Whether it is a soap opera, Game of Thrones or a comedy, sometimes TV characters that you adore get killed or die of natural causes. And sometimes, depending upon how attached you are to the character, you may feel some sadness or even denial. “But he can’t really be dead, you say,” and “She may have fallen off of a cliff but we didn’t see her die so maybe she is still alive,” are common things that I hear. And you know that often, a character will die for a while and then come back, if the actor has to make a movie and will be gone for a couple of years, or is pursuing other options. So the tendency to wish them back isn’t unrealistic, but can be a symptom of denial, the first stage of grieving. I was interviewed recently about this very topic, and the reporter wanted to know, ” What does it mean when you can’t admit that your favorite character is dead?” Click here to read more.

Your child is sitting with cartoons, joyfully laughing at the characters antics and silly plots, or teaching social interaction skills so necessary for growing up strong. It may give you a sense of security that all is well with your child, and often it is so.  But if you have children from six to fourteen years of age, you may want to watch the types of cartoon characters they are viewing. Students who viewed overweight characters who were then offered candy, ate more than those who watched normal-weight characters.

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Imagine a weekend at home with nothing but you, your caramel cinnamon popcorn and DVDs of all five seasons of Breaking Bad. You have nothing else on your agenda, your feet are carefully positioned on your favorite stuffed ottoman. You and your partner or a good friend are comfortably snuggled up under a fuzzy blanket. It sounds like a lot of fun to catch-up on a favorite series, check out one you’ve never watched on video or tune into Decades TV for reruns of your favorite old show marathons. But when is too much viewing too much? Often when what you binge view is crime and violence related or interferes with another important activity.

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Ever Wonder Why Stories Go Viral?

Recently, I was asked recently to comment on why a news story got tens of thousands of hits on the Internet. The story involved conflicting stories about a dog bite in a veterinarian’s office near Sarasota Florida.  After a dog was held in custody, there was an outpouring of sympathy for the dog, but not for the victim.  Some of the reasons this story went viral explain how many stories hit the Internet running.

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Nancy Mramor, Ph.D. Author of Get Reel: Produce Your Own Life
For MTV News

In the media, there is a need for material on celebrities all of the time, both good and bad. It’s all news to those who read the publications, listen to the news broadcasts and get the Google alerts with updates on their favorite celebs.  We want more and more and so we are driving the publications to give us what we tell them we want.  So why would we idolize celebrities and then enjoy watching them fail, as if they aren’t real people with feelings? Lindsay Lohan is moving to London where she can grow up and mature in private, and is even seeking citizenship. The handwriting is on the wall.  She may be tired of the ways that we create heroes and then enjoy watching them fall.

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