For a few years now, Ben and I have been intentional about television. For us, that means that we usually alternate between watching no tv (easier during the spring and summer months, when we spend the whole evening outside), and carefully choosing which television programs we do watch (miss marple, independent lens, and football generally make the cut). Of course we're not perfect or legalistic about this decision, but it's something that we've tried out in our lives and found to be a positive and enriching decision. The less tv we watch, the more we read, talk to one another, and engage in other leisure activities. It's a form of simplification that makes us feel good, and we're happy that Zosia is growing up in a home where human contact is a priority over electronic contact.
So, it's always interesting to come accross research/articles that explore the effect of television on people. Today I came accross this article, which discusses research that asserts that people who watch a lot of tv are more unhappy than those who watch less. I know that days that I do veg out in front of the tv, watching whatever junk might be on, are the days that I'm most listless and down-- even moreso after the tv watching than before it. I'll definitely try to remember that the next time I'm about to laps from my commitment!
2 comments:
Sean and I watch way more TV in the winter- or when it gets dark earlier. When you hunker down it just goes the sedentary-ness of it all -but lately we've been intentional about saying- okay it might be dark at 4:30 but tonight is a no-TV night. Giving ourselves permission to watch sometimes and the limit to not watch thoughtlessly is so important for us and me!
Yes, I totally know what you mean! I feel like there's a direct correlation between tv time and the time change. I think that too often when we do watch tv, it's as if ben and I are both giving ourselves total permission to check out, which usually means that the whole evening is sort of devoid of meaningful contact. But then again, sometimes we find something on tv that is totally wonderful, or we appreciate that veg out time. So I'm glad that we're not tv-totalers anymore, but also glad that we have limits.
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