While we think we’re just watching, we’re also being shaped by the stories and images we see. We watch how others live their lives and we see the values they hold. Our brains notice everything, even if we’re not paying much attention, and we compare what we do, with what ‘they’ do. Here’s a live concert video from 1990 when Pete Seeger invited me to join him on stage at the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga.

YOU GET A LITTLE EXTRA WHEN YOU WATCH TV.

Cho: You get a little extra when you watch TV C

Ain’t that ducky! Well you’re lucky if you see, that G7

You get a little extra when you watch TV! C-G7-C

You sit too close and you get a big surprise

Lots of radiation in your body and your eyes

Your eardrums hum when someone turns it up too high,

When you watch TV!

We learn lots about our bodies and our aches and pains,

Headaches, hemorrhoids, heartburn, diarrhea, denture stains

Gotta buy more drugs t’stop your stresses and your strains

When you watch TV !

Chorus

When someone in an advertisement tells me lies

I jump up and switch the channels, so I get some exercise

And my body’s getting healthy and my mind is getting wise

When I watch TV!

Daddies only love the Mommies when the dirt’s all gone

From their shirts and shiny floors, the coffee has t’be right on,

I’m so glad my Dad’s not fussy, cause he’d leave my Mom,

If he watched TV!

Chorus

In real life it never works when people go

And hit and kick and punch and smash each other’s heads and toes

But it always solves the problems on the cartoon shows

When you watch TV!

Last night on the highway when our car got stalled

We saw a bloody accident with bodies that were mauled

Though my folks got sick, it didn’t bother me at all.

Cause I watch TV!

Chorus

Now you may think that I am lazy, don’t you call me names

I’ve learned important skills from playing video games

If a spaceship should attack us I could shoot ‘em down in flames,

Cause I watch TV!

And a big TV can really give you quite a rest

If you get one near your bed, you’ve got no reason to get dressed

You never have to talk to anyone, your life is a success

When you watch TV!

Chorus

Written by Peter Alsop, ©1983, Moose School Music (BMI)

On Wha’D’Ya Wanna Do?, Songs On Recovery & Addiction, & Pie In The Sky

https://www.peteralsop.com

(Illustration by @TerriAsher)

I wrote this song in 1983 about all the little hidden messages we get when watching television. It’s helped thousands of kids and families build awareness about how we are subtly influenced every day through our ‘media screens’. I think it’s even more relevant now than it was back then, because when we go into our ‘screen-time focus’, we check out of our ‘real-time awareness’, and we miss many of the interactions we could be having with real people and real things that are actually right there in front of us. Our ‘real time’ life-minutes tick by without us picking up on the nuances of the world around us. And, of course most of us have our own portable private screens now!

When screen time becomes ‘normal’, we don’t even question that maybe we’re getting unhealthy radiation from our device. Everyone else is doing it!

If taking a pill is the ‘normal’ way we stop our pain, we may embrace the message, that everything problematic in our live can be ‘fixed’ with some elusive simple answer.

If I believe that I’m getting sufficient exercise simply by getting up to change channels, (although everyone nowadays has remote channel changers!), I’m unlikely to put the ‘screen’ away and go outside for a walk or a jog. You get the point.

It’s very human and normal to focus on our entertainment or on how many ‘friends’ we have listed on the internet, but as we become more aware of the powerful, subtle, nowadays dishonest and manipulative cultural messages we are exposed to, … the less likely it is that we will believe those stories and take them to heart. We will tell ourselves more uplifting, hopeful stories about how we can support each other in our communities and our work places, and find courage to speak truth to power when we need to do that. That’s how we can build a better future that leaves space for love and kind-hearted caring, for ourselves, others and for all life on our planet.

Thanks for stopping by, … I’m Peter Alsop. Please share any of my posts that might be helpful to someone you know.

Peter Alsop’s SONGS TO CHEW Audio podcasts

Thanks for reading Peter Alsop’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Click here to see All of Peter’s albums!

To send me a comment, you can sign in as a Substack member by clicking the button above. It’s free, but you can always email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you! You don’t have to be a ‘paid’ subscriber to get my posts. Everyone gets ‘em, … some folks send in money to support my work. In either case, glad you’re here! Thanks for spreading the word!

Peter Alsop’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.