As of late I find my television set tuned to the repetitively monotonous channel known as "The TV Guide channel." Despite the extremely annoying programming located above the scrolling channel list, I continue to switch to a channel that merely shows what is on other channels. Why am I inclined to stare at the color coded boxes and listen to the unbearable weight loss adds and Michael Jackson tributes?
Perhaps I do this in hopes to find an enriching, entertaining program on the air. It seems to me that there is a lack of interesting programing available for viewers throughout the day. Viewers used to be (and perhaps still are) enticed by people eating bugs and quarreling amongst themselves but even those programs seem to have become less popular.
When I see a good movie or a television program that I am already familiar with and enjoy, I will jump to that channel and sit back and relax. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a television addict. I watch less than one hour of television a day (unless a good movie is on) and spend most of that time watching the news- or the TV Guide channel.
I wonder if other people suffer from the same minor obsession of scrolling words and no message. Maybe that is what the media is coming down to- no messages, no meanings, only words and images meant for the sole purpose of entertainment.