Well, I am now indulging in one of my favorite pastimes, watching a BBC mini-series alone while enjoying a delicious cocktail. I have considered starting a blog for some time now just to have an outlet for some of my thoughts of which I am sure many people would like to be alerted. I think it is the new cocktail, a blend of champagne and St. Germain, that finally gave me the incentive to do it! I would also like to acknowledge my sister and one of my dear BFFs for inspiration. You know why, girls!
The question I am tackling this evening is one that recurs often for me. "Is TV making me lazy and stupid?" I ask it for myself, my husband, my children, and especially all those around me that I feel are lazy and stupid. While I have strict TV rules for my children so that they will be smart and productive, I do not limit my own TV. We don't have cable, and yet, I still manage to spend around 3 hours on the sofa in front of my television (a 52" flatscreen, of course) most evenings. And I love it. I love the sillly shows, the deep movies, the smart episodes, and the Simpsons. I love pausing hulu to have an hour long discussion with my husband about TV or something entirely different triggered by TV. I love getting together with friends and family and discussing MadMen or laughing about 30 Rock. I love connections that form with strangers after a well-placed quote from SNL or The Daily Show. I love watching girl shows when my husband is out and rehashing them later with my girlfriends. But I sometimes wonder if I just love sitting on my rear with my feet up not thinking while the TV glows across the living room.
So, tonight, I am pausing my BBC mini-series to wonder if the reason I am not as accomplished as the characters in this drama is TV. My 52" flatscreen is frozen on the image of a lovely girl playing a lovely and amazing piece on her piano (which, I know from other TV shows, is actually anachronistic because they played harpsichords at the time). This girl also draws, paints, dances, speaks French and Latin, and marries for money. I played the piano at one time with severe mediocrity, which is surprising because I devoted 30 minutes a day to practice. I do not sketch or draw, really, but I think I might have learned the art and enjoyed it had I had the time to take lessons and practice. I know a few Latin words, sayings, and conjugations from the 3 years I studied it in high school, but I do not remember it because I don't have the time to practice it now. I can come up with a useless phrase in Spanish long after the Spanish speaker walks away. I know nothing of French, I cannot dance but wish I could, and I most certainly did not marry for money, but for love. Contemplating all of this, I determined that the reason I do not have these accomplishments, is that I have something better to do than to become accomplished. TV.
But I love it. So my question to my very few readers is this, "Does TV make me stupid or lazy, or is it a new cultural medium, enhancing, connecting, and educating me and the rest of our generation in a new way?"
P.S. I know the answer that I have to this question because I did push play on my netflix drama and came up with more wisdom than I expected. I just want to know what you think.
You crack me up. I tend to think that TV is a new cultural medium that enhances your existence by educating you and connecting you to awesome people. But then again, that's probably because we watch all of the same shows and admitting that TV encourages either laziness or stupidity would be a process of self-condimnation which I couldn't handle. I don't like lazy and stupid people. Why would I admit to being one?
ReplyDeleteI am both lazy and stupid, but I don't think it has to do with TV. I have been exposed to it much longer than you have been alive - from the days of Howdy Doody up through Zooey on New Girl. Have I learned things from TV? I don't know? Have I forgotten things because of extended TV watching? I don't know. No, that is not entirely true. I know that I would never appear on Survivor. I have not watched a Mad Men episode yet, but maybe I'll rent them in the future. After all, I did not watch Lost for the first four seasons and then watched videos to catch up (I think after I heard your folks did the same).
ReplyDeleteSo, the bottom line to me is we all turn off our brains sometimes. Reading, riding bicycles, walking or jogging, television. Everything in moderation. Now, excuse me, I've got an episode of Touch to watch.
I love that you started a blog. I look forward to keeping up with it!
ReplyDeleteI think the internet is making me lazy more than anything these days. Since I work part time writing in the evenings, and also work on my own blog, I have almost zero time for TV. I can barely keep up with Grey's Anatomy on abc.com (we don't have cable either). I spend almost all night after the kids go down on my work, but I could probably cut that time in half if I could close down my email and facebook while working.
But since I stopped watching so much TV, it's caused is to choose much more carefully what we DO watch. As much as I enjoyed watching a little mindless HGTV back in the day, if I'm going to watch something now, it has to be something we REALLY want to watch.
As for my kids, it's hard to say. Since they stopped napping, they definitely watch more than I would prefer, since it provides me with pretty much the only break I get all day. Sometimes I'm afraid of the backlash that might ensue when I turn it off. But they bounce back easily, and very rarely whine incessantly about it all day. But not having it on all day encourages them to engage in other activities.