Watching…
(Photo Courtesy of Patrishe)
By Abigail Chadwick
Edited by Bethany Blue
Editor’s Note: This article advocates the benefit and “point” of pointless and mindless entertainment. Particularly with regards to college students who are ideally spending most of their time doing mentally strenuous activities and have limited spare time for other things.
I believe that there is a point to “pointless” (or “mindless”) entertainment. That is not to say that all entertainment should be that way, certainly people today, more than ever, need to think more and expand their brain power, exploring the capacities of their mind. However, in today’s non-stop going, going, going environment it is all too easy for unhealthy amounts of stress to build up inside a person. There is a great benefit to taking some down-time to relax and unwind every once in a while. I think that the some of the most effective activities to engage in during such down-time are activities in which you don’t really have to think. I also agree with the old saying that laughter is the best medicine (or one of the best medicines) especially for dealing with stress. Thus I hold that one of the best ways of unwinding and dealing with stress involves engaging in activities that do not require you to think, and that have a good probability of inducing laughter. “Pointless” entertainment often meets both these qualifications. Thus, “pointless” entertainment is one of the best ways to unwind and rid yourself of stress.
They say that laughter is the best medicine. While some would try to argue that this is merely a myth, an old wives tale, a superstition, it is actually a scientific fact – laughing improves your overall health (to qualify we are referring to laughter that occurs on a regular basis, not laugher that happens once every 10 years). There are many documented health benefits to laughter including, most notably for our purposes, reducing stress. This occurs regardless of whether the laugher is induced by crude humor or not, but it is my opinion that avoidance of crude humor would be prudent. Regardless, “pointless” humorous entertainment materials abound in our society, particularly due to the wonders of the internet and having the world at our fingertips. Our current state of society makes finding a few chuckles a day fairly easy. Many of these funny moments, quotes, pictures, etc. are either from a “pointless” source and/or are themselves considered pointless. However, this negative view of them does not negate their ability to benefit us.
It is not difficult to find people who stand against “pointless” entertainment and they have some valid points. They recognize that “pointless” entertainment doesn’t have a point that one has to think through and discover, it doesn’t really engage the mind, and it is often full of crude and unhelpful materials (garbage some would say). However, for the most part these opponents avoid recognizing the benefits of “pointless” entertainment. While I certainly agree that it is a worthwhile pursuit to try and do everything in life with meaning, I still feel there is a place for things that are not necessarily meaningful on a deep level (or rather, the lack of deep meaning behind pointless entertainment gives it a deeper meaning and value with regards to relaxation).
To be clear I highly value thinking and pursuing excellence in the various matters of the mind. I think this is a value that we are losing in modern society. However, I firmly believe that the mind, like the body needs periodic rest to avoid over-stressing it, particularly for college students. While some may scoff at the idea of a brain – a super computer in its own right – being over stressed, the brain is like a muscle and while yes it can be trained and toned to accomplish amazing feats, it also needs to have periods of rest, something fairly easily accomplished by sleeping. However, most people can’t just go around taking naps willy-nilly; even when a person doesn’t have anything to do at the moment, they are often still “on-call” as it were, to other tasks or responsibilities. Also even if that is not the case in a particular instance, in my experience most people tend to look down on sleeping for great chunks of the day.
This is where the so-called “mindless” entertainment comes in. By definition mindless entertainment is entertainment that doesn’t really engage the mind, doesn’t force it to work to understand or figure out things. This could take the form of staring at a wall, or at anything really (people, buildings, the ocean, a light fixture, etc.), but most would not consider such an activity to be entertainment. Which is why people generally associate “mindless entertainment” with certain TV shows and/or movies. However, as I stated before I feel that there is not only a place for, but also a benefit to “mindless” entertainment. Watching a show that doesn’t engage your mind – that isn’t some documentary, or news piece, or really deep show – can give the mind a small break from its workload, while still being active enough to be ready for tasks that may come up. Watching such a show can also be a low-pressure social activity, a way to spend time with people without the pressures of having to make good conversation.
My point is that there are benefits to that which people often consider “mindless” entertainment. People may call it “pointless,” but I feel that these benefits (unwinding, mental break, laughter) are the point. Thus, there is a point to “pointless” entertainment.