I was driving in the car to work this morning and the weather was really bad, so it made the commute a little longer. Unusually, I was listening to one of the morning shows. I really tuned in at the lights, right as they were talking about when you would be too old to be on Facebook. I quickly changed stations and they were talking about how drunk one of the DJ's got at an event the night before. So I changed stations again. They had a call-in where people could voice their opinion on which city was better Calgary or Edmonton (Calgary being the home favorite). I finally turned it off.
So I ask if I just got smarter because radio content just seems to get dumber. Now I can get updates on what happened in Hollywood yesterday - every single morning! Could there be anything less valuable to report on?! Dont get me wrong - I don't want to listen to reports on astrophysics or microbiology either, but at least then I could accidentally learn something!
Your choice of inputs is a dangerous thing. Think of the music, DJ's, movies and magazines that you consume. How much of it is dumb? How often do you participate in conversation that is not enriching? If you answered over 30% to either of these questions, you may have a problem (we all need a little mindless content now and then, so 0% wasn't the right answer either).
Please, please go get some books on CD, download a good podcast, read a book (mags don't count), find someone with something to say. Find positive sources for content. Make your ride to work useful and still enjoyable. Make your inputs things that could improve your knowledge or quality of life. People that have interests and knowledge are interesting people. Make sure your inputs are helping you in some way. North American society is geared towards less thinking and more empty listening. Break the mould and follow the old adage ... Learn something new today.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Did I Just Become Really, Really Smart?!
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1 comments:
Well done Marty. You nailed it.
As a former Morning Show Radio Disc-jockey for 18 years, I can't stand to listen to radio anymore. It's been dumbed down. That's not to say you've become less smart but perhaps you've refined while radio has not. Can't think of why I need to know whether or not Britney Spears wore underwear last night, but there a lot of reporters who get paid handsomely by their networks to ensure I have that information.
But then, you get that. It's the old, "Garbage in-garbage out" philosophy. Be choosy about what goes in.
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