It's over! Well, almost.
My TV experiment officially ended Saturday night, but I still haven't watched any. I was busy most of Sunday and went out to see two movies, so I didn't watch any TV that day. And so far Monday, I haven't watched any.
I think I've learned to watch TV with purpose, not to leave it on as background. My thinking is a little sharper when I'm not half-paying attention to something else. I've noticed it's not quite the same thing as listening to the radio or a CD, even if it's the same in theory. Another thing I've learned is that I require constant stimulation. If the TV is not on, I might be led into more productive forms of amusing myself. It didn't work for the most part this past week, because as I explained before, I mostly just held on tight and waited for the week to be over. But moving on, I think this will be a valuable idea.
I want to stress though that I didn't do this because I think TV is inherently bad. If I did, I'd probably pick another career. My thinking was more along the lines of "everything in moderation". I think TV is a wonderful tool for people to have a shared experience. Those kind of experiences are in short supply these days as people isolate themselves more. But things like the Olympics or a very popular series give people a common culture and a basis for relating to each other. Like I explained in another entry, sports gives me and my dad a starting point for enjoying each other's company. TV does these things.
The most important thing I learned is that I use TV as a substitute for human connection. TV voices are replacements for the voices that should be coming from friends or family or a girlfriend. SportsCenter anchors, Discovery Channel narrators, and fictional characters are my ersatz friends and acquaintances. I don't think this is bad if it's a minor thing. I think we probably all do it to a slight extent. But when it rivals or trumps the influence of real people in one's social life, then it's a problem. That makes it a problem for me.
I said in an earlier post that I was in love with my television. I think that's an excellent metaphor. What I need to do now is tell my TV that I think we're better off as friends.