Unjoyment
Unjoyment describes the activities and feelings of watching screens for many hours per day, or doing some other activity that does not require real mental activity and involvement, because the watcher doesn't do things that create real joy and enjoyment. Video games, watching stuff, etc. has been the go to pass time of kids starting in the 1950s with the advent of the first black and white TVs and broadcasting networks. It's a mind trap in most cases because it dulls the brain insidiously and prevents you from having greater fun and enjoyment. In his 1964 pioneering study of media theory, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Marshall McLuhan invented the now-ubiquitous the phrase, "the medium is the message", meaning the media itself is more important in its effects than the content it presents. His distinction between "hot media" and "cold media" proposes that the more all-inclusive the content, the less viewer participation, creativity and actual involvement is needed. He would then see a movie as the ultimate in hot media, completely enveloping the viewer in all senses, in a darkened room. Although he though TV to be a cold media, today's screens, including high definition, digital sound, ear buds, etc. seem just about as hot as a movie, and in fact movies are watched on cell phones.
Those kids may be out to dinner with their parents, but they're just sitting there with their phones in complete Unjoyment.
Unjoyment by CrotchGourmet July 29, 2022
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