What are your experiences with both of these channels? When did you first start watching them, how old were you, and which did you prefer, and why? What role did these channels have on your life and personality? How influential were they, and looking back on it all now, what are your thoughts on the whole pop culture media monsters that were VH1 and MTV?

For me, I watched both heavily when I first got cable in 1998 when I was 12. It was as if a whole new world opened up for me and I got to experience these two channels among others. In my mind I was no longer a kid so these two channels provided a glimpse into teenage and adult pop culture from the past and present and I got to catch up on a bunch of 80s and 90s songs and their music videos. I loved watching the pop-up videos on VH1 on old and new songs and MTV was mainly for Celebrity Deathmatch and The Tom Green Show while also enjoying the Spring Break specials and music videos. Later it was shows like The Real World and Jackass that captured my attention. I think at that time I preferred VH1 because it had a more laid back vibe to it which I appreciated since I was resting after a wild childhood. The problem was that I was totally burnt out by that age and felt like my life had passed me by because I was now in middle school and it was much more lame than elementary school. I would lay there like a log for hours and just watch all these videos of good-looking people having fun and enjoying themselves and I would really get depressed. I was good-looking myself at the time and had my whole life ahead of me but I didn't know how to attain the life I wanted so I felt like I was totally wasting my potential and I think that was the part that depressed me because I wanted that lifestyle. Had I known I would have not watched as much MTV and VH1 because I wasn't regulated and didn't have a role model so I would totally accept what was being shown on tv and that distorted my reality. Now I realize just how powerful the media was to an impressionable kid such as myself who grew up with a mentally ill abusive mother and without a father and wanted the life that was portrayed on their programs. The cycle keeps repeating today and impressionable kids are totally buying into the fashion and lifestyle that is being portrayed on tv, music videos, magazines, etc.

What's Up RomanBlade? I wish the best for you and your situation. You're right, the media is very impressionable on all types of kids. I can't really select what I like best between VH1 and MTV because MTV owns and runs them both, so they both feel exactly the same to me. Both are full of the reality series and no more music videos. I turned to Classic VH1 because they were playing all the music blocks and had started to play all decades from the 60s to the mid 90s. But, MTV owning this channel to started to produce more reality type shows instead of airing music. It's their channel, they can do what they want. But I was more interested in music videos. So I started watching Paladea and other stations that catered to the audience who wanted good ol music. I also just look up music videos now on YouTube if the TV stations will not deliver them for me.

Yeah, thanks and welcome to the board. I recently joined myself and it's a shame that this forum is basically dead. It seems it was active years ago but now it's practically a wasteland. I totally remember when VH1 played all of these older music videos especially from the 80s that I liked and they would have all of these bubbles of trivia about the video or artist that popped up. Looking at the music from the 80s and growing up in the 90s I can't believe how big of shift pop culture has taken from the previous decades.