Terence McKenna: Television Is A Drug

"Television, while chemically non-invasive, nevertheless is every bit as addicting and physiologically damaging as any other drug" (Rivers). An average person will spend about six hours a day watching television, which is approximately equivalent to one third of his/her waking day. "Not unlike other drugs or alcohol, the television experience allows the participant to blot out the real world and enter into a pleasurable and passive state" (Winn 21) Television allows people to forget about their everyday lives, and enter a pleasurable and passive world. This passive ‘trip’ people take when watching television is similar to a ‘trip’ while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.