In Defense of Television

The line of reasoning is simple. Work hard at your job. Side hustle. Create. And financial independence will come. For all those naysayers who whine that there is not enough time in the day, the response is always the same. Of course there is time! The litany of time wasting activities is then spat out at the naysayer like a submachine gun. Chief among those is screens. How much time do we spend checking our devices, watching Facebook Live, or zoned out to Netflix? Possibly a lifetime? Whether true or not, I’m here to take an unpopular stand. I vote in defense of television (or however you consume tv shows).

No matter how busy life gets, there is always time to fit in the boob tube.

State of the Union

I watch television everyday. For hours. Usually somewhere between 7-10pm every night. My wife and I gather in the family room. The kids peak in and out. Sitting for thirty minutes here and there between homework and violin practice. If you were to peel back the cover of our house and look in during those hours most days, that’s where you would find us.

Usually we are smiling or laughing. Sometimes we are outraged or incredulous. Often we are enraptured in some story or another. Appalled by a documentary exposing the latest tragedy or mouth watering at the culinary gymnastics of a top chef.

We get all this for pennies (ok maybe dollars) a day. In the comfort of our own home. With the ability to turn off, turn on, or pause at our whim.

In defense of television, this is priceless

In Addition to, Not In Exchange For

You might notice that we save our TV watching time for the end of the day. There is a reason. Because we don’t substitute screen time for other activities. We turn to it at the end of the day when we are exhausted from accomplishing all the important things already.

One can only spend so many hours a day being industrious. The brain has natural ebbs and flows. For my family, we prefer to front load our day. The really brainy activities we tend to do early when we are still fresh.

There is only so much smart stuff one family can do. Sometimes we need mindless drivel.

In defense of television, we need downtime more often than you would think. Usually for a few hours a day. A time to wind down before going to bed.

Benefits?

Yes, screens can rot your brain. But they can also have some positive effects when not used compulsively. The most obvious, of course, is that they entertain. Much cheaper than the movies. Less expensive than a meal out. The perfect activity on a cold winter night. In defense of television, this is the financial independence dream. Cheap. Easy. Entertaining.

When we curl up on the couch with a tub of popcorn and all four of us scrunched up on our small family room couch, we are having family time. We are experiencing the same thing, in the same place, together. This seems to happen so little with families now a days.

And there is the educational aspect. The quality of documentaries and informative content has opened our lives up to a world of learning and experiencing new cultures and ideas.

Final Thoughts

I wouldn’t suggest zoning out to a screen all day. In fact, there certainly should be an hour limit to ones usage. But, in defense of television, we find it an entertaining way to decompress and enjoy some family time after all the important things have been accomplished.

Are we addicted? I doubt it. We often spurn the box and curl up with a book instead.

That is, of course, if there’s nothing good on.