The Television Transcript Project, TVTP Links The Addictive Video Screen: My Fireplace Theory

Watching TV late into the night, flipping through the stations over again even after establishing that there is "nothing" on. Working on the computer, surfing, whatever, finding it hypnotizing. Why do we find video screens so mesmerizing, to stare at this.. stationary.. glowing.. object? What is going on here? What is this.. primal.. yearning?

For centuries, for all of human time, all of our human ancestors stared into their campfires and fireplaces before retiring to sleep. Here is a red-orange color to stare at, but surely the yearning is mostly to relax and meditate on nothing.

Suzanne Morine (Shazam)