A Challenge to Johnson’s Claim
The title of this article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter,” is misleading. This is a very general phrase that implies that watching any kind of TV makes you smart. It also seems like this is what the author of the article, Steven Johnson, is trying to argue. However, the phrase just isn’t true. I look at the “informing-ability” of a television show the same way I look at the informing-ability of a book. Yes, some books are extremely intellectually stimulating and will probably contribute to making you a smarter person. Others, like the Sweet Valley High series I read when I was younger, probably won’t challenge your thinking skills in the same way that “The Da Vinci Code” might. Similarly, “The Bachelor” isn’t going to be as intellectually stimulating as “24” is. I agree that TV can make you smarter, but I don’t agree that all TV will make you smarter. Although Johnson’s claim doesn’t have complete truth, it does have some truth to it. I believe that the more informational and intellectually engaging shows are much more so than they have been in the past. However, I believe this is owed to improvements in technology. Educational channels, like the “Animal Planet” can create much more accurate and detailed programs because they are able to film in places they couldn’t safely before, and with improved equipment they didn’t have before. Shows like 24 are much more complex and detailed than similar shows were in the past. Technology is improving the quality of television in general. The quality of books hasn’t changed over time. Some of the most complex books I know were written hundreds or even thousands of years ago. So, if the complexity of books hasn’t increased over time, why would television shows suddenly get “smarter”? This is just another sign that the improvement in (some) television shows isn’t due to anything but technology. The correlation over the past couple decades between technological advances and improved television shows is undeniable. Instead of looking at the complexity of television shows themselves, it might be more interesting to look at who watches what. Do television shows really make you smarter? Maybe those with lower IQs chose to only watch “simpler” shows, while those with higher IQs enjoy the more complex shows more. This is another area that could be explored in Professor Chow’s (hopefully) further fandom research lab!
