The allure of TV

What is it about TV?

Why is it so alluring? If we are home, and not sleeping, it is on. In the mornings, after my husband goes to work, and I am supposed to be writing, I am tempted to turn it on. Tempted isn't strong enough word. It is an addiciton. I long for it. WHY? And I like to fool myself into the whole "I can write with it on," idea. But when I turn it off, I get more writing done. When I lived alone, I noticed I would turn it on even if I was going into the kitchen to do dishes or something, instead of listening to music. And I Love music. What's up wtih that? I hypothosized that when I lived alone, and the TV was on in the other room, it was less lonely, like someone was there watching it.

I didn't have a TV for a while. I stopped telling people. I sounded stuck up. Snooty. Nose in the air I'm better than you kind of snooty. I am not. I suck. Either that or they thought I was too poor to afford one and offered me one of theirs. I was 20. I was unemployed, and depressed. My friend and neighbor would come over after his job to ask me how many resumes I had faxed that day. When he started finding me still in my pj's in bed watching a 10" black and white TV with no cable and bad reception he knew he had to intervene. He took my TV and put it in my closet and said I could have it back when I got a job. Well, I got a job, school started back, and I started dating someone. I was busy. The TV stayed in the closet. One weekend some of us had a combo yard sale. I came into my apartment mid sale to find something, and the TV caught my eye. "I'm going to sell my TV." I felt triumphant. BUt it wasn't me that originally removed it. I suck. I was without it for over a year. I finally bought one to use my work out video. Well, my video collected dust, but my TV was, yes, always on. WHY?

WHat is it about TV? DOes it placate us? Is it relaxing? Why is it that when it is not on, my brain nudges me to turn it on the same way it nudges me for more caffeine? Why is it that even though I know I'll get more done without it, I turn it on? Why do my husband and I eat with it on, even though we both say we shouldn't. Well, I say it and he just agrees. When we do turn it off, we talk to each other. I like him, he's good company.

There are shows we look forward to every week. That I get. But when nothing is on we look through the channel guide and 'settle' for something, you know, 'just to have it on.' or we find a DVD. WHY? We have over 300 music cd's and we have XM radio on the DirecTV.

It is just me and my husband. We have a TV in the living room, the kitchen and the bedroom. We had a 4th TV, but we gave it to charity. The TV's out number the people in our house. What's up with that?

Back when I was young and idealistic I announced to a friend of mine who had three kids that when I had kids, I was going to limit their TV viewing. You just wait, she said. she had intended to just have one TV, in the living room, in a cabinet with a door you could close. You couldn't just flip it on, you had to put in effort. Well, then her mother got her a TV for teh Kitchen, they got a new TV for the living room and moved the old one to their bedroom, and then her son got a job and bought one for his room. She figured he bought it with his own money, she couldn't tell him no. Then the other kid said, Well he has one, so she started babysitting and got her own. TVs everywhere, my friend said. But really. I don't even limit my own viewing, how do I expect to limit my (yet to exist) kids? I think my friend was right to knock me down a notch.

Somebody please just tell me why TV sucks us in so?

clock_work9 said:

My parents have been married 38 years and they have a television in their bedroom. Ain't nothing wrong with their relationship.



A lot of it's garbage but with the right programme, television can be as entertaining and involving as any other art form. Would you put down a book right in the middle of a cruicial moment to make a meal or go to the bathroom?

Click to expand...

Well, sometimes you HAVE to go to the bathroom. Though, come to think of it, I take mine with me. I have magazines in there too.

Mostly we use the TV in the bedroom on the weekend, say, if Mr. Groove is watching something with his buddy and I want to watch a chick flick. I also have it on when I am folding laundry in there or we want to see the weather becuase there might be a tornado and it is 1am. I mean who wants to tromp all the way to the living room at that time of night? Mental note, get a weather radio.

I'll be honest. I feel decadent having the TV in the kitchen. it is a little 9 inch. I got it when I lived in NYC in a shoe box bedroom. I wouldn't have bought one for the kitchen, but when I got married I brought my little TV with me. I mostly watch news in the morning while i make my husband's lunch and shows on food network and HGTV while hubby watches his geek shows while I am making dinner.

Oh, here's another funny thing about the TV I got in NY. When I first arrived in NY I stayed with a woman temporarily. WE got along famously, and even though her apartment was TINY, i was almost sorry it was temporary. She liked to read, and she liked watching movies. It was great. Well, when it came time to move, i asked my new roommate to be about the TV in the 'living' room. She said it belonged to the girl who was moving out. She said in that snooty way I mentioned earlier that she didn't watch TV. So, since she didn't watch TV, I bought my 9 incher for my bedroom. I told her and the other girl we lived with they were welcome to watch it when I wasn't home. I assumed I didn't have to specify 'in my room.' since that is where i set it up. Oh, it is a TV/VCR combo, btw. I came home one day to find my roommate watching my TV in teh living room. WHen she unplugged it, the show I had set to record didn't. I asked her nicely to please leave it in my room, and that she was welcome to watch it in there. She didn't watch it again. Nooo. Ok. I know I suck. I watch too much. BUt I rented movies and watch shows at night. Guess what. Miss snooty I am too good for you and I don't watch TV bought a TV. Oh. My. God. She watched absolute crap. Daytime melodrama. She had it on more than I had mine on.

scarletpeaches said:

Oh I'm not denying some of it is entertaining, but I'm not one of those people who lets the tellybox rule their life (unless the snooker's on...). A book's easy to put down but at the same time it's more portable than a television so if it's that gripping, you can take it with you while you travel or whatever.

Of course my view is shaped by having a mother who chose television over conversation or paying 'real people' any attention at all so yes, I'm biased. But like I said, I rule the telly - it doesn't rule me. And I watch when it's convenient. If something I'd like to see is on at the wrong time, I tape it and watch it later. Just like one could read the next chapter of a book later.

Click to expand...

Taping things can start to rule you, too. If you aren't careful. I started to feel that since I taped it, I had to watch it. When I lived alone, I often would go hang out with friends in the evenings, so I would record my shows. I got ridiculous. I couldn't remember what was on what tape or if I had watched X. So I made three tapes: Weekend, M-W, TH-Fri. If it got to the end of the tape and I hadn't watched it all, I just rewound it and started over. That way, I was in charge, not the VCR. Now we have a DVR and it is already half full. I have deleted some things I never watched and stopped setting some things to record becuase when will I watch them?

Oh, don't get me started on my AW addciton.

meanwhile back at the topic....

I am still wondering what it is about a TV that is so alluring. Apparently it isn't for some of you. Do elaborate please.