(no subject)

[rm]

I don't happen to believe that TV is the devil, but I'm also not surprised by these findings, even if, a the article notes, the cause and effect is somewhat unclear (do unhappy peopel watch more TV or does watching TV make people unhappy?)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/thief-of-time/2005/06/28/1119724635649.html

Comments

[oilygrrl.livejournal.com]

Tv certainly isn't the devil but I do believe earlier research that I read about in Bowling Alone which stated that television watching is the only activity where the more you do it, the less you do anything else. Every other activity the researchers studied led to more 'social capital', more community involvement, stronger support networks, etc.
It's a similarly chicken/egg conclusion though, do socially inactive people watch more tv or does watching more tv lead to a deficit of 'social capital'?

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

I don't think tv is the devil, either, but since giving up the tv (4 years and counting!) I've been a lot more productive, a lot more social, and have had a lot more time to read, write, and do other creative things. It's been great. I miss it sometimes, but then I remember how much time I'm saving.

[labellerose.livejournal.com]

Interesting article. I've been low TV/TV free for a number of years and, at least for me there's a 1-1 correlation between absence of TV, productivity and happiness. TV for the kids has generally been a rationed dose of PBS, we've chosen not to have cable/dish etc.

I used to be much more of a pain in the ass about this than I try to be now-though I do tell my disabled daughter's care providers that bringing daytime TV into my home is a zero-tolerance firing offense.

As my son's gotten older he has a 'TV budget' an set amount of time that he can use to select what he wants to watch-including channels I didn't allow when he was younger like cartoon network. He's free to enjoy the TV for his planned allotment. He can also 'bank' his time to rent a movie or game on weekends, for instance if he has a friend over. I wish I was this successful with Internet and game cube, but we're working on it:)!

I will occasionally watch a DVD or special broadcast, but I think the key for me is that it's something that's planned for-we just don't have the one-eyed monster droning on all day.

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

Not that it's all that relevant. I just like the quote.