In today’s television crazed society, it is becoming increasingly evident that real life relationships and interactions are being replaced by viewer involvement with the media. I myself am an avid viewer of Sex in the City, a television series about the lives of four single women living in New York City. By reflecting on my own connection to the series, I realized that my “relationship” with the characters reveals several factors encompassed by actual relationships. The more I watch, the closer I feel to the characters and the better I am able to identify and empathize with them. Sometimes, the emotion one puts into a television program is so powerful, that the mood of the viewer is dictated by the events in the episode. But where does one draw the line between what is real and what is not? The answer lies within participation; relationships are not one way streets. They are amalgamations of emotions and interactions from both parties. Comparably, you would not consider a group of guys watching a hockey game on television to be playing the sport; they are merely spectators whose dispositions are governed by the athletes’ triumphs or failures. While obtaining enjoyment from

While there has not been a widespread movement to eliminate television from our society, it does not mean that it will not contribute to a social downfall. With more people watching television that ever before, there will most definitely be an increase in the occurrence of television dependency. Humans no longer have to make an effort to participate within their community or society because their psychological needs are being met be a small box which delivers so much happiness through a flow of electrons. Humans have already conformed their physical environment to meet their needs, and today, they are experiencing the first hand effects of a poisoned atmosphere. Perhaps a poisoned society will be the end result of a species who believes that they can substitute human interaction with mere spectatorship.

Television is often misused in cases where people rely on it for social compensation. In a study preformed by Finn and Gorr, “Social Isolation and Social Support as Correlates of Television Viewing Motivations,” it was denoted that shyness and loneliness, two social deficits that often accompany one another, contribute to social isolation (138). Secondly, it was determined that sufferers often watched increased amounts of television and became more deeply involved in the program themselves (Finn 136). It was hypothesized that this was the result of people trying to fulfill their basic yearnings for love, affection and belonging (Finn 138). Similar results were true for people who used television to compensate for social environmental inadequacies, such as a dissatisfying job or a lack of leisure outlets (Finn 139)

Some topics in this essay:
Viewing Motivations”, North America, York City, Parasocial Way”, Life Support”, Social Television”, Opiate Masses, My-So-Called-Life Despite, Sex City, Cole Leets, real life, social deficits, television remedy social, television program, false sense, human interaction, substitute human, social isolation, patterns social, television viewing, remedy social, remedy social deficits,