virtually whatever the viewer can think of --- the ONLY LIMIT is the viewer's own immagination.

As I said --- I always suspected that there was a sideband frequency broadcast that was trance-inducing to all susceptable viewers. A quick examination of the HOW STUFF WORKS website proves this suspicion of mine to be TRUE:

How Television Works

HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE . . .

Now that we have TiVo in our home, our personal television viewing has fallen-off to almost nothing. The number of different programs I watch in any given week can now be counted on one hand. And the best part is that my wife no longer falls into that stupifying trance every time she sits down to watch something.

In my own opinion, THIS is what lays at the heart of such low television ratings as I mention in my recent post on the subject:

Television Viewership Collapsing - Finally!

Now that she isn't slavishly watching televsion for hour after hour --- my wife has discovered that she now has the time to do the things she loves a helluva lot more than "Lucifer's Dream Box." We now have fascinating conversations, and we enjoy each other's company. And perhaps more importantly, if the reader should ever drive past our house in the late night, there will be NO BLUE LIGHT beaming through from behind our curtains!

And that's because our television is usually turned-off . . .


© 2007 Kentroversy Papers
All rights reserved. Used with permission.


Sources:

The following sources were used in the creation of this Kentroversy Paper . . .

A Suggested Model For Trance

How Television Works

Television Viewership Collapsing - Finally!

TiVo

television mind-control

TV hypnotic effect