I'm with Mike on this one...let me pump my gas in peace....

There's No Escape: Gas Station TV is here

By MIKE WENDLAND

Convergence Editor and Technology Columnist

Remember the omnipresent TV screens of George Orwell's Big Brother in his novel 1984? They were always on, everywhere, espousing mind-numbing messages to lull the populace into bland submission. Every time I pump gas into my car at my favorite station these days, I can't help but think Orwell's chilling vision is true. That's because of Gas Station TV.

My station, a Speedway on Rochester Road at Tienken in Rochester, installed the TVs a month or so ago. It's one of about 50 stations around metro Detroit so equipped from an Oak Park outfit that calls itself GSTV, for Gas Station TV. In all, nearly 5,000 such screens are in use nationwide.

The screens are integrated right into the pumps, big, bright 20-inch LCD televisions that do their own pumping - "a constant shout out of targeted, first rate ABC and ESPN programming and sponsored messages down to each individual gas station," according to the GSTV website.

Are you as TV-weary as I am? What bothers me most about Gas Station TV is you can't get away from it. You can't turn it off or down. And that's intentional. "There are no clickers handy to surf with or DVR's to slide by the targeted ad content," notes GSTV.

There is no escape. True, the TVs are one-way, meaning no one is really looking back at you, like in Orwell's novel. They just bombard you with commercials wrapped around fluffy infotainment clips from the networks as you wait for the gas to be dispersed.

The company pitches this to gas stations and advertisers as something that "engages" consumers. They say people actually like it. In fact, David Leider, the CEO of GSTV, says surveys they have taken show "consistent happy customers" who were bored at the pump and are now glad they have something to do.

Not me. I don't want to be "engaged" when I buy my gas. Can't I have just a few minutes of not being part of a "targeted media solution?"

Pre-GSTV, I'd oftentimes encounter friends or neighbors and the three-minte fill-up time was used to chat. Truth told, the possibility of connecting with a neighbor was probably the main reason why I went to that particular station. It felt friendly. The gas station provided a sense of community, sort of like the back yard fence.

GSTV has turned it another advertising medium.

Now that the pumps have morphed and multipurposed into TVs, we have to shout to be heard over the blaring info-swill at the pump.

I guess it's time for me to find another less high tech station.

GSTV is not for me. But maybe I'm turning to more of an old geezer than I thought.