Comments on Television

These are some of the comments I received about the "Television: Evil or Informative" posting from last Thursday:

One twenty something girl commented that until about two years ago, she just had broadcast television or anything you can see with an antenna. When she did get cable, she went big. She now receives every channel available. She also has TiVo. Here is what she says about TiVo:
TiVo takes TV to a whole new level. I can TiVo cartoons so that when my nephews are here they can watch something. It is in essence a time shifting device. For instance, if a show that I want to see comes on at 2:00am, I just click a few buttons and poof, it is recorded, almost like magic...I watch TV when I want to and on my schedule. I thought that I would watch more TV, but I really don't, I watch less and it is quality TV.
(Go to www.tivo.com to learn more about it.)

A couple with young children gave up cable. All that they use is a DVD player. They frequent Blockbuster to rent movies and TV series of their choice. This is the way in which they control what and when they watch television. "We really don't miss it [cable]. The only thing I miss is the news channels, but those channels just talk about the same thing over and over. I can find out the news elsewhere."

My intellegent and well read sister commented with this:
We as humans can be so tempted to engross ourselves in alter realities that we forget to live in our own. I too once became so emersed in the DVD collection of Alias Season One that I started to feel like my life was boring and pointless because I had never kicked someone in the face or been shot at.
On the other hand, TV, whether it be pop-culture shows or the History channel, can help us relax, learn, give us something to talk about with others. TV is communal in much the same way the novel was when it was first created in the Victorian Age. Women used to sit around and talk about the next installment of a Charles Dickens novel the same way we talk about...I don't know...Desperate Housewives, today. You don't hear anyone protesting the study of Dickens today. I can safely predict that 100 years from now university students will be sitting around a conference table analyzing shows in the 21st century. It's part of our present culture.
Just like all pleasures, moderation is the key. I once heard that you should watch TV intentionally instead of mindlessly. Plan to watch one of your favorite shows but don't leave the TV on all night. Watch a show as a family but don't let your kids watch unchaperoned. I think that's pretty good advice. I'll let you know when I've been able to put it into practice.

Read my blog tomorrow to give your comments on the next topic.