Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Boob Tube

I just read a blog about TV watching. That author said she never watches TV, that she considers it a waste. I'm not quite to that same level of watching NO TV, but I don't like to watch it a lot either. I have a few shows I really like: American Idol, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Smallville, and I like movies. But too much TV watching is a time waster. There's so many other better things that I could be doing and in my case anyway, that I should be doing. And there's not that much I'm interested in watching on TV anyway. In fact, most of what's on TV annoys me, even with five hundred plus cable channels. If it were up to me, I'd leave off the TV and listen to my music or just have silence while I'm doing something else. But the hubby and the kids are addicted to it. They seem to always want it on. When hubby's home, he ALWAYS has it on. It doesn't seem to matter if it's something he wants to watch. He'll find the least of the evils - watching a poker game, watching the animal police...anything. Sometimes I want to scream. Lots of times I pack up my computer and head to the book store or the park to get away from the boob tube and its incessant noise. I used to hear a lot of people say that too much TV watching was bad, that it should be limited. I agree. Thus it surprised me when one group of lunch pals at the day job talked about TV incessantly and acted like it was their whole life when not at work - like my hubby. I felt out of place with them as I'd never watched (even once) most of the shows they talked about, old or current. There's so much more to life than watching television. I like to watch some, but I'd feel like I was wasting my life if that's all I did after work. Another friend at the day job today said they were worried about their mother. Since she's retired from her job all she does is watch TV. That's her life. I'd never want to retire if I thought that was all that was left of life. I have lots of plans for my "retirement". It will be a retirement from my day job, but not from life. Not from my dreams. Instead of writing part time like now, I want to write a lot more. I want to travel to a LOT of writers conferences, visit out of town family and friends several times a year, volunteer somewhere to help other people, and make my life still count. As long as I'm able-bodied and my mind is good, I don't want to vegetate in front of a TV or for any other reason. I know a lady who claims she wants to be a writer. However, she also claims that she has no time to write. Why? Because after the day job she watches her recorded soap operas and another favorite TV show most of the night, every night. I just scratch my head. Obviously writing is not her priority. As far as I know she's not written a single word on her first book. Her priority is watching TV. That's fine except I don't understand how she bemoans not having time when she's the one choosing how to spend her time. I get a lot of writing done at night and on weekends when I'm not at the day job. Not as much as I long to do, but a lot more than none. While there are valid reasons people wouldn't find time to write (a second job, health reasons, being a caregiver to someone to name a few) TV watching all the time isn't one of them. At least not in my humble opinion. Conversely, I'm in awe of many great authors I know who make me look like I'm standing still in the writing department. While for some it's their full time job, for others it's in addition to another day job. I'm willing to bet they're not glued to a TV. Don't think I want to give away my TV. I still enjoy it...sometimes. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

6 comments:

Sandra Cox said...

I watch the news, sometimes a movie or Boston Legal, Animal Planet. Oh yes and Murder She Wrote:) That's about it. I have to have my quiet time to survive. I write in the lower level. The TV blares on the main floor:)
Is there any quiet spots in the house where you can write?

Molly Daniels said...

We used to love to go Grandma's because she watched the old mystery shows...Barnaby Jones, Hawaii 5-0, and Columbo.

And now that my mom's retired, she watches old Murder She Wrote shows, along with Matlock and Perry Mason.

My MIL watches Food Network all day.

I'm with you; I'd rather turn off the TV all day and listen to music! But my spouse prefers Sci-Fi network.

And the only TV I currently watch besides the am news is one show M, T,and Th, and my Sat am marathon of 90210, which will be over in a few months when I get through the rest of the series:) I think I watch maybe 8 hours all week, as opposed to hubby's 8+ per day...

Inthemud said...

Popped by via black box! So Hi!

I find I have specific TV programmes that I have to watch and get very annoyed if I miss, but increasingly finding less I want to watch, more channels we get less good stuff to watch!

Used to be a huge Soap fan, but nowdon't watch any.

Trixie said...

My tv is just on as background noise, while I spend time blogging. Which is the lesser of the two evils TV or blogging? lol

Brynn Paulin said...

Actually, I rarely watch TV. Since I do watch Medium when it's on which is only one hour, one day a week for about 12 weeks, I can't say I watch NO TV but that's the extent of it.

I used to watch a lot of TV but when it came down to it, I had to decide...writing or TV. You know which won out. I could spend time honing my craft or I could veg in front of electronic distraction.

That said, I do watch movies, but I find movies are different. They're on my time table and I can catch a "chapter" here or there when I have a few minutes. I never watch a whole movie in a sitting though unless I've been dragged to the theater.

I know a lot of authors who have made this decision: TV vs. Writing. However, I know at least one author who has a movie playing in one corner of her computer screen while she writes. LOL. That would NEVER work for me.

Anny Cook said...

When we moved to Baltimore, we couldn't afford cable. Without it we only had two channels and one of them was PBS. It didn't take long to reach the point where the tv never was turned on. Then in a frenzy of rearranging the furniture, it was relegated to an empty room. By the time we could afford cable, neither of us was interested.

House hunk watches football during the season. I watched the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. That's it. Can't seem to drum up much interest in watching television when there are so many books I want to write and read.

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