Study: Watching Fewer Than Four Hours Of TV A Day Impairs Ability To Ridicule Pop Culture

from The Onion:

A Columbia University study released Tuesday suggests that viewing fewer than four hours of television a day severely inhibits a person's ability to ridicule popular culture.

"An hour or two of television per day simply does not provide enough information to effectively mock mediocre sitcoms, vapid celebrities, music videos, and talk-show hosts — an essential skill in modern society," said Dr. Madeleine Ben-Ami, a professor of cognitive science and chief author of the study. "The average person requires a minimum of four to six hours of television programming each day to be conversant on the subject of The Apprentice or able to impersonate Anna Nicole Smith."

Tracking 800 individuals between the ages of 15 and 39, researchers found that people who watch fewer than four hours of television a day have difficulty understanding the references made on VH1's Best Week Ever, and are often unable to point out the absurdity of infomercial products or the cluelessness of American Idol finalists.

"Study participants who watched television inconsistently were less personally invested in what they saw than regular viewers," Ben-Ami said. "While some sporadic viewers were able to enjoy jokes made by others, they were unable to make jokes of their own. . ."

. . . or, apparently, write original blog entries of their own. My television viewing, on average, is now well below one hour a day. In fact, if it weren't for The Daily Show, I would be below a half-hour a day on average. Personally, I blame the prevalence of reality t.v., the continuing absence of new episodes of The Sopranos, and the refusal of the networks to allow the cast of Desperate Housewives to do full-frontal nudity. Of course, we can blame the FCC for the latter, although even what with Michael Powell stepping down and all, that's not likely to change any time soon.

So, I guess my underviewing of television leaves me pop-culture impoverished, and I have to resort to cutting and pasting articles from The Onion to fill my blog.