Can we truly blame television for being a basis for groups starting their teams or thinking that is what takes place? I mean, that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to poor information that they can receive. Where do you think half of the TV shows get their ridiculous assumptions? The paranormal community. Aside from MyPara, one of the only places on the net that houses intelligence, the rest of the community seems to be full of shit anyways. The belief in orbs, mist photos, etc did not originate from TV shows, but rather the community we associate. The use of Franks box, paranormal puck, or whatever were only popularized by TV shows, but were being used prior to that by the paranormal community. In fact, everything you have ever seen on television was thought up by someone in the community.

I have personally reviewed thousands of paranormal investigator websites, MySpaces, etc and found that a small fraction had anything worth reading or value pertaining to the paranormal and the research of. It is my personal opinion that the majority of the community is hardly qualified to be researching (or claiming to), let alone new groups that have started because of television shows. Then again, I am hardly qualified to be researching, but I openly admit it. There is far more ignorance in the paranormal community than what is ever portrayed on television. Perhaps the problem isnt the TV shows, but rather the entire community.

I also have a very different opinion on many of the paranormal books that are being read as well. I find that most of them are just as full of assumption and hopeful beliefs in regards to spirits, ghosts, etc that even as a basis for knowledge cannot be really beneficial. I have read a LOT of books, and the most educational and useful of all of them have been the ones that do not have a basis for paranormal investigation. I read a lot and require a lot of reading and studying for my organization, from science based books to applying observational studies. Some are written for the FBI, others are psychology based books. I have spent the past year and a half simply building a library of books...and I am far from done. I find that most of the paranormal books are garbage and simply reiterate everything that is wrong with this field.

So it is my opinion, that these new people who watch these TV shows are F'ed from the start because no matter where they turn (unless they somehow stumble onto this site), they will most likely end up with bad information stemming from something that they saw on television. Change the paranormal community and we will change television, but we all know that it is most likely a losing battle.

Read the original discussion and other discussions here at http://www.mypara.net.