I have one more thing to say on the topic of blogs about TV addiction. If you have searched for blogs by people who are addicted to TV, and are trying to quit, you have more likely found a bunch of blogs by people who call themselves TV addicts with pride.
These people say "I am a TV addict!" as if it's a badge of honor, or a cool characteristic about themselves. They think its a quirky feature of their personality.
Can you imagine if someone said "Ha ha ha, I'm addicted to drugs. I can't stop doing drugs, isn't that silly of me?"
Or, "Oh my god, I drank booze for 12 hours this weekend. Can you believe it? I am such a booze hound!"
The thing of it is, television is such a part of our lives now, that people can't remember what it was ever like to not have it around. Many people under 30 can't remember what it was like not to have cable tv, and people under 40 may have always had a VCR in their houses, at least a Betamax, if not VHS.
Before then, we didn't have customized shows, and there were only four to six channels to choose from -- ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and maybe a couple of local stations. Eventually, FOX came along, but only after cable had been established for many years.
So, what did people do then? My gosh, what did they do? Did they spend all their time surfing between those four crappy little channels? Back and forth, back and forth? Did they have a favorite -- "I ONLY watch ABC."
I don't think so. I think they did other things. TV just didn't have the draw it does now. Yes, sure, people watched it, and some of them watched a lot of it, I'm sure. But it just wasn't as, well, as good as it is now. It wasn't as customized, for one thing. These days, if you have cable, you will probably be able to find something to hold your attention. There are movie channels that show nothing but movies, all day long.
In the old days, back in the 70s, or, if you didn't have cable, the 80s too, the only time movies were on TV was on a Friday or Saturday night (I don't really remember), or maybe on a Sunday, if they were showing a Disney movie.
There was no Tivo. You couldn't record a show on tape and keep it on your shelf, so you could watch it over and over, whenever you felt like sitting and doing nothing. You were at the mercy of the network executives, and if you didn't like what was on TV right then, you had nowhere to turn. You just had to turn it off and walk away.
And so that's what people did. They walked away and did other things. They were in bowling leagues. They sat outside and talked to their neighbors. They played cards. They went for walks. They were healthier.
That, my friends, is a fact. Look it up. People were healthier -- they were less obese and had fewer chronic diseases in the 70s, and to a lesser extent, in the 80s. There are many reasons for this, but I think TV, and the changes that have been made in TV since the 70s, are an important contributor.
People got out more, and did more things, instead of watching TV, because back then TV wasn't as compelling. It is now. Not always, not everything, but TV is way slicker and can draw you in faster now. And it's more customized. There are many many channels to choose from, whatever your bag.
Is TV evil? Are you evil for watching it? No, of course not. But are you living when you are watching TV? No. You are sitting and staring. And you are not even meditating. There have been studies of the brainwaves of people while they are watching TV. I don't remember the particulars, but it wasn't reassuring. I will look them up later. Right now I have to go to bed.
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