Television and Its Effects on American Society

I'm usually too busy and overloaded with academic work and athletics to watch TV, and when I am given the rather rare, coveted opportunity for mindless entertainment, I prefer to play video games. I do, however, like to watch movies that come on the TV every saturday night; additionally, I do watch some episodes of The Office and South Park among other comedies every now and then, so I would not consider myself totally devoid of television. But for the most part, TV does not interest me--at least as much as it once did. I would rather devote my time to other more meaningful activities, such as competing in sports like cross country and baseball or playing the guitar and piano: activities that require at least some mental engagement "give more" for time invested. I already mentioned that I do play video games, and while I wholeheartedly admit that this is hardly a meaningful activity, I try not to gratify my urges of playing video games as often as I can. Video games are my form of television, and unlike much of the television-obsessed Americans today, I try to limit the time I spend engrossed in such mind-numbing entertainment.

Since I do not particularly watch much television, with the exception of movies and some comedy shows, it is sometimes difficult for me to understand why people are so obsessed with television, why superficial Emmy Awards coverage is given priority over such widespread media coverage of the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. Surely Americans can see the error in their ways, the frivolity that is present as they worship attractive, saccharine actors whose achievements have been to the American entertainment monolith while scientists and others who have made real contributions to humanity receive little attention and praise for their outstanding accomplishments. However, while I would like to think that most Americans share this view of the modern entertainment industry, specifically the Emmy's, I do not believe this to be true. Americans love television and the actors whom they idolize, which, in effect, provides a fairly accurate description of contemporary American society: a society that values entertainment over achievement and discovery.

The good, the bad, and the TV

Television entirely revolutionized the entertainment world when it was first announced. From then to now, the television as well as it's programming has seen drastic improvements. Though some steps have been taken backwards on the programming front.
My views are as such; The television is a fantastic way to broadcast news to a large audience very efficiently. Programming for pure entertainment has started to take a turn for the worse and is still declining in quality. And, it is indeed an inane use of our time.
There are the ups and downs to television as there are to all things. The ups would be the conveniency of being able to distribute information, while the downs include the wasting of our time. On a good day, anyone could be outside working or learning or becoming a better person. On a bad day, those same people could be growing closer to family or friends, or playing in the rain. Instead those people are inside watching their favorite shows and catching up on gossip. It is a shame really.

So as a sum-up, TV=bad

To learn and to laugh

As school has evolved into the monster that sucks up the majority of my free time, TV has less and less of a place in my life. Long gone are the days when I had nothing better to do on a Sunday than lay on the couch and watch House marathons. Perhaps this is for the better. Regardless, I now must ration the time I spend watching TV on the programs that I deem worthy. The wonder of technology has made it possible, thankfully, for me to miss these shows during the week when I am all but drowning in textbooks and catch up on the weekends without missing a beat. Over the summer I was blessed with at long last acquiring a Netflix account, and the rest is history. I watched very little actual TV via the television during the summer months and am interested to see if this trend continues. 

I don't think that the average person is listening because they have invested very little in the subject. The Emmy's, at face value, are a night to honor excellence in television production and acting that many Americans have enjoyed for the better half of the previous year. Their favorite actors are up nominations. The shows that stole their hears could take home the big prize. There is a sense of connection. The Nobel Prize in Physics, wonderful. Thrilling, really. But I don't have a flying hoot of an idea what accomplishments in the past year are even up for the prize. The impact of the Nobel Prizes may be much further reaching than that of the Emmy's but with little invested there is little reason for the nation to be plugged in. Additionally, the Emmy's are a the pinnacle of TV culture. All the television royalty gathering under one roof. Television people are in the business of being on television so I hardly find it astounding that the event set to honor them is televised and put under a microscope for the world to see every sequin and bow-tie. The Nobel Prizes are given to the elite minds of the world. I have a hard time believing that the elite would even care for the spectacle. 

The Good Ol' Days

When TV first came into being, there were hardly any channels and those that did exist where there to provide either news or education. Now a days, the Discovery Channel airs reality tv, Animal Planet has cop shows. What used to be a tool for knowledge and information has been twisted into a creature subservient to the masses. Television has devolved into a mindless way in which to pass time. Half of the program time is actually spent watching commercials while the other half is spent becoming consumed in the lives of imaginary characters.

At this point, I must admit that while I do not watch much tv (there's hardly ever time), I am an avid follower of certain shows. Although for the most part I watch them on Netflix and remain a season or so behind "real time", I must admit that I too am concerned with the well-being, happiness, and livelihood of these imaginary people. And though I'd like to think that is normal for one to feel empathy for others, it is frightening the extent to which some people care about these imagined lives. There are some who invest more time into living vicariously through characters on the screen than creating their own lives.

This concerns me greatly.

It makes me nostalgic for a time when elementary schoolers watched Dora, Rollie Pollie Ollie, Out of the Box. Not "shot em up" cop shows or adult dramas.

Because I grew up with tv, I should know that it's a lifestyle. Some people just become hooked. But I also grew up with decent tv. I remember when Discovery Channel taught me about whales, and Africa, and showed me the tip of an iceburg. Now I'm lucky to see a natural landscape without someone swearing. I remember when Animal Planet took me far away on safaris, deep into the depths of the ocean, with Jeff Corwin and Steve Irwin. Now I only see Jeff Corwin in Clartin commercials and the last I heard about Steve Irwin was he died.

Television has sunk into the depths of materialism to fulfill American viewers desires. I long for the good ol' days - maybe even farther back than Jeff Corwin - back to Andy Griffith and Gilligan's Island. When TV was harmless - either innocent fun or education and news.

T.v

Does TV provide a good form of entertainment? Is it just a convenient delivery system for advertisers to send their messages to the masses? Is it an inane use of time? Can it be all three?

 

The television was invented for the sole purpose of entertainment in the beginning and evolved into an educational tool, medical tool, and an advertising tool. In my opinion I believe
T.V is a pretty effective form of entertainment with the ability to trap people's eyes on its glowing screen for hours on end as they sit in a trance soaking in information ,entertainment, educational content, and new ideas, realities, and fantasies as time slips away. Many say that T.v is a waste of time and that you could be doing much better things than sitting around being a "Couch Potatoe", but to me it's all based on how you view life and time in the first place. To those who believe in an afterlife, life on Earth is just a waiting place until they die as we all will and live for eternal life in heaven or whatever they may call their afterlife. So T.V as long as it is entertaining can be a good thing, aside from the advertisments which are very annoying to people and not the reason they pick up the remote and press the faded red power button, and that is why dvr was invented so people could turn on their brand new 100 inch plasma plasma or their 1980's 6 inch portable t.v. All so they could sit and thave their mind captivated by a show or movie or documentary

Whether t.v isa good form of entertainment or a waste of time or a delivery system of ads is all obviously a matter of opinion and ho we choose to live life and how we view life. Whetther or not we value one of the most influential inventions and most entertaining invention of all time is a matter of opinion.

Television

The reason television is so popular today is that it is mindless entertainment. You are entertained by it without having to actually put forth any real effort. You get something for nothing. Its much easier to watch television that pick up a book or a ball and entertain yourself with your own energy. Children begin watching television before they know what it is and form a habit of expecting gratification without working for it. The reason that people prefer television to watching the Nobel prizes is that it takes effort to understand what people winning these prizes are doing and how it effects us as people. Watching something that keeps your mind occupied is much easier. Television is steering people as a whole away from working to accomplish things. People are much more likely to give up when doing anything becomes hard. Video games are popular because of the same notion. In a video game you can be a racecar driver, a soldier, or a pro athlete simply by turning on a game system. It lets you do things that normally would take a lot of training just by hitting the right combination of buttons. People are becoming more and more plugged in to technology, and more reliant on the ease of it it as well.

television

I’m sort of divided on the issue of TV. On one hand, I am tired of hearing the platitudes of people who say “I don't watch television” and wear it like a badge of honor. I don't watch television either, mind you. It's just that it's become this sort of sophomoric statement that makes people believe they deserve an award, that they've reached some stage of intellectual apotheosis. You may as well throw a trite pinky into the air the next time you drink something for the full effect. Television is something that everyone enjoys at least every now and then and it is not a mark of superiority not to watch it.

That being said, I also get tired of hearing people talk about nothing but TV shows. More than once have I been within a group of four of five people when two or three of them start talking about a show, and that’s when I know to walk away, because they’ll take over the conversation and go on and on and on and it will never end. It doesn't bother me if you’re addicted to a show. We've all been there. But please, everyone else doesn't have to know about it 24/7. As far as the actual shows go, I can’t watch so many of them because, frankly, they've become so homogenized that I feel like I’m watching the same thing over and over again. The plots are the same and the characters are stock; they’re often so perfect and unrealistic that I can’t help but to roll my eyes. There are a few shows I enjoy, but I hardly have any time to watch them, and usually when I do have free time I’d rather be doing something else. Still, I recognize the ability of television to make us forget about our lives for a while, which sometimes can be very necessary. I just don’t think TV should be an obsession the way it is for some people, and I think very many of the shows people obsess about are a little overrated.

television

     i have gathered that most people when they think of tv think of turning your mind off and staring blankly at a screen. i, however, see tv as another medium for learning. i very much enjoy watching the cosmos, through the wormhole, and the countless other space shows to supplement my book learning and help to visualize concepts. i enjoy watching the tedtalks on netflix. there are some really cool ones, like benoit mandelbrot (the fractal guy). i use my brain when i watch tv.
     i am not afraid to say that i also enjoy watching tv series like breaking bad and dexter. the people who shun tv shows just because it is television are very small-minded. don't say you hate all television but that you love films and movies. that's ridiculous. can you not see that a fanastic show such as breaking bad is just like a very long, drawn-out movie that you watch in chapters?
     like all things, television is best in moderation. don't watch too much and don't shun it for reasons that are not well thought out. 

The Recent Evolution of TV Watching

When one asks somebody about their opinion on television, there are a few common opinions they're likely to share with you: it rots your brain; it's a good method of communication; it's harmless entertainment; it's an indicator of a dying culture. It's rare, though, to hear somebody admit that television is many of these things and more. Television as a medium can be just as varied in its effects on people and its significance in our society as can film or music or literature. Some television probably is mind-numbing garbage. Some of it is very informative. Some of it is gratuitously violent or promotes shoddy morals. Some of it is high art.

When people make certain pessimistic evaluations of television and how it reflects culture, I think what they're observing is really the reflection of changing reasons for watching television. Now, to be sure, there are still those who turn on their TV and unplug from the world. There are still those who tune in every evening for the nightly news, and there are still those teenagers from the 1990s who turn on MTV when they get home and do little else. But these TV watching patterns, in my experience, are on the wane. Part of this is because of new options: those who wish to zone out at home can usually do so online on Facebook as well as they can with the TV, and Facebook is less blatant with their advertising. Similarly, those who are looking for news can access it at will online. And teenagers who before may have been glued to their TV are now increasingly glued to their iPhones.

The new reasons that people tend to watch TV these days follow as such (in my experience, I'm sure others could disagree):

• Background. It seems to me that a large number of people today are so used to the presence of television in their lives over decades of cultural conditioning that they now leave it on simply as a fact of life. They are not necessarily engaged in what is being shown but rather take comfort in the television's lights and noises as a sort of ambiance. Weird and wasteful as this may be, it is behavior that seems to be on the rise.
• Consuming an episodic work. This has become increasingly popular with the rise of contest shows which engage the reader to follow the progress of certain competitors (e.g. American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Voice), and with the above-mentioned artistic shows which garner high critical acclaim (Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire). This pattern has largely replaced the non-committal viewing patterns of earlier decades and may give the impression to some critics that TV is taking up an increasing share of our entertainment and time, when in actuality committed viewers just make up a larger percentage of the TV viewing populace (with the disappearance of news junkies and the chronically uninterested).
• Social. Finally, we find that particularly in recent years television has become more of a social activity, particularly among the family. With teenagers and adults today alike being able to use laptops and iPhones when they want solitary entertainment, the television, which naturally welcomes larger audiences and better facilitates a shared experience, has been relegated to the role of group entertainment. This may have been a realm where the movie previously reigned, but television does have an advantage in being available in smaller time increments.

Most modern television viewers, in my experience, watch TV with one or more of these three motivations. I myself use it primarily for the second, as the only television I ever watch today are several cartoons which I am extremely dedicated to. Several of my friends use it mostly for the first and second reasons, as does much of my family. Most sports fans, when watching sports at least, are really watching for the latter two reasons.

This is in no way meant to imply that television viewing as information or as mindless entertainment is gone. I've seen it myself, in both young and old individuals. But I certainly think it is on its way out. The loss of the former has, I think, been perceived and worries critics. They need not be worried. Similarly, I believe the fall of the latter, coupled with the increase of the second motivation, has created the illusion that television viewing has become more prominent in society, when in reality I believe it has gone down.

If nothing else, let's keep this one fact in mind - television is a varied medium, varied in what it delivers, and varied in how it is received. Critical generalizations are tempting, but rarely are they accurate. In the future, it may benefit us to keep in mind the truly diverse collection of motives that drive the continued presence of television in our culture.

Television? Meh.

In the past few years I have had a love-hate relationship with my television.  The major thing is that not only is television a highly passive form of entertainment, it is also addicting.  You can be entertained for an infinite period of time without moving any muscles other than your thumb, to change channels.  I hate this.  I'll be bored, so I'll sit down and say "okay, let's watch a show for an hour." Four hours later, my eyes are glazed as I watch re-runs of Psych while laying in a poodle of my own drool.   Then I realize that I have completely wasted four hours, and have a really strong urge to punch something (but I usually do not, for I am a pansy).

But I will keep on watching TV, mostly because of a few shows that I could not live without.  My solution is thus: I now will only watch TV if a show I already like or really want to check out is on.  That way, with some amount of structure, I'm less likely to become a drool-saturated lump again.  This puts a BIG limit on television time, mostly because, honestly, most programming nowadays is absolute crap.  /Begin Elitist Rant.  Call me cynical, but most of what I see are "quirky and modern" sitcoms that are differentiated from old sitcoms solely by more racial diversity and the insertion of at least one token gay man (not that there's anything wrong with that; it's just that the ratio of gay characters on TV is significantly higher than that of gays in real life).  If it doesn't fall into that category, it's probably either a mildly-disturbing reality show or a ridiculously-high-budget sci-fi with no originality.  Ew.  Everything on TV nowadays just follows a few simple formulas, because  they work, on all the shallow-minded sheeple that now populate the world.   ...Okay.  /Rant Over.  But I am loyal the few shows that I enjoy, so I still watch TV for those.

I am simply not a fan of passive entertainment.  I mean, I enjoy the internet, but one has more control web-surfing than one does channel-surfing.  I don't really want an hour of addictive nothingness crammed down my throat. I much prefer hours and hours of addictive nothingness that I can marginally control because I CAN QUIT ANY TIME.  I swear.  Totally.  Any time.  Besides, this is America!  I can choose exactly how, when, and where I want to be entertained, darn it!

...I have no idea what happened to this post.  I am genuinely sorry.  I'm sure there's at least 150 usable, insightful words in there somewhere.

That Gosh Darned Picture Box

I don't exactly watch TV, nor do I really enjoy watching it. When I was younger, I could zone out in front of the TV for hours, but now it just doesn't hold much appeal. That's not to say that things were better when I was little, (I watched Hannah Montana endlessly, that says enough) I just never sit down on the couch and watch. My parents, particularly my dad, would blame it on the internet, saying that it's shortening my attention span to YouTube-sized chunks of video, but that's not true. I can sit and watch movie-length documentaries on YouTube, so that just goes to show that my attention span isn't shrinking. I'm not entirely sure why I don't watch any actual television anymore, but I think it mostly has to do with the endless allure the internet has to offer. There's just way too much rad stuff to do, like read webcomics, chat with friends, play games, watch videos, and blog, blog, blog.

Even though I'm not huge on watching TV shows, there are some that I really enjoy and others that I really dislike. Some that I actually like would be Sherlock (despite only having watched 2.5 episodes, it's still really, really good and I should definitely finish it) and a handful of animes... despite not having watched any actual anime in a long time. Lucky Star is a good one, especially if you want something entertaining to zone out to. The plus side of Lucky Star is that all the episodes, both subbed and dubbed, are on YouTube, so watching it doesn't even require actually using the television. Sweet. (On another note, My Strange Addiction is a very, very, very guilty pleasure. I've seen almost every episode. I swear, it's just the psychological aspect that interests me...)

I know it's bad to hate on shows that you haven't even watched, but just judging by the content of some shows I think it's safe to say that I would hate them were I to actually suffer through them. A prime example would be freaking Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The fact that this, a sick spinoff of Toddlers and Tiaras, an already painful show, exists just makes me want to cry. That's another show I hate, Toddlers and Tiaras. It just feels so disgusting and wrong to tart such little girls up to have them parade about in front of judges to act 'cute' and vaguely... sexual. The 'pageant moms' don't help the show any, either.

I'm honestly not sure of how to end this, so I'll just let it be known that I'd prefer to use the TV for playing video games as opposed to watching shows.

Thanks to DVR and Netflix

I do watch TV, but I do not sit on the couch and waste away watching it for hours and hours every single day. I do not have the time to do that. I get home around ten every night, and the only time during the week I watch TV is the fifteen to twenty minutes it takes me to eat dinner. There aren't family dinners at my house, go ahead judge us, but I get home at ten and my brother has baseball games that sometimes last later than that. We all go in different directions. Because I am never home during the week, my DVR and my dad's Netflix account are my very good friends. So You Think You Can Dance and House are my all time favorite shows. I have seen every season of SYTYCD and I have picked the winner the past four seasons, but I don't call in and vote because I never see the show broadcasted live. Friday nights and Saturdays are really the only time I have to watch any large amount of TV. My DVR is set to record Modern Family which is a must-watch for sure because not only is it entertaining, but once I am invested in a show I have to finish out the season. Reality TV does have a bad reputation and rightfully so because shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom basically say it is okay to do that because you can be on TV. Toddlers and Tiaras is another one, I do watch it, not religiously, but I do and personally some of the mothers on that show should be beat because they are so ignorant and the children can be brats. I started watching Law and Order: SVU from the very beginning on Netflix. Netflix makes shows available to watch when it is convient. I do travel a lot for dance and some weekends I have a whole day off and so I watch Netflix because hotel TV channels are always weird. I don't spend all day in the room though, the mall also consumes a lot of my attention.

Typical Teenage Girl

I am definitely a television fanatic. I love to have a show that I am watching, but that doesn't mean that I come home everyday after school, pop-a-squat, and turn on the t.v. for a couple of hours. I usually only watch t.v. once I am finished with my necessary tasks, and I'm not the person to watch it daily. So why do I watch t.v.? I watch it because it's addicting! Once I get started on a show, I can't stop. I have to know what will come next. I know it seems superficial to say that, but I have fallen under the television spell. I could probably watch anything someone puts on, besides golf, and watch until the end of it. My favorite shows are Modern Family, Pretty Little Liars, Awkward, Glee, Criminal Minds, Revenge, and probably something else I just can't think of at the moment. Looking at this list, you are probably thinking, wow what a typical teenage girl, well you know what? I am a typical teenage girl. Is there anything wrong with that? Just because I like what people call "trashy t.v." doesn't mean that I am going to call these actors my role models. I just think its a funny form of entertainment for when I'm bored. The only thing I do not agree with is reality t.v. This kind of television is what I personally call "trashy t.v." Yes, I will say that Honey Boo Boo, Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, or any other reality shows are funny to watch, but I think it is sad that our country is following around these people who are not doing anything productive with their lives, and the viewers are actually taking them seriously! Take the show Teen Mom, 15 years ago, if someone became pregnant at an early age, forgive me for using this phrase, but her "life would be over." Nowadays, girls around the world think it is great to become pregnant at 16. I think that the whole concept of reality t.v. is a bad idea, and its effecting society in the wrong way.

A Return to the Golden Age

     Since the time of its invention in the 1940's the television has steadily grown in popularity to the point of being a mainstay of the american home. This increase in usage is a testament to the television's value as a medium of entertainment, as well as a reason for the effectiveness of televised advertising. Bigger and better televisions are always on people's minds; My family owns a 42 inch flat-screen,  though we rarely watch more than 2-3 hours of TV a week. I rarely find myself compelled to sit down and endlessly channel surf; I only have but six channels and I would hate to follow in my father's tired footsteps. Television is great for those who are tired of the joys that life has to give, tired of putting forth the effort needed to unlock these riches: the elderly and disillusioned. I appreciate the mediums of film and television, there are some truly interesting and meaningful things out there, but the investment of time needed to obtain anything of value is too steep. With so many other things to go out and explore, investing an hour into passive learning is something I cannot bring myself to do.
   When my faculties for obtaining knowledge have reached an all time low, I often fall back on re-runs of MASH to revive my faith in the human spirit. Outside of this pick me up, some might say guilty pleasure, I rarely find myself glued to the tube like so many helpless Americans. I believe that the masses have grown too despondent for their own good, their only concern being the basest human pleasures. To avoid a near Huxleyian society I believe it is imperative to wean the common man from his sedentary lifeline, to light anew the flame of passion and knowledge in the people. A return to the earth and the written word, nights spent gathered as a family around the radio, absorbing AM like the nectar of the gods.

Covet mind control

You know, this is going to have to come from someone who used to watch five hours of TV each night and to someone who now hasn’t tried to turn on the television set in months. I would say TV is a mediocre form of entertainment. People like it, it must be alright. It’s probably not the healthiest activity you could participate in; when you watch TV, your body sort of goes into this hypnotic state where you can’t move, even if you really know you should be doing something else. Change the channel, find something interesting, watch it for five minutes, become bored, change the channel, watch a rerun, change the channel yet again, pop into the middle of a series you’ve never seen – how do we enjoy this so much? Yes, watching TV can be an incredibly relaxing task where several actors being paid to appeal to people just like you can entertain you. You can learn about a new encounter of Bigfoot up in the mountains or feel like you’re part of the Bachelorette. You form a personal connection with these characters you will never know or see and begin to find yourself entranced by what they do, hopping back to see the new episode every week.

To me, this is all just a waste of time. Every now and then I may be at a friend’s house and sit down and watch a show or a movie with them, but it’s not one of my favorite past times. I can’t get into shows like I used to, probably being the fault of stumbleupon giving me a short attention span. Instead, I like to use my time wisely; riding my horse, taking walks outside, spending time with family, doing homework, studying, helping around the house, or reading books. Now that I think about it, reading more books were what pulled me away from the television. Shows or movies only give you one perception of the story. The director knows exactly how he wants to get his certain message across. However, books allow for so much freedom in interpreting the texts, creating the characters in your head, and making them act how you envision them to. That’s a good use of time, in my opinion. TV is cool and all, I just wish people wouldn’t watch it to the crazy extent they do and find some better things to do.

Elaborating on my last point, television can definitely be a convenient delivery system for advertisers to display a message. People view television as a safe world. It’s some not paper meant to make you vote for Romney or some heavily opinionated trap. However, you just have to realize that the director can show any message he or she wants to in discreet and covet manner. We can find ourselves start to see things in the light that our favorite television character sees them in. Inconspicuous mind control at its finest. 

Ubiquity slice through family room blinds

I do not watch TV. Other than using it as a means to watch films, the hulking screen is useless to me. It is not necessarily that I think that everything shown on it is misinformed or coated in brainwashing propaganda. The base for my resistant to it is my time. My time is precious to me, and although I waste many hours of it staring at walls or feeling bad for myself or pretending to sleep, I just cannot bring myself to sit down and watch a television series. After a few minutes the guilt kicks in, and I feel a massive wave of fidgety anxiety. "You should be spending your youth doing something productive, like writing symphonies or novels" whispers my conscience.

When I am sitting in front of my couch, blank stare lit up by the flashing screen, I can't help but feel hollow. I imagine driving down a street, somewhere in the suburbs, and seeing the slivers of plasma screen, ubiquity slicing through family room blinds. To my left and to my right, the same. And these people sitting still are all thinking the same thing, or rather, letting the tv think it for them. And they hollow themselves out.

I am probably exaggerating the egregious nature of this most popular pastime. But I can't help but regret that we let this manufactured plasma subvert each of our unique minds, for just a few hours, to "relax". In the same way that I feel (maybe unfairly) that anti-depressants are "cheating", I possess an amount of contempt for this means of escape. By cheating, I mean escaping one's emotions. Becoming blind. Becoming numb. This scares me, and the same way I, ignoring the advice of those concerned, turned down the anti-depressants, I must uphold my values and deny the television my own mind to deluge.

TV: what has our society come to?

Prompt: Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate?

I watch TV either because I am bored, I am with friends, I am eating alone, or because I actually like the show. I have never been a huge TV addict, and I think that it can be very harmful when not in moderation. Studies have actually shown that watching too much TV can lead to depression. I definitely can understand this. Whenever I end up watching too much TV, I feel lazy, very bad about myself, and I tend to have to be eating when watching TV. Not that I can't go without eating when watching TV, but it definitely makes me eat more when I watch TV. It distracts people from being productive with their lives, and who really cares what Honey Boo Boo or the Dance Mom's are thinking? These people have no idea who you are, so wouldn't it be more meaningful to make relationships in this time instead of becoming obsessed with people you've never met? It might sound like I am going on a rampage and completely hate TV, but I am just not very good at "chilling." I would much rather be in a hurry and busy doing something productive with my life instead of sitting around feeling bad about myself. For example, I had a good and productive day until tonight when I went to watch the show I watch right now. During this, I kept going and getting unhealthy food that now is making me feel gross and bad about myself because I was trying to be healthy. On the bright side, it can be very relaxing and clear your mind after a tough day of going and going.
There are two shows that I love:revenge and law and order special victims unit. They are both very interesting, unlike some of the reality shows that I find just stupid, for example, Dance Moms. Why in the world do people care what these dramatic people with nothing better to do than hover over their children are doing? I was forced to watch it this summer because a the girl in my hotel room was obsessed with it, and it made me want to punch a wall. The fact that these people get payed to be annoying astounds me. Also, being what most people would consider a mess up and partying 24/7 can get you more money than a hard working individual because people find your life amusing shocks me. What has our society come to? On to the positives. Revenge is the most amazing show ever. If you haven't seen it, you must! It is so intriguing and suspenseful. A girl has two identities and is seeking revenge on the people that framed and killed her father. It comes back on next week! I'm also kind of obsessed with Law and Order SVU. I have been watching it for a few years, and now I will start watching an episode and a lot of the time have already seen it. This is kind of sad because it is always on, and there are a ton of episodes.. But this show actually teaches you a lot too, along with being very interesting, though sometimes very scary and has made me think every stranger is going to somehow kidnap and rape me, which is now my worst nightmare thanks to the show. Anyways, these shows are amazing and the majority of the time I spend watching TV are on these shows.

The Tube

Prompt: Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate?

Watching TV has become more and more of a rarity for me in the last few years. I used to watch all kinds of TV, it’s just what I did to pass the time I wasn’t doing anything else. Nowadays, I have a job, I’m in a very time-consuming sport, I’m in the midst of the toughest and most important academic year of my life, I have responsibilities at home and at church, and I have a girlfriend. There are very few days when I watch any Television.

Generally, the only reasons I turn on the TV are for Virginia Tech Football games, Kentucky Basketball games, significant political events, and the news when something I find interesting happens out there in the world.

If for some strange reason, there was a duration long enough that I could watch an actual show, I would most likely watch a show that I have experience with in the past, because I don’t particularly enjoy experimenting with new programs. The programs I can enjoy, off the top of my head, are The Office, Lost, Whale Wars, and The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead I love the most, not even mostly for the basis or plot of the show, but the writing and cinematography of the show is truly outstanding. I can’t stand the stereotypical “TLC shows” such as Dance Moms, Honey Boo Boo, whatever they call the one about teen pregnancy now, etc. These shows all promote and glorify bad behavior for their viewers, and I refuse to support them. 

Endless Possibilities

Prompt: Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate?

When I watch TV it's usually because I have nowhere to be, nothing is taunting me, and I can just use that break to free my mind and stop stressing. Mainly, I don't watch television all that often, but there are shows that I like to make the exception for. There is also, of course, the occasional movie night with either friends or family. When I don't have time to watch TV, it's because I'm out of the house, busy doing homework, or doing something music related. 

I have to admit there are certain shows and movies I have become somewhat obsessed about, some more than others. House, for example, is one of my all-time favorites. The medical mystery and the personality of House gets me every time. As I started watching House, my love for science and medicine grew. This was actually the start of my future career. Because of House, I have become quite fond and interested in medicine and have therefore decided to go into med school. Friends is also an all-time favorite. I watched the entire 10 seasons, beginning to end with Jared, and I wanted to re-watch it all again as soon as it ended. At the end of each episode, I'd get so excited to watch the next one and see what craziness the gang would get into this time. After the last episode ended, I couldn't believe it was really over. Going back to watch the first episode after the last episode really showed how much they had all changed and how much time had been put into it. In all honesty I'm a sucker for old shows. (I grew up watching Andy Griffith, Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Leave it to Beaver, etc.) Then there's The Walking Dead, which I have recently become extremely obsessed over. Yes, yes I do have a plan for the zombie apocalypse along with my survivor group, but we can get into that later. This show isn't just about killing zombies, but it's jam-packed with action and becomes super intense, ending with a cliff hanger every single time. The plot is great and you end up having this weird attachment with the characters. (I'm counting the days until Season 3 comes out..only 18 more days!) I basically am just in love with this show.

Then there's the obvious movies that are must-sees. Forrest Gump will always be #1 no matter what. It has been my favorite movie since I was 8 years old. This movie combines all the genres of films into one big journey Action, romance comedy, tragedy, drama, you name it and there's at least one part in this movie that contains it. This movie takes us through a journey that can only be told by the famous Tom Hanks, my favorite actor. Starting with a little boy with braces on his legs, it then leads us through the war in Vietnam,ping-pong tournaments, an incredible shrimp boat, a run across America, and then starts all over with a brand new tiny Forrest watching Bert and Ernie. More great movies I tend to watch are Inception, The Bourne Trilogy, Juno, Die Hard, and of course the ultimate Disney movies.

There honestly aren't too many things I hate about TV. Yes, when golf is on ESPN instead of football or basketball it irks me a little, but I wouldn't say I hate anything on television. i would say, however, there are definitely those channels that you stray away from. But hey you have to have an open mind to everything, right? Right.. Overall I think TV is great when you use it in a timely manner, but I'm glad to be able to say I've never been one of those people who can watch TV for 5 hours a day. Sometimes I do wish I could experience television back when you had three channels in black and white so I wouldn't take everything for granted so much. But I guess that just makes me appreciate it even more to some extent, as should everyone.

Told Enough Already

I don't watch TV. I've never watched much, and "not much" became none once I got more work. I enjoy Modern Family and The Simpsons, but not enough to spend significant quantities of time that could be spent hiking or reading or working or sleeping or tying knots.

But I don't really think it's any of my business how much TV other folks watch. And honestly, I really don't care. I hear-- but can't personally attest to, as my viewing habits are that I don't-- that there's a lot of useless programming on TV. And indeed, I have watched a couple of minutes of Fox "News," which would support this idea. But I imagine there's some good stuff on there too.

It's harder for me to deal with the constant moralizing whine of “parenting experts” and behavioral psychologists and whatnot about how much TV your kid should be watching. I do believe that too much TV makes people stupider. Books just tend to have better, harder content. But it’s the parent’s call. And you really can’t change the kid’s behavior without changing the parent.

And finally, TV is ultimately a medium. It is a box upon which moving pictures and changing sounds are displayed. Although even more impressive than the ubiquitous (perhaps even banal) printed page, a screen is ultimately the same general concept. When people bemoan “screen time” it seems nonsensical. Sure, I spend lots of time on the computer. Much of that time is spent reading news or conducting research. I also spend lots of time reading off pages. And it just doesn’t matter if the page is paper or digital. What matters is the content.

I think humans should strive to be ever improving. I like the renaissance/Ben Franklin model of constant self-critique and refinement. Insofar as TV represents a barrier to that process, it may well be harmful. But if parents want to let their kid watch TV, that’s their prerogative. Leave em alone.

The Good, the Bad, and the TV

I have to admit that I watch my fair share of television. I think I keep it in moderation though. I watch TV because it's nice not to think for a while after hours of school, homework, extra-curricular activities, community service, etc. Sometimes it's just nice to sit down and be a couch potato.

But I also don't watch too much television because if I don't have a limit then all my time gets taken away and I can say goodbye to the A+ on Dewees' test. Also, there are so many better things to do other than stare vacantly at a glowing screen forever. It's enough to make your eyes bleed. Another thing about television is that within many of the shows the theme is centered on violence, criminal activity, people who do stupid things to win money, and so on. I'm not saying I don't watch cop shows or forbid them completely, but watching that kind of stuff all the time doesn't seem to be helping my mental health.

I have 5 main shows that I like: Hawaii Five-O, Doctor Who, Sherlock, White Collar, and AGT*. So most of them are drama/action (Five-O, Sherlock, W.C.). The stories and mystery that goes along with them are what interest me the most. Like in Sherlock, you're constantly trying to keep up with Sherlock when he's solving a case. In White Collar Season 4 you're trying to piece together little bits of Neal's past and wondering what's going to happen in his future. Doctor Who is just another British show that a friend got me hooked on - whereas the special effects aren't always great, the plots are good and you just fall in love with the characters. America's Got Talent is a show I love because of all the crazy talents that people have - most I've never seen before.

*It seems I watch a lot of TV with all these shows but since they're all showing at different time of the year I only watch about 2 hours at most a week (if I'm lucky).

Mind-numbing

The main reason I don’t watch TV is because I believe it is a tremendous waste of time. It is a bizarre form of entertainment that is pleasing only because it requires almost no mental effort whatsoever. In some instances, scans of an American brain will show that it is less active than while watching TV than while it is asleep. This, for me, defines the lowest of the low. Not to say that TV is the worst invention in our society, but we, as a culture, definitely need to cool it on the amount of TV we watch.

            I also believe that TV is, as a whole, second-rate to movies. This isn’t a fundamental attribute, but it is a definite trend that movies are better acted, better produced, better written, and better directed than TV shows. An aspiring movie actor or movie director will often begin on TV shows. It is below the movie people in the hierarchy of the Hollywood industry, and if I’m going to spend a tenth of my life watching something (which is how long the average American watches TV), I want to watch something that an artist spent time creating and placing thoughtful messages in rather than something a marketing director and a comedian slapped together to sell advertisements.