Ani DeFranco once screamed in one of her songs, “You’re like one of those zombies in Vegas pouring quarters into a slot machine.” Even though Ani is an angry musician, there is truth within her lyrics, especially in this one. These lyrics remind me of the youths in our culture (generation X and Y) today. We live in a world where mass media manipulates minds. We are all guilty of turning to MTV for news, Ricki Lake for advice and reading Cosmo instead of challenging ourselves with a classic novel. With all of the mass media feeding into our brains we have turned into zombies.When I was a little girl I can remember sitting on the couch with my usual position of eyes glued to the TV and hearing my sisters faint voice from miles away trying to talk to me. It was as if the television was my escape from reality. The television literally sucked me in and I had completely no control over it. I think back to those days and can’t believe that I allowed myself to be so controlled by something. Yet, I still find myself watching TV, listening to music, and reading magazines all at the same time. With this addiction of watching TV, I have noticed a major decline in my vocabulary, writing, and communication skills. It has become a major struggle finding the right words to express myself without sounding uneducated. Moreover, I have come to realize that I accepted this downfall. I have yet to challenge myself and allow myself to rectify the situation. “…anyone who listens for long will find himself wondering if it doesn’t signal a decline in vocabulary, and perhaps even literacy” (555).In the essay, “It’s Like, EXTREME, But Not GROSS,” the author, Scott Leigh, says the television erodes vocabulary not only through its own least-common-denominator language, but by supplanting that greater builder of vocabulary and knowledge, reading. Whenever I turn on the television I see ...
