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Amazon – “Reinvent Happy Hour: Stay Home, Drink, and Watch TV”

A recent Amazon ad suggests staying home as an alternative to socializing with friends at Happy Hour.

The ad shows a woman at home, sitting on her couch alone, with a glass of wine in one hand and a remote in the other. Click the image below for a larger view.

20150421tu-amazon-reinvent-happy-hour-stay-home-sit-on-couch-alone-watch-television

While some alone time can be good, a trend toward anti-social behavior and drinking alone can be a problem:

“A person who drinks alone is putting themselves at risk of developing a substance abuse problem and of increasing the problems they are facing. They are isolating themselves from others, magnifying problems with friends and family and denying that they have a problem.” (Source: AlcoholRehab.com)

Drinking aside, seeking out television rather than people in the real world can have undesirable side effects:

While Amazon is promoting sedentary behavior in this ad, they are also selling the medical equipment you’ll need after contracting the diseases and health complications that come from that lifestyle.

Everything you love, now on your TV

20150423th-google-chromecast-everything-you-love-now-on-your-tvGoogle advertises their Chromecast device with the statement, “Everything you love, now on your TV.”

As with Amazon’s ad, this is a similar romanticization of how technology and content providers can fill our need for love.

In science fiction films, a popular image is the portrayal of people being ‘glued to the tube’ and somehow being controlled, manipulated, or sedated through media. These ads reflect a similar future.

Network

This segment from the film Network depicts how people self medicate with telelvision.

The Antidote

Get up from the couch, be active, make nutritious beverages choices, and socialize.

By Greg Johnson

Greg Johnson is a freelance writer and tech consultant in Iowa City. He is also the founder and Director of the ResourcesForLife.com website. Learn more at AboutGregJohnson.com