Tuesday, February 05, 2008

10 Reasons I Hate The Television



Here they are:




10. They are obnoxious focal points in any house.

9. They are time wasters.

8. Hello? Do people read books anymore?

7. Barney the Dinosaur and Dora the Explorer. Need I say more?

6. Infinite amounts of mindless drivel.

5. Infinite amounts of inappropriate, s*xual content.

4. My children become deaf and dumb when watching.

3. The dumbed down portrayal and effemination of fathers.

2. Commercials

1. It divides the family.

There it is. Off my chest and out in the open for everyone to see.

This is how I roll.

Do we own a television? Yes. (Have mercy, I can hear the collective gasps of "hypocrite" permeating my screen already).

I'll continue my thoughts on this throughout the week, but I want y'all to ask yourselves the question:

"Why do I watch television?" (not me, but you)

Any thoughts? Anyone want to hurl tomatoes at me through the screen?

7 comments:

Hillary said...

For the most part, I agree. Television is a waste of time and I'm trying to cut back on my TV watching. But I do think it's a nice way to wind down at the end of a long day because it takes absolutely no concentration. And I love watching movies; it's one of my favorite date nights with my husband and it wouldn't be possible without a TV. And at night when I'm alone and doing other things, like scrapbooking or blogging or something like that, it's nice background noise so I don't feel so alone. And I also watch certain TV shows because I love them. So that's why I watch TV. Though, like I said, I am trying to cut back for all of the reasons you mentioned.

Shelly said...

I guess the main reason I watch tv is for pure entertainment so I'll admit to that. There are shows I like for particular reasons (like A.I. because I love music, The Office for "smarter" comedy, or Lost for mystery that makes me think). Having a dvr has really made tv watching feel less of a "demand" so we can watch things on our own time & can skip commercials. There are some shows we dropped because they were just a waste of time & I'm sure when a baby comes even more will be dropped because they just won't matter to us. But for now we enjoy mindless entertainment, like Ninja Warrior!

Anonymous said...

Michelle,

I whole heartedly agree!!! We are staying in a place that has cable and don't turn it on anymore due to very wicked vile commercials on the so called "good channels!"

Love, Rosa

Jedi Miller said...

Here you go "why I watch TV"

1. The Monks are too busy with their children to play with us :)
2. I need blog material.
3. The wall isn't that much fun to watch.
4. Good movies/tv can be just like books.
5. LOST
6. Ninja Warrior
7. After running 10 miles it's about the only thing i can do.
8. DATE NIGHT!!!!!! w/ pizza or other yummy treat.
9.Discovery channel:Mythbusters (teaches science), Dirty Jobs (shows us to appreciate our job), Survivorman (incase you are actually stranded on a desert island)
10. It seems to be upsetting the mad monk, so i'll have to double my TV time. j/k :P

Sarah said...

I mostly agree with you. Although I don't watch that much, it's on in my house all of the time. My husband would be happy if I'd le thim have one in the kitchen so he could watch it while we eat dinner.

I enjoy reading, but have to admit there are a few shows that I just love to watch and I look forward to the mindless entertainmnet. I'm a big fan of The Office and Lost and we do Netflix...I guess I watch TV b/c it's mindless...and I need that at the end of the day.

Looking forward to hearing your other thoughts this week.

Unknown said...

Why do I watch television?
*I'm a little bit addicted to quite a few prime-time shows. Also to a few only-in-reruns and on-DVD nowadays shows. I watch because I love the characters, love the stories, can't wait to find out what happens to them.
*I'm alone at night fairly often - with my husband's job, he works overnight at the hospital at least a few nights a month (sometimes up to 11, ugh) - and I have a hard time falling asleep when he's not here. I watch on those nights to wind down before bed.


I struggle with TV - I do love plenty of shows, but I worry about my 2 year old having too much screen time. Right now we have 2 TVs - one in the playroom/family room, which has doors that can close it off (great for when we're down there with Smooch, it's out of sight & out of mind) and one in our bedroom. My husband wanted a third, for our upstairs living/dining/kitchen area (it's very open) and I vetoed it. I'm so glad I did! That space is so much calmer and family-focused without a television present.

So no tomatoes hurling from me. I look forward to hearing your other thoughts on this subject.

mindi said...

Honestly, I used it this afternoon so that I could take a nap. Throw tomatoes at me. I'm starting to get sick, and Hunter was at school, Lex taking a nap, which left Gwen who wanted to watch Dora (gasp!) really bad. So I let her, and snoozed for 30 minutes on the couch next to her. With dreams of Dora running through my head :)
But in all honesty, I'm using it right now in the other room so I don't feel so alone. And to tell me when a tornado is sighted so we can run for cover!!