Monday, February 6, 2012

What Has Our Society Come To?


          So this weekend was very uneventful since I was ahead on all my homework and didn't need to start studying for my economics test this week. Instead I decided to catch up on my reading and the 5th season of Jersey Shore. I know what you are thinking......how can she read a fantastic book and then go watch that mind numbing show?!? Believe me I was asking myself the same question.
         Currently I am reading a book called The Power of One which is about apartheid in South Africa. I watched the movie whilst in geography in 9th grade and I realized it was a book a few years later. Thanks to Borders closing I'm now the proud owner of it! So far it is has been very good and has given me a lot of incite into life and I have some lessons that I need to incorporate into my life. This one will most definitely be highlighted. As I sit there reading chapter upon chapter and enriching my mind I get tired of processing information. What is then next best thing? Turn on Jersey Shore of course!
         Yes, I will admit I used to be an avid watcher of Jersey Shore and lived for "Jerseday" or Thursdays when the show would air. For those that live under a rock, or just don't pay attention to pop culture, Jersey Shore is about a group of people that are all from New Jersey that live together in a house and are paid to party, drink, cause drama, and have sex. Yes, I know my mind is becoming mush as I type this. As stupid as this show is, it is very addicting! The people do and say the dumbest things but I get to live their life every Thursday when I watch it. I would never want my life to actually be like theirs but it is nice to have a fantasy, hence an obsession. I don't have a TV in my dorm so I have not been an avid watcher this season but I decided to start watching this weekend since I have nothing else better to do. I quickly realized how stupid it really is. I knew the show was dumb all along but I ignored the fact and just laughed as Snooki fell on her drunken ass in the middle of the boardwalk. Watching the first episode of Season 5 make me realize that these people have no lives and are going no where! This can only last so long and everyone is so annoying! Especially Mike aka "The Situation". The man is 30 and all he does is cause drama, oh and GTL (gym, tan, laundry). The guys on the show are high maintenance and just goof around. What are we teaching young boys of America? That they have to have ripped abs, party every day, and sleep with as many women as possible? My future son will not think those values are acceptable to possess. I honestly know guys that don't think all aspects of the Jersey Shore lifestyle ok but they think some are. They have become obsessed with their bodies and what they look like and it's a bit ridiculous. Girls do the same thing, but we have been doing it for years. This is a new trend among guys that will eventually begin to hurt them as well. Look at what it has done to girls? Suicide, anorexia, and bulimia rates have all sky rocketed because we don't think we are pretty enough and we never will be. The same thing will happen to guys and it's all due to these "juice heads" on the Jersey Shore.
            These stupid reality TV shows like Jersey Shore are ruining teenagers minds. Teenagers don't read anymore, most find it repulsive and would much rather watch TV or play xbox. It doesn't help that literally every book under the sun is turning into a movie. The most common excuse now is why read it when I can watch it? Why waste a week or two of my time reading when I can waste 2 hours max watching the movie and get the same thing out of it? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Watching the movie and reading the book are completely different! You can't get the in depth character and plot development and most movies leave pieces out because they can't fit everything that our decreasing attention spans can handle. In order to fully understand something you must read it. I don't understand the people that don't like to read. Reading gives you imagination and transports you to different places and times in history or made up places. It puts you in situations you could never dream about being in. Learning to read was such a milestone when we were younger; once we could read, we could conquer the world. You felt superior when you finally learned how to read and the superiority kept growing when you could read harder books than your classmates. Literacy is one of the best gifts God could have given us, and some people don't have the ability to. I feel awful for those that can't read because they cannot experience the joy I get when I pick up a book and I'm transported into a whole new world. Don't give up on reading and don't give into these shows that people call TV. I'm not saying that I won't stop watching Jersey Shore, but one thing is for sure: I will never stop reading. 

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