Monday, February 25, 2008
T.V...an Addiction?
Why are we all so addicted to T.V? I just realized my addiction this past year. I first use to live in boaz , which had no cable! At first it seemed like the end of the world.. What would be my source of entertainment? Surprisingly this whole no cable think opened up a whole new world for me! The first week with out T.V was hard but then I realized how much more free time I had and how much more social I could be. It also made me realize what garbage there was on T.V. I was watching it yesterday and could not believe I had ever watched shows like “The real world”, “Beauty and the geek”, they just seem so stupid now. I use to go home everyday after school and sit in front of the television for hours. I even use to base my schedule around some of my favorite shows. How pathetic is that? People really don’t realize their addiction until T.V is completely out of your life. It feels good to have broken this addiction. I now have more free time, I am doing better in school and all around just don’t feel as lazy. I suggest everyone try it! If you don’t feel you’re addicted just try for one week with out television and see if you have with drawls! Plus all T.V is doing is filling your head up with complete useless information. Don’t get me wrong I have not cut T.V completely out of my life I mean there are times just to watch one show and relax for a minute. But just don’t let it take over life!
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I think this is very interesting that you brought this up. I was exactly the same way. I would come home from school, sit on the couch with a snack, and watch TV until I had little time left in my day to do my homework. Now that I am in college, I barely watch TV. I live in McElvaney and cable is accessible. My roommate and I immediately decided who was bringing the TV and who would bring the refrigerator. I thought that I would have more time to watch TV in college than in high school but I was completely wrong. There is always something to do: homework, clubs, or any other activities. However, the one thing that I did was make time for Grey’s Anatomy. That is my all time favorite show! I tuned in every Thursday during high school and I did it all of last semester. I have a night class that ends at 7:50. My friend and I would run back to our dorm just in time for Grey’s to start at 8:00. Then, the horror struck: the writers’ strike. No more “Grey’s Anatomy”! What was I going to do!? My friends and I were completely in shock and thought losing our Thursday night ritual was the worst thing that could have happened to us. Well now that the strike has gone on for a long time, I am living quite comfortably without “Grey’s Anatomy”. The strike ended and there is a set date for all of the shows to come back on. However, I don’t think I will tune in. Losing the show has actually showed me what else I can do with my time and how pointless it is to work my day around a TV show. I think that losing something we, at one point, loved so much, teaches us that is really isn’t that important. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to watch TV but I agree that it is silly to work our days around being a couch potato.
Come on mam! It's Grey's Anatomy!! I don't tihnk making time for one or two of your favorite shows is a sing of laziness. I love watching with friends, laughing and talking on commercials...it's a great way to invite and hango ut with people you aren't extremely comfortable yet because you don't always have to be in conversation. Anyways, I don't think, besides Grey's, I have watched more than 10 hours of TV since coming to school in the fall. I don't watch it jsut to watch it, I watch specific shows and am never around at the right time. I did however, give up Facebook for Lent, what a difference! I'm a big procrastinator but when my main distraction was taken away I was left to stare at a pile of homework until I decided to start doing it....which obviously happens much quicker without Facebook to log into! Hooray for all of us being more productive!
So many typos, I apologize.
**think, sign, hang out, just**
Its true TV is an addiction. I was never really a big TV person in high school but my sister was. As a result she gained alot of weight. She would come home from school grab a bag of chips, grab a caprison and sit on the couch and watch tv for hours of the day. It got really bad! It was like a daily routine for her. My parents would tell her to stop watching tv all the time but she just would not stop. SHE WAS ADDICTED. Sometimes she would hide upstairs and watch tv under blankets and just lay down forever! Finally my sister joined cheer so her time after school was filled with tumbling practice or dance practice. She started to drastically lose weight which was great for her! Now instead of her life revolving around TV it now revolves around her cheer team. We still have a couple tv shows we really like and watch it together at night. Its probably around two or three one hour shows per week. Which is not bad at all. But i see that some times people do get addicted to TV and its bad. First semester I was also in Boaz so I never had cable. I never watched TV and if I did it would be Gossip Girl or the Hills and I would watch that on my computer. Now I have my own room in Mary Hay so it gets pretty boring!! All I do is watch tv when I'm bored! It has become a really bad habit. Iam always searching for the remote control! I don't think Iam necesarily addicted yet but if I dont find something productive to do every day I think I may start to get addicted!!! YIKES!!! I think parents today need to control their kids watching tv. Too much tv is bad for a child and may effect their future. Kids today need to be more involved in sports and dance which will be a way to stop kids watching tv all day.
Personally, I love TV. I wouldnt say I'm addicted because I actually can't even remember the last time I watched it because I have been so consumed with school lately. But all that junk just entertains me. There is rarely a time I can't find something I like on television (i just like everything). My point in all this is I don't think it is addicting just fun to watch. It lets you unwind and not have to think about anything. TV in moderation can be a great thing as long as you keep it that way I guess. I never knew there were people like hey girl hey's sister. Im happy that she has now found other outlets for her energy because I can see in that situation how TV would be draining.
The original post here and the thread of comments it is attracting are good food for thought about things in your Csikszentmihalyi reading.
I have seen many people come home and sit in front of a tv for hours at a time, and I must say that it seems like a complete waste of time. I understand coming home from a long day and unwinding by watching a show, but sitting in front of the tv for the entire night is ridiculous. Americans fascination with the tv has resulted in less human contact for some people which has resulted in an unhappier society. I think that the increase in tv watching is one of the causes of the increase in depression that Schumaker talks about. But I also think that a limited amount of television is a good thing. It gives you something to bond about and reasons to be with friends. And some television shows such as Jeopardy might even teach you something! For me, I have one television show that I just HAVE to watch every week. It's mindless entertainment and it lets me let loose for an hour out of my week. For one hour a week I get to sit back and enjoy other people's lives.
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