Glen -
Obviously you find your Television useful and feel you can thoughtfully
mitigate any negative side-effects having it in your life might
present. I was mostly making fun of your (deliberately idiosyncratic?)
choices of programming as described. You are not alone, and I recognize
that at least half the (relatively small number of) people who share my
own response to TV are bigger cranks than I am.
It is the constant stream of pop-culture and push-advertising (not just
commercial, but all kinds of social and political agendas embedded
everywhere) that I respond so negatively to. I am not desensitized as
are people who watch/listen to it regularly. I get edgy when in a big
city bustling with advertisements, loud cars, pushy people, beggars and
streetwalkers. Having a TV on is a bit like that to me.
Not being desensitized, when I am exposed, I immediately notice the
worst elements.... whether it is the infomercials, the regular
commercials, the inane game shows, the yammering (not just talking)
news-heads, the Jerry Springer-style talk shows, the soap operas, or the
"reality" shows. We *do* (now) watch made for TV movies and series
when they catch our interest through the magic of Netflix and iTunes.
But rather than having to operate the *off* button when crap starts
spewing out of the screen, we simply operate the *on* button, choosing
*what* to watch rather than *what not to* watch.
I was not socialized to TV. I grew up in places where there was no
reception to speak of, and my parents had little interest in it when we
did. I (once again) live somewhere where there is no reception
(neither pre-digital nor post). My wife came to me with a TV which she
used very little (mostly with a VHS player). We read a lot.
Once we had alternative methods for watching video tapes (then DVDs),
the TV set went into the shed. On 9/11/2012 my wife pulled it out,
dusted it off, plugged it in and made me order up a satellite dish. A
week later she took it back to the shed. I tried to cancel the
Satellite service (ha! one year contract!). It was giving her nothing
(that she wanted) that she couldn't get by A) reading a daily paper, B)
listening to a modicum of radio when driving into town (every day or
two), C) searching on the internet (dialup at the time!), D) talking to
friends who were more plugged in. We found the TV news stations to be
highly repetitious, redundant and often inane. We found the rest to
be ... mostly just sad. Neither of us follow sports. We read a lot.
I watch maybe 10-30 minutes of TV a week with the sound turned down and
subtitles (sometimes) turned on. It may be while standing in line
waiting where one is on, at the barber, the mechanic or in a bar, etc.
I am often intrigued by the flashing lights, the semi-attractive talking
heads (speaking quite authoritatively about something, but I suspect
more likely nothing) and the level of hyperbole being emitted in a
constant stream. This is usually *more* than enough for me.
TV is to me like leaded paint or leaded gasoline, or maybe at best like
white sugar and white flour. The former has been outlawed and I think
few people pine for "the good ole days of leaded gas/paint"... it is
recognized as an anachronism... the lead served an important function,
but the risks were eventually recognized and alternatives found. I
don't need to keep a gallon of each around to remind me of "the good ole
days". I *do* keep white sugar and white flour in my cabinet and even
use the sugar often in my coffee. I use the flour occasionally to make
up some biscuits and/or some gravy. Some people use white sugar and
white flour as the core of their nutrition as others use Television as
the core of their entertainment/distraction/news.
When we stay in a motel, I hide the remote to the TV and my wife makes
me (sometimes involving physical violence) produce it and we proceed to
binge on hours of the stuff that gushes out, usually with one thumb (my
wife's) on the remote flipping through channels in morbid
fascination... then we fall into a fitful slumber filled with
advertising jingles, flashy logos, and talking heads (remember Max
Headroom?).
The internet has become as bad (or worse really) as commercial TV in
many ways, except that is for the most part still not a push medium. I
obviously spend way too much time on my computer/internet. I should
read more. Or get out in the sunshine. Or both.
PostScript:
THIS is why I shot my TV! I also stay away from Youtube except for
instructional videos for tearing down, repairing (and most importantly)
re-assembling my complex devices (pieces of my Digital as well as my
Analog ecology (aka Swamp)).
And it's precisely why I will never willingly get rid of my TV, any more
than I'd get rid of my scissors ... or my books ... or my belt, shoes,
pencils, hammer, etc. It amazes me when people purposefully handicap
themselves by refusing to use a tool. We have lots of self-described TV
murderers here in Portland. I do turn off the TV just as often as I
turn it on, though ... more, actually, since Renee' tends to leave it
on. All tools need on-off buttons. ;-) I also reserve the right to
pray to my imaginary friends and change my mind on a regular basis.
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