I grew up watching TV all the time. No, wait. That's not quite true. In later elementary and middle school, after I stopped playing with my neighbors, I watched TV a lot. I came home from school and turned on the television while I had a "snack." These snacks often consisted of the majority of a package of Pringles, EasyMac, or a whole can of corn loaded with butter. Those were my favorites.
Besides that, there wasn't really anything wrong with what I was doing. I watched The Brady Bunch for hours. Boy Meets World. Sister, Sister. Family Matters. Step by Step. Fresh Prince. Home Improvement. Things of that sort. Those are good shows! But I also watched soap operas. All My Children and One Life to Live, to be exact. That's another two hours a day (minus commercials, because I could fast-forward). Did I ever do anything else? I really don't know.
I hardly spent time with friends outside of school. My best friend next door moved away in second grade and a little boy moved in next door. My neighbor down the street went to a different school and we lost touch. Other kids got too old. Other neighbors moved in and we spent time together for a while, but then I got too old and "mature" for them, too. So I spent my time inside. Watching TV. Except for when I went to Girl Scouts. Which is probably how the other side of me that enjoys adventure and creativity got nourished. I didn't do those things alone.
Even at dinner, the TV was always on. Dinner at home wasn't the family time it should have been. It was time to watch TV shows. And for my parents, it still is. I don't know them as well as I could and I blame that on TV, to an extent.
The problem is, I like TV. There are some shows I can watch all day long, like America's Next Top Model (confession!). But there came a time when I realized the detriment TV was to me and my relationships. It's just too easy to get wrapped up in the false reality that resides in a little (or big) box of electricity. Aren't there better ways to spend time?
I noticed in high school after I developed a group of "close" friends, that all we seemed to do together was watch Family Guy. And most of what was said somehow quoted Family Guy. Or GI-Joe and other internet shorts. They weren't relationships. I didn't know anything about those people. I quit that. I wanted real life to be real.
Sadly, the way those high school friends of mine are is the way everyone is. That's normal. When I spend time with my fraternity, people say things all the time that are quotes from some show or movie or internet clip I've never seen or heard of. Who the heck is Charlie the Unicorn? I feel left out, but is it really so bad?
And then there are things I pick up on like the accent from Borat. I never knew it was associated with that movie. People just started talking that way and I thought it was funny. I was able to do it too, so sometimes I do. And it's fun.
There are just so many better ways to spend time than staring at a screen. I find myself incredibly busy, and simply cannot comprehend how people have the free time to devote to YouTube and Lost and Anchorman. I wonder if they feel like they're missing out on anything by putting so much into these fictional things?
The only thing I realize I miss out on because I don't pay attention to media is world news. I'm trying to become more aware of that by checking websites for news when I think to. It's not entirely healthy to live in isolation. But I don't intend to change my choice not to watch TV much, if at all. I would very much rather spend my time accomplishing things or getting to know someone better, actually sharing life with them. I just have to learn to be more creative with getting-to-know-you activities. Cutting out TV causes you to have to be more creative with your life.
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