Why do people believe what the TV says when growing up? Isn't TV fake?

Atlas_B_Shruggin · 2019-06-28T18:07:18+00:00

we are programmed to receive cultural messages from storytelling, thats why propaganda is effective

stories are not just escapism, i have to figure out which personality type persistently says this

stories contain values, moral guidance and moral content, cultural content, deep human symbolism and meaning and zeitgeist

-TheGreasyPole- · 2019-06-28T18:06:14+00:00

You're projecting your current adult views and understanding on who you were then.

Thats NOT how 5-7-9-11-13 year olds see the world. The absorb the society and the world around them, and they do so largely uncritically.

If you fill that world with narratives that follow a certain path, they naturally grow up to assume thats the path those narratives take in the real world. That if they (essentially), find themselves in a situation thats on page 10 of a book, or the first ten minutes of a movie, or the first few minutes of a TV show... then they're going to assume the likely evolution of this situation is going to be how all those films, books and TV shows unfolded from there. Thats how human children learn stuff.

Although you might understand, even as a kid, that it's make believe in the details there is a natural tendency among humans to learn that it's representing what is likely to happen in real life in the large scope of things.

A little human being has to learn A LOT of stuff to be a functional adult. And so they're little information sponges. If you drop that sponge in water, it soaks up water. But if you drop it in beer it soaks up beer.

I don't understand how society expects to drop their kids into a milieu full of these views of the world and doesn't expect them to soak them up. Of course thats what they're going to do.

sternje · 2019-06-28T18:23:33+00:00

"It's just hard not to listen to TV: it's spent so much more time raising us than parents have."

-Matt Groening

CuriousOptimistic · 2019-06-28T18:05:41+00:00

Everyone knows TV is fake. It is however, reflective of certain cultural norms, and influential towards cultural norms.

It's not "real," but it also didn't come out of nowhere. Shows that are popular, are popular for a reason. And many numerous studies on media show that even when we know it's a creation, it still influences our thinking. That's just how it is.

fuckdr11 · 2019-06-28T18:31:53+00:00

Most people are fucking stupid.

GridReXX · 2019-06-28T18:52:37+00:00

I find it interesting when a lot of people on Reddit say things like “Gossip Girl” or “Sex and the City” or “The Wire” or “GIRLS” is “fake.”

I watched all of the those shows and felt seen. Like what happened on those shows could have been taken directly from my life.

People are inspired to write these stories because they observed or lived it.

That’s like me watching “Fargo” or “Breaking Bad”’and calling it “fake” because I don’t relate to working class middle of America bleak white people problems.

skystar86 · 2019-06-28T20:17:24+00:00

The media has a powerful influence over culture through stories. Stories are part of who we are. We tell stories about everything, from going to work, to the last hangover.

The media is so powerful, multinational corporations pay millions for a thirty second bite during peak viewership (sports events, prime time, election coverage etc). At the core of what media is, there is no difference between news and entertainment, at least not anymore.

We receive stories from this box in the living room. It tells us what international trends there are, the bad things happening and shows us stories people have made up. All of these stories are presented in a predictable way. Whether it's the news or a blockbuster film, they represent ideals in your culture that are both imposed upon you and perpetuated by you. This is why the news will present a kid saving his younger brother from a burning building as a hero. Movie studios take the same concepts and dial them up to 11, mix in a power fantasy, some culturally specific morals and put in plenty of special effects.

Both the superhero movie and the kid saving his brother make us feel good because, regardless of whether they are real or not, they represent a cultural norm that people value: the good, hardworking, brave winning over adversity. Humanity's been telling itself this story since forever. We feel the same regardless of whether it's true or not.

People walk out of movie theatres that espouse values they disagree with. They picket outside of said theatres to protest the representation of values they disagree with. They also protest crime, political corruption and for change. These things do not happen without the media.

If something that is not real can move us to behave in the same way as if it were true, why would you doubt the impact of having the 'TV as the babysitter' may have on an impressionable and growing mind? How many kids do you think watch TV? How many of those kids want toys, clothes, games and all sorts of useless nonsense because of what they saw on TV?

As a broader question, OP, do you even know why you have hundreds of choices in entertainment but only two (or fewer) selections in types of government?

throwawayhouseissue1 · 2019-06-28T23:05:38+00:00

If TV has no effect then why do companies pay for advertisements on TV and product placements?

WhatIsTheMeaningHere · 2019-06-28T18:36:52+00:00

People acknowledge that TV is fake, but it's just a question of what part of TV is fake. Everyone knows the magic in Harry Potter isn't real or when the Joker robs a bank that it didn't really happen, but in a movie when there's this nerdy guy who gets the hot girl, is that as unbelievable as Harry Potter magic? Clearly two people simply having a conversation in a movie can be quite realistic, and relationships are something that do happen in real life. Do you expect a kid to know that this nerdy guy would never get a relationship with a hot girl in real life?

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ThisIsJustATr1bute · 2019-06-28T18:14:34+00:00

Because they are children and children absorb what is around them, they don’t critique society like adults.

Th0ma5_F0wl3r · 2019-06-28T18:18:38+00:00

Here's a possibility - TV gets its views on sex and relationships from people ... or people's fantasies at any rate.

rasmelo · 2019-06-28T19:21:52+00:00

First they watch TV, then they read TRP. Not a lot of active thinking happens unfortunately.

[deleted] · 2019-06-28T19:26:38+00:00

The capitalist-consumerist ethic is revolutionary in another respect. Most previous ethical systems presented people with a pretty tough deal. They were promised paradise, but only if they cultivated compassion and tolerance, overcame craving and anger, and restrained their selfish interests. This was too tough for most. The history of ethics is a sad tale of wonderful ideals that nobody can live up to. Most Christians did not imitate Christ, most Buddhists failed to follow Buddha, and most Confucians would have caused Confucius a temper tantrum.

In contrast, most people today successfully live up to the capitalist-consumerist ideal. The new ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money, and that the masses give free rein to their cravings and passions – and buy more and more. This is the first religion in history whose followers actually do what they are asked to do. How, though, do we know that we’ll really get paradise in return?

We’ve seen it on television.

From Sapiens

TheBookOfSeil · 2019-06-28T20:36:31+00:00

TV is fake but the things on TV are still being interpreted by the brain. During our childhood, our brains are geared toward learning about the environment around us, and if TV is part of that environment, then information is naturally going to be taken from whatever the TV is providing. This still happens into old age because some people simply take whatever is going on in the environment for face value, and forget that other people are capable of misrepresenting reality.

dejour · 2019-06-28T23:28:30+00:00

People see all sorts of things on tv. Some of it is terribly fake, some of it is quite true. The more life experience you have, the easier it is to discern.

For instance, you might see a strange animal on your screen. You've never seen an elephant in real life. But you learn that an elephant is large, has a long trunk etc. There's a big dose of "truth" in the image. Now maybe the animal in question is domesticated and has a trainer and is fed by humans. That's unusual for elephants so you could maybe classify that as fake or at least unrepresentative of elephants. But is it unreasonable for a kid to think that a typical elephant lives at the zoo? It's false for elephants but arguably true for pandas.

For children that haven't been in a romantic relationship, it's tough to know what aspects of television love is realistic and what is not. What parts are true and what parts aren't? eg. is it normal for two people to have crushes on each other, give each other a knowing look and have immediate enthusiastic sex? I think most kids could figure out probably not, but I'm sure a lot wouldn't be sure.

decoy88 · 2019-06-29T01:02:38+00:00

Many people get their information about situations not in their immediate surroundings from tv.

what do doctors do in an ER? What happens when a patient goes into cardiac arrest?
If you got arrested, how would you be processed?
what is a courtroom battle actually like?
can you survive and walk after taking a bullet to your shoulder?
does sex last the entire night?

The answers to these questions are likely gonna be from something on TV. For most people unless they experienced it directly.

Many many things in TV subconsciously become our main narrative.

skystar86 · 2019-06-29T19:35:49+00:00

For two generations in America most of American culture came from the TV. There's a reason we have the most developed media, they poured billions upon billions of dollars into producing media to keep us mentally busy and to establish a cultural narrative and it took a serious hold over the imaginations of the Boomers and Gen X. Millenials would have gone the same way if not for the internet and the re-establishment of social communities and not-corporate-decided social culture.

To be fair many millenials have. Especially the older ones.

Aaren_Augustine · 2019-06-28T18:14:13+00:00

I mean, Gilgamesh.

At some point, one has to evaluate that maybe people will take shit to heart no matter the medium. Most people will know TV is fake, but the content will still influence.

I know Luke Skywalker isn't real but fuck Disney for turning him into a broken daddy so Mary Sue could excel at being perfect.

Mr_Smoogs · 2019-06-28T18:05:18+00:00

TV often has a deeper meaning than face value.

What does princess obsession do to young girls or day about young girls. It is more than face value. They know that the message is fake and they are not literally princesses, but it is obvious that they are internalizing it. Are you trying to say this has no meaning beyond a story about a king’s daughter and no different than a story of a crocodile taking a shit?

Blonsomio · 2019-06-28T18:09:07+00:00

Do people still watch TV?

Title	Why do people believe what the TV says when growing up? Isn't TV fake?
Author	skystar86
Upvotes	9
Comments	109
Date	June 28, 2019 5:11 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/c6msxc/why_do_people_believe_what_the_tv_says_when/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/why-do-people-believe-what-the-tv-says-when.299027 https://theredarchive.com/post/299027

Comments

We’ve seen it on television.