My friend, Bryan, wrote this earlier this week:
On one of our evening walks recently, we realized that we could see the glow from all of the televisions in all of the living rooms on our block. It was just past Dark, that time of the evening that casts a blue light over everything. There was a slight cool breeze, and leaves were drifting down all around us from the canopy of old trees that live on our street. The air was just crisp enough to need a light sweater. It was a great night for a walk. And we were the only people on the street.
It seems like most of the world is missing out, and television might be to blame. I know, if we got rid of television, we’d find something else to numb our minds with and waste our time. Let’s pretend for a moment though, that time wasting activities like television watching and web surfing became unacceptable in society. In other words, we’d still use tv and internet for the useful technologies they offer us, but we’d, by general consensus, stop wasting time with them (I know, we all have that choice anyways don’t we?). I guess I just wonder if ridding ourselves of these time wasters and mind-warper’s would help our society.
Would people start going outside more, taking walks, playing kickball at the park, having cookouts? Would we meet our neighbors? Would our interactions, void of distraction, become deeper and more meaningful? Would marriages last longer and grow more intimate? Would we know our neighbors? Would we be more aware of the people and needs around us? Would we suddenly wake up?
I don’t know, but I wonder.
Good thoughts, Ariah. Actually, the only television show my boyfriend and I watch is The Office and I’m amazed every time how much advertising I’m exposed to during that hour. I think not watching television has reduced my buying habits because i’m not constantly told that I need to buy this or that.
We had some friends over for dinner and one was amazed that neither me or my boyfriend had cable. I noted that we don’t watch much television. And the friend replied, “You’re not married yet, you will watch more television.” I hope that isn’t hte case. And I don’t think it will be either.
@Mai:
Thanks for the comment. And no, you don’t have to watch TV once your married. Our first year of marriage the ladies mindy worked with would be in awe of all the time Mindy and I spent together playing games, cooking meals, etc. They said it wouldn’t last, but then they’d spend the rest of lunch hour talking about the shows they watched the night before.
We try to watch the shows we enjoy online. This way, we make a choice to watch it, and we cut down on the amount of advertising we would be subjected to on the tv. Or we just wait a season and borrow it from the library!
This is a really thought-provoking post for me. Except for college football, I’ve never been a huge TV watcher… but I waste *huge* amounts of time consuming random information on the internet, which probably provides even fewer opportunities for interaction than TV does. It’s really starting to bug both my wife and me, so I’m thinking of buying a cheap digital timer and setting a “hard stop” after 30-60 minutes a night.
I really get excited about this when I think about what I can do with that time: get a little exercise, play some board games, explore my city, or spend a few hours a week volunteering somewhere.