Wednesday, December 3, 2008
No TV???
When the Chicago area was inundated with rain one weekend months ago, our roof leaked and water dripped onto our TV, ruining it. Since then, we have gone without television in our house. I know what you may be thinking--how are we able to live??? But I've found that the essential things I want from TV can be gotten in other ways--I get news from the web, I catch episodes of my favorite shows online and rent DVDs, I listen to Bears games on WBBM. I've found that much of what I used to watch on TV I hardly miss, and I often wonder how I ever had time to watch so much TV. Much of what Thoreau suggests in Walden seems like it couldn't possibly work, but what if we tried it? How much of what we consider "essential" would become irrelevant?
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3 comments:
Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody speaks about this very issue in this speech he gave concerning what he calls the "cognitive surplus". But avoid looking at his boots if you can!
Growing up, my parents had very strict rules about television. First of all, my mom is a preschool teacher, so shows like TeleTubes made her very upset. Until sixth grade, I wasn't allowed to watch tv on the weekdays. Sometimes I would go over to my friend's houses, but for the majority of the time, my tv was Saturday morning cartoons and other weekend specials. During the time, I hated it, but looking back, I realize that I am very greatful for that rule. Now, I love my shows like House, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and others... but I can understand living without them.
With the advancements in computers these days, it is almost not necessary to have a TV. Episodes of most prime time TV shows are available online. Also, the new Windows Vista for PCs has the capability to you to watch and even record live TV. You can even download movies and TV shows through iTunes and then download them onto your iPod. Is this progress? I would consider it in terms of Emerson; "society acquires new arts, and loses old instincts" (Emerson 36). Now that we are able to watch programs on the computer, we may not be as inclined to watch TV on the television.
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