Reply #5: I certainly have always been disconnected

[hfojvt]

and it does seem like my parents were more tied in. But that's me as a borderline aspie and with no spouse to hook up with other spouses.

It reminds me somewhat of Fahrenheit 451 and the fireman's wife with her walls of people, but I still think that, popular as they may be, most people are not watching Survivor or American Idol. Millions do, yes, but far more millions do not. If you think about it, though, something like MASH or Happy Days is much the same thing, only with more interesting and perhaps more didactic plots. TV stations have taken to reality shows, because, as I understand it, they are much cheaper to make. Instead of paying writers and the stars of Friends over $500,000 per episode, you can basically get ordinary saps to do it for a chance to win $30,000.

I think it is interesting to note that DU seems to be mostly about gossip. It's all about people - Romney, Palin, Bachmann, Bush, Rove, Kochs, etc. and much, much less about issues.