M(indless) T(ele) V(ision) Generation

Today, while I was reading the Nashville City Paper at lunch I noticed that there was an article on the MTV Movie Awards (which aired tonight on MTV). One paragraph I found to be quite interesting.


"Sure, every now and then an award is actually notable, such as Brokeback Mountain tonight getting some love from the MTV generation after being snubbed by the Oscars with its win for Best Kiss (the show was taped Saturday)."


The award of the "Best Kiss" to a homosexual couple in a movie prompted me to do a bit of research. On MTV's website, a survey showed that 41% of 18-29 year olds said that they "strongly favored/favored" legal gay marriage. This percentage decreased with the increase of age. [see page 9 of the article here: Click Here - PDF Format]

Even if we can pass laws banning legally recognized gay marriage for the time being, the new generation of youth is being taught to be more tolerant of the issue by such influences as MTV. America needs to keep in mind that while their younger kids are watching TV, they are being subjected to many psychological forces that aid in shaping their worldview. Parents should be doing a much better job of monitoring what their children are watching, or better yet even watching the shows with their children, which will lead to a healthy discussion of the issues. If the kids are being taught one thing from the parents and another thing from the television, it's no wonder why there is so much confusion!

This is not my only complaint against MTV, I have far more. While I was attending Tennessee Tech University, I noticed that they were playing the "MTVU" channel constantly in the dining areas. It was mostly a distraction for me, but I happened to be distracted enough one day to realize that the commercial that was cycling was promoting group sex. The commercial showed different age groups of boys and girls, represented by blue and pink dots respectively. At age 8 or so, the dots were in totally seperate groups. By age 12 or 13, they were getting closer. By age 16 (possibly 18...) the blue and pink dot were moving back and forth on each other. It not only showed the blue and pink dots on each other, but also blue and blue, and also pink on pink. The worst was by far the single blue dot with two pink dots.

Out of all the students on the TTU campus, I was the only student that had seemed to pick up on it. That means that either the commercial is so subliminal that it doesn't fully grab the attention of the viewer or that the culture just doesn't care anymore. I think it was a combonation of the both, but mostly the latter.

My generation is lazy. Period. We are a generation that does not know what sacrifice is, what the value of knowledge is, or what truth is. Many people my age have to be confused...and rightly so! They are trying to grow up in a culture that feeds them immaturity as a social norm. Television and the overemphasized entertainment industry have stripped America's youth of its intellectualism and are instead conditioning them to be a psychologically manipulated group of apathetics.

Those in my age group who know better had better start standing up for what is right and true before it's too late. It may already be too late. Youth is fleeting, just like life is. Only about 1/3 to 1/4 of a life is spent in youth. The time to act and to take a stand among peers is now! I hate to imagine what it will be like for my children in the next generation.