Television mania, lives!

When I was in my teens, my parents used to often tell me “Don’t watch so much television, do something creative, read something, take a walk!” Then I used to feel whatever they are saying is just talk and I used to continue with my TV watching habit in an uncaring way, thinking “big deal”.

I had a feeling then, that our parents’ generation used to think that television is spoiling their children. But life has moved on, hasn't it? Even our parents were watching along with us. They however never used to stop saying “read, do something creative, take a walk” and they themselves used to sit in front of television. Actually I am not in a mood now to point fingers at their mistakes.

Of course, I succeeded in finishing my education even though I watched television and yet had time left over after studying, not only to watch television but also for things like practicing music, cooking, going out for movies and playing badminton.
Looking back, I still feel that watching television was not such a bad thing after all.

When we got a cable connection, we faced a small problem, that is each of us wanted to watch different channels (because we are different people with different tastes!). Of course no one can be blamed, except the fellow who thought up this cable system.
But it was a different scenario when there were no cable connection. All of us would sit together and watch the same channel, that is our one-and-only national channel, especially on Sundays in the afternoon for award winning movies, and for Kannada films at 4-00 pm. On other days it would be programs on film-songs, either chitrahaar or chitramanjari, news and daily soaps. They were such good times and all of us enjoyed same program together.
But still even with this “flawed” system, we had time for families, loved ones, eating together, and going out together. Such lovely times they were…

And then enter the internet!!
Just imagine, we now have so many options for entertainment. TV with cable, or maybe 2 TVs in one home. Added to that a computer, and an internet connection (because for a normal user, a computer without internet is like someone with a tongue but no taste buds).

So now picture a probable household: 2 computers/laptops per family, one couple, each using their own internet connection, sitting in the same room, happily forwarding mails to each other. WOW!! its such a comfortable, independent and euphoric moment, isn’t it? Three cheers to technology.

Most of the time in this kind of lifestyle, I will feel, I am wasting my time and not utilizing my time at home for something else. Sometimes I even feel disgusted when I go to bed thinking I wasted my time after work by sitting in front of that @$#@ing computer, looking into net communities searching for long-lost friends! and so on.
What we are doing is actually losing time which could be better spent with our near and dear ones. So I decided that whenever I am at home and I am not reading, I will watch television instead of sitting in front of the computer.
You will not believe the results of this bout of self-experimentation! I was more relaxed sitting in front of TV instead of the computer. I can sit with my hubby and we watch the same channel (maybe after arguing with each other to decide which one).

So now I remember what my parents used to say “Bhavana, don’t watch TV, do something better”.
However I am now going to completely contradict what they had told me. Now I tell myself “let me spend time with my husband watching television when we are at home, instead of sitting front of computers.”

:-)

Cheers..