Comments on: I watch too much TV

By: ubuntucat

ubuntucat — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:12:18 +0000

I was also one of the few English teachers who didn’t love poetry. I was a little bit of a black sheep in the department.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:17:39 +0000

Aren’t you a former English teacher? You’re the first English teacher I’ve heard say “Watch more TV!” Okay, so you didn’t exactly say THAT, but still… hilarious! I’ll bet your students loved it, too!

By: Dolly

Dolly — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:35:47 +0000

I’m really picky about the TV I watch, but when I find something I like, I can sit and stare for hours. Because it’s just like you said: a new form of storytelling! I’m also a huge gamer. Providing games don’t send the feminist part of myself screaming for cover, I find them to be a total escape.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:26:04 +0000

It certainly depends on what you’re watching – there’s a good chapter about this topic in Al Gore’s “Assault on Reason” which cites studies I can’t recall without the book here. The jist is that if you’re watching short segments with a bunch of 30-second ads in between, your attention span can be altered. I think there’s probably less ‘damage’ done by the Discovery Channel than the Home Shopping Network. My dad is involved with the optical design behind rear-projection television systems and tells me he creates the syringe for the opiate of the masses…

By: Kirsty

Kirsty — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:58:40 +0000

I love TV. I love really rubbish TV too. My argument is that I spend a lot of my time studying, and so pointless, vacuous TV is my chill-out thing. My boyfriend watches TV to learn things from documentaries – for me books are where I learn things. TV is mind-switch-off.

By: mc

mc — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:16:58 +0000

I doubt TV makes people lazy and stupid, at least no more than they already are.

There are varying degrees of quality in television programs and some require you to “get to know” the characters, the problems they face, the moral dilemnas. These tend to be the ones that don’t rot your mind.

Personally I can’t get any fulfillment or enjoyment watching most TV, but every so often, something comes along that works for me. I need to be reading or talking to someone, or posting on a blog.

On a related note, it bothers me that I have friends that do nothing but play video games and watch TV in their off-hours, but I tend to think that these things tend to be a symptom of idleness rather than a cause…or at the worst, a factor encouraging idleness, masking an unfulfilling lifestyle.

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:41:21 +0000

We don’t have a TV in our house, I read psychocats.net instead.

By: PartisanEntity

PartisanEntity — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:24:18 +0000

Four to five hours a day? Wow! :)

I watch about 30 minutes to 1 hour a day.

By: themcp

themcp — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:44:06 +0000

on a completely unrelated note: john gray “ph.d.” once spoke at my college, and a group of my classmates and i went — specifically to have the opportunity to loudly and drunkenly heckle him.

By: Peter Watts

Peter Watts — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Agree whole heartedly. I use the TV for my relaxation. If you don’t want to there is no reason to concentrate too hard because you know the show will be repeated at some time.