All I know is that there is
sufficiently general agreement, among men whose judgment I respect, that
commercial television is degraded, meretricious and absurd. Certainly
it would seem that TV could become a kind of unnatural surrogate for
contemplation: a completely inert subjection to vulgar images, a descent
to a sub-natural passivity rather than an ascent to a supremely active
passivity in understanding and love. It would seem that television
should be used with extreme care and discrimination by anyone who might
hope to take the interior life seriously.—Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
I suspect that most of us do not realize how television has negatively impacted our lives. You are probably unaware of the connection between your behavior and the heavy conditioning that you endured as a child—a conditioning that had an ulterior motive which had nothing to do with ensuring your ultimate happiness as a human being.
This much I can tell you: You cannot be sincere about meditation if you spend most of your free time watching television.
This does not necessarily mean that you should never watch television. I understand that the programming can be entertaining or even, at times, educational. But just as you would never eat only cake and cookies if your intent was to maintain your physical health, you should seriously consider if a diet of constant television watching is conducive to moral and spiritual rejuvenation.
For those interested in knowing more about television's effect on the brain and neurological system, I recommend a short article by Wes Moore entitled Television: Opiate of the Masses.
