By Kevin M

We’re not going to talk today about the best deals on widescreen TVs or the most cost effective cable packages. Instead, I want to focus on what I’m certain are the far larger affects of TV on our finances in the form of time, opportunity cost, and influence.

Time. According to Adweek adults in America average 309.1 minutes watching TV each day. That works out to be more than five hours per day! If we spend eight hours each day sleeping, another eight working, plus five hours watching TV, that eats up 21 of our 24 hours, leaving just three hours each day for virtually everything else we have going on!

Opportunity cost. If TV commercials represent a frontal assault on our finances, an even larger attack is underway diverting us away from more productive activities. What money producing/saving activities we could be engaged if we weren’t watching TV?

• Exercising to improve health to lower medical costs
• Investing time in career improvement by taking courses to learn new job skills
• Developing a side business for extra income or a future full time venture
• Working part time to produce a badly needed extra income stream
• Fixing what’s broken rather than calling someone to repair it
• Getting involved in local government instead of quietly paying fines and higher taxes
• Creating and tending a vegetable garden to save money on grocery bills
• Networking with others to expand job and business opportunities
• Drawing closer to family and friends or getting to know neighbors who might offer expertise and skill sets we’re now paying others for

Influence. This is the biggest cost of all. The primary purpose of TV is to sell us something; the entertainment content is merely the means used to carry the sales messages. Commercials are the obvious pitch, but even program content is often an attempt to sell us on a lifestyle, which is why advertisers match their commercial runs to programs attracting specific corresponding viewer profiles. Every minute we watch TV we’re being told to buy something; how could this arrangement not sabotage a budget?

But we’re also influenced in more subtle ways, not just in what to buy, but also what we should think, how we should perceive the world and how we should respond to it all. And there are costs attached to all of it.

All sports all the time—and the conversations afterward

Participating in sports can be an excellent way to get in shape and stay healthy. For most people however, sports have become something we watch far more than we participate in. The marriage between TV and sports has proven to be an especially potent mix. Guys, we’re especially guilty here. Many men are “all sports guys”‘; they follow nearly every sport and 24/7 sports programming makes it easy. Football, baseball, basketball, golf, gymnastics–if it’s a sport, they’re on it.

In between games, there are sports talk programs. Now if watching sports on TV is superfluous, how much more so is the televised discussion of it afterward? Some fans know more about professional athletes’ game statistics than they do about their own household budgets. Newsflash: you’re own life is more important than anything happening in your favorites sports stars careers! At what point do we realize that watching and embellishing the performance of others on the field isn’t really helping us get to where we need to be in our own careers?

A pill for what ever ails us

It seems there’s magic pill to cure diseases and ailments we haven’t even heard of. And they’re all over TV. Though one would think pharmaceutical manufacturers would target doctors directly, instead they’re getting out in front of the general public to get the demand pull going.

There are a number of unholy ways this can cost us money…

1. Getting a prescription will add another line item to our budgets–most are ongoing drug therapies, not temporary fixes.
2. If everything can be cured by a miracle drug, we might start thinking that we don’t need to take care of ourselves through more rigorous (and probably more effective) efforts at diet and exercise.
3. If the medications don’t work or don’t work fully, we’ve wasted our money.
4. Health insurance companies look at the number of prescriptions a person is taking and either raise premiums or refuse coverage.

Infomercials and Get Rich (or pumped, or skinny, or healthy) quick!

We’ve all seen them, the 30 minute ads telling us how to be richer, thinner, more ripped, a master chef in the kitchen, free from pain—no need to worry about our problems, infomercial marketers have it all figured out for us.

Infomercials can drain us in a number of ways, the cost of a deficient gadget or failed program being only the most obvious. We can waste time believing the hype when we should be looking for real world solutions, or time trying to work at a get-rich-quick scheme that was never viable from the start.

The money in infomercials is in producing infomercials. Until we come up with a good idea for one, we’re best to ignore them.

Televangelists and dial-a-miracle

Christianity was founded by itinerant preachers spreading the word from one community to the next, typically relying on the charity of the faithful for earthly support. TV has mostly mechanized the process.

Unfortunately, many TV preachers put on the preverbal dog-and-pony show, deteriorating to the point that they’re calling down miracles from heaven on viewer call-ins or promising a ten-fold financial windfall from God for “giving to this ministry”. People in dire financial straits can easily succumb to this—after all, who hasn’t needed a miracle in difficult circumstances?

When a man becomes more important than the message he preaches, there’s a real danger of a false profit–I mean prophet–actually I mean both! Save your money for the collection basket at church where the real work in the field is being done.

Let’s make a star

I’ll be the first to admit that American Idol, and many of its spin-off and me-too incantations, put together an entertaining package. The idea of a complete unknown coming out of the hinterlands to become the next big star is an inspiration to us all. Who hasn’t been moved by the Susan Boyle story?

The appeal of these shows rests with the ever-popular theme of overnight success. While conceding that it can actually happen and even does occasionally, it’s the true exception and not the rule. Watch enough of these shows however, and you might actually begin to believe that this is how success happens.

For most of us,success will only come with consistent effort applied over a long period of time. The idea of overnight success, while certainly appealing, can be a distraction at best, and counterproductive at worst if you’re trying to establish yourself in a career, business venture or savings or debt reduction plan.

Cops, cops and more cops

When I was growing up we watched crime dramas about bank robbers, smugglers, counterfeiters and the occasional murderer. Today, TV cops chase serial murderers, psycho rapists, terrorists and the worst elements of society. I’m not denying that such types exist in the world, but why celebrate such mayhem by immersing ourselves in programs revolving around it? Morbid curiosity is the best I can come up with, but nothing good can come of that.

We can say that it’s just entertainment, but I believe the plethora of cop shows is contributing to a lack of trust in people. They can give us a dim view of humanity and if we’re going to accomplish anything in life worth achieving, we need to embrace life and the people in it.

The six-o’clock nightmare

Cop shows and the six-o’clock news are two sides to the same coin. There’s a saying in the news world, “if it bleeds, it leads”, and this is especially obvious with local news programs. After all, they rarely have stories that can compete with the national network news, and need to rely on a steady fare of murder and mayhem to attract even local viewers.

But news is just reality, isn’t it? Well, sort of…it’s reality with a spin; reality with a heavy emphasis on the dark side—reality for entertainment purposes. It influences our world view and the way we spend money. In reaction to the deterioration we see on the news, we might be tempted to spend money on security systems, firearms and homes in gated communities (costly neighborhoods we go to—ironically—to escape community!).

I’m not trying to be naïve, but if the world were as dark and dangerous a place as cop shows and news programs would have us believe, we wouldn’t be able to walk the streets, commute to work, go to the grocery store, send our kids to school or even sleep in our beds at night.

 
Just as we need to be careful what we feed our bodies, we must also use caution in what we allow into our minds. TV sells us, influences us, and makes us feel insecure about ourselves and the world, ultimately changing our spending choices while it does. That’s what TV really costs us.

By Kevin M

I’m a bit, shall we say, long-in-the-tooth to be watching a teen-oriented program, but since my wife and I have teenage kids, we often watch what they watch. At a minimum, we want to know what kind of entertainment they’re taking in.

About 18 months ago, ABC Family rolled out the teen series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Centering on the storyline of a 15 year old high school student becoming pregnant as a result of a one time affair with a 16 year old boy, the original plot looked to have a solid message, one that we felt our kids needed to see—our daughter especially.

The show seemed to have all the potential to deliver a powerful message on the consequences of teen sex and the need for responsibility. Perfect–IF it had stayed on message! But just as the Brady Bunch mostly ignored its original plot of the trials of a blended family, morphing instead into the perfect family with hardly a mention of its blended status past the third or fourth episode, so Secret Life moved past the initial struggles of a pregnant teen, and into the realm of a runaway teen soap opera well before the end of its first season.

Secret Life is hot

If you don’t watch this show, know little about it, but have kids between the ages of 12 and 18—girls especially—you need to consider the impact. By some accounts, it rates as the No. 1 TV show among females, ages 12-34, and among young adults, ages 18-34. This isn’t just another show the kids are watching; in many quarters, it’s THE show.

When the show rolled out in the summer of 2008, the New York Times reported that “ABC Family means well but could not have done worse. “Secret Life” doesn’t take the fun out of teenage pregnancy, it takes the fun out of television.” (A Teenage Pregnancy, Packaged as a Prime-TimeCautionary Tale, July 1, 2008).

I wouldn’t say the show takes the fun out of television, but it most certainly does NOTHING to take the fun out of teenage pregnancy. In the aftermath of the leads’ pregnancy, no one in the show exercises the slightest caution in regard to sex—not the teenage cast and not even their incredibly bumbling parents.

Initially and now superficially, the show alleges an anti-pregnancy message. An increasingly hollow public service message follows each episode with the teen members of the cast urging teenagers and parents to “communicate about sex”. I’m no longer sure what that message even means. There’s no trace of what should be there: an anti-sex message, and considering that the show is aimed at teenagers, that would certainly be the more compelling one. After all, they can’t get pregnant without having sex so it would seem that conveying that message would be the priority. Guess again.

Despite the well intended initial plot, the show has deteriorated instead into a billboard for teen sex.

The basic story line

The relevant characters:

Amy—the pregnant girl/teen mom
Ricky—the shows resident gigolo and the guy who got Amy pregnant
Adrian—the girl who’s slept with nearly every guy on the show
Grace—cheerleader and struggling Christian
Ashley—Amy’s 14 year old sister and the only person with a shred of sense
Jack—ministers son, sometimes Christian and sometimes Graces boyfriend
Tom—Graces adopted brother; he has Downs Syndrome (remember this point!)
Ben—Amy’s boyfriend, he’s the only truly decent human being on the show
Anne—Amy’s mom
George—Amy’s never-gonna-get-it-right dad

Ricky is having sex with Adrian almost continuously, but hooked up with Amy once and got her pregnant. Both Ricky and Adrian continue to have sex with other people as well. In one episode, Adrian is shown having sex with her new stepbrother.

Grace the Christian finally breaks her vow of chastity-until-marriage and has sex with Jack, breaking off the relationship when he presses her for oral sex. Without shedding a tear or missing a beat, Jack goes into a “relationship” with a bit part character. The primary draw between the two is the bit part girls’ willingness to accommodate the sexual act he could not get Grace to fulfill. But it turns out the bit-part girl doesn’t want to date Jack, it’s all about sex for her.

Then there’s Ben—boyfriend and would-be husband to Amy and the one apparent good guy in the program. Not to be denied however, he had a summer romance in Italy (we’re left to our imaginations as to whether or not it was ever consummated), and finally decides to dump Amy when his hormonally super-charged Italian fling comes to California for an unscheduled visit. To his credit, Ben at least feels some remorse over dumping Amy, but we’ve been left hanging as to whether or not the break will be permanent.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Ben’s divorced or widowed father took a new bride last season—she’s a former hooker… Can this get any worse???

But it does get worse!

Yes, much worse…

The show wants to get everyone into the sex act—after all, everybody’s doing it, right? Hence Grace’s adopted brother, Tom—who as you recall has Downs Syndrome—is experiencing his own hormonal stirrings. During the series he has a platonic relationship with a girl who also has Downs, but in this weeks episode he dumps her because—drum roll–she won’t have sex with him! Worse, he thinks he’s entered a relationship with Adrian and plans to have sex with her. And why not, everyone else has!

And the parents, the would-be role models…

Amy’s parents are divorced because of her dad’s (George’s) extra marital affairs, one of which was with the Adrian’s mom. Post divorce, Amy’s mom (Anne) had a sexual affair with a coworker and became pregnant right after Amy did. Yes, let the children lead the way! But Anne is never sure if the baby was from her new (but now ex-) boyfriend or her ex-husband—turns out George lied about having a vasectomy. Are you with me so far?

Both mom and daughter keep their babies but—curiously—neither baby ever seems to get much in anyone’s way. Two infants in the same house but we seldom see or hear from either of them. Only in Hollywood do infants and small children disappear until they’re relevant to the story line; in real life they are the story line.

Grace’s dad dies in the show, and the mother of this formerly Christian family is almost immediately involved in a sexual relationship with a single man who’s Jewish–not sure what the relevance of his faith might be, but the show feels the need to emphasize this point whenever he’s in the story line.

In this weeks episode, Grace’s mom makes three admissions to her new boyfriend: A) she’s a Republican (he’s a Democrat), B) “but (she) voted for Obama”—in Hollywood speak I guess this means she’s corrupted but not beyond redemption, and C) she cheated on her first husband. Hmmm, she’s having a sexual relationship with a man shortly after her husbands’ death, her husband was her second husband, and she cheated on the first. Is there any wonder why Grace and Tom are having sexual struggles of their own?

In a bizarre twist I haven’t figured out the relevance of, the Jewish boyfriends’ mother drops in when he and Graces mom are in bed and about to do “it”. Belonging to a previous generation we might expect his mother to display some semblance of embarrassment or condemnation, but not on this show. Everything’s just fine and in an off-handed way, she even blesses to their romp.

Responsibility, Hollywood style

On the side of responsibility, the sexual moments are clearly implied but never shown.

Every now and then someone on the show brandishes a packaged condom and while parents pretend to be shocked, it’s never for too long, if they’re even around. The “moral message” of the show seems to be “have sex but use a condom”.

Biggest plug for responsibility: both new moms in the show forego abortions in favor of raising the babies themselves, though for a time Amy and her family contemplate putting her baby up for adoption.

But that’s about it in the direction of responsibility. With all of the teen and adult sex happening every week, the topic of STD’s is curiously absent.

Despite the original message warning teens of the potential consequences of teen sex, the driving message of the show IS sex. No one in the show seems to have anything of substance going on apart from it.

The movie Juno was likewise about a pregnant teen. It was an excellent movie that successfully mixed humor with many of the real trauma’s of a teenage girl dealing with pregnancy. This show doesn’t come close on either humor or reality.

So let’s repeat the title question: What exactly is the message of Secret Life of the American Teenager?

Have sex, but use a condom?
Have sex, but feel bad about it afterward?
Have sex but go to counseling?
Have sex but don’t get pregnant?

Is this “art imitating life”, or is it art driving life?