Television, Movies, and Music
As if you did not have enough influencing your self-esteem, along comes America's pastimes — television, videos, movies, and music. What does the Roadrunner, Andy and Opie, Superman, The Bridges of Madison County, Tom Cruise, and Sade have to do with your self-esteem? Much!
It is estimated that children watch over 40 hours of television a week and adults watch over 20 hours per week. Cable radio, DVDs, and CDs bring pleasure by the hours to children and adults alike. You see and hear things 24 hours a day, from spy dramas to emergency room reality shows, from love stories to murders, from family comedies to prison dramas, from rap to soul, from Glen Campbell to Snoop Dog.
So many mixed messages can blur the line between reality and fiction. Countless people inadvertently compare their lives to the lives of television, movie, and music personae. You sometimes catch yourself saying, “Why can't my partner be more like X?” “Why can't my life be as good as Y?” “Why can't I be a Wichita Lineman?”
These questions begin to play a role in how you see yourself and how you function in the world. Subconsciously, you begin to ask yourself, by way of comparison, “If Johnboy Walton can have parents who are so loving and supportive, why can't I?” “If Will can have a great friend like Grace, why can't I?” “Why can't I be as sexy-in-the-city as Carrie Bradshaw?” Why can't I build my own home like Bob Vila?” and “Why oh why can't I wiggle my nose and make my mother-in-law disappear!!?”
Over the years, these comparisons begin to impair your judgment and wear away your self-esteem.
Are we shaped more by our genetics or our environment?
Psychologists still argue this point. Some say that our genetic makeup is the number one attribute to our personality. Others say that our environment is most important. It is called the “nature-nurture” controversy. It is suggested that our genes play a major role in our development, but our changing scenery plays a role in how our lives progress.
