I can honestly say, that I have a love-hate relationship with television. A love so strong that I get frustrated if one of my favourite shows doesn’t record onto the DVR and that I find myself laughing about something I saw on television days later. I can even remember in my first year of University writing a paper based entirely around my love for television.
But there is also a huge part of me that has blossomed in the last year, which is now seeing the downfalls and the hate that comes with loving television.
About a year ago I started working for a company, which will remain nameless, where I would help people with their television problems. When I say television problems, I mean consisting of everything from how to put batteries into their remote controls to setting up a home theatre system over the phone.
What I have suddenly become acutely aware of is how pathetic some people have become when it comes to their technology and gadgets. Now, I’m not one to say, “What happened to the days where children played outside and weren’t always parked in front of the tube”. As a kid, I know I watched a lot of television and had an overwhelming addiction to Sharron, Lois and Bram. In the same token, I also remember skating on the neighbours’ backyard rink, badminton tournaments and many lemonade/decorated rock sales. (We we’re craft entrepreneurs. Always looking to make a few bucks.)
A few weeks ago, while at my place of work I talked to someone over the phone that honestly made my jaw drop. The story started the same as they almost always do. Empty threats about canceling their cable television subscription and how I personally, “cut it off”. This story had a twist though. This particular customer told me, that if I didn’t get at least one of the televisions in his home working before his wife returned home from work, they would honestly be getting a divorce the following day because he couldn’t tolerate her. I couldn’t believe it as this man grumbled onto me about how television was the only thing holding his marriage together. All I could think, while trying to show empathy to this customer and not say something deemed inappropriate, was just how pathetic this was.
But there is also a huge part of me that has blossomed in the last year, which is now seeing the downfalls and the hate that comes with loving television.
About a year ago I started working for a company, which will remain nameless, where I would help people with their television problems. When I say television problems, I mean consisting of everything from how to put batteries into their remote controls to setting up a home theatre system over the phone.
What I have suddenly become acutely aware of is how pathetic some people have become when it comes to their technology and gadgets. Now, I’m not one to say, “What happened to the days where children played outside and weren’t always parked in front of the tube”. As a kid, I know I watched a lot of television and had an overwhelming addiction to Sharron, Lois and Bram. In the same token, I also remember skating on the neighbours’ backyard rink, badminton tournaments and many lemonade/decorated rock sales. (We we’re craft entrepreneurs. Always looking to make a few bucks.)
A few weeks ago, while at my place of work I talked to someone over the phone that honestly made my jaw drop. The story started the same as they almost always do. Empty threats about canceling their cable television subscription and how I personally, “cut it off”. This story had a twist though. This particular customer told me, that if I didn’t get at least one of the televisions in his home working before his wife returned home from work, they would honestly be getting a divorce the following day because he couldn’t tolerate her. I couldn’t believe it as this man grumbled onto me about how television was the only thing holding his marriage together. All I could think, while trying to show empathy to this customer and not say something deemed inappropriate, was just how pathetic this was.
If someone can honestly admit that the only thing holding their relationship together is the fact that they can sit down at the end of the day and be engulfed with a world outside their own, what does that say about our culture? What does it say when you would rather your children learn something from Dora The Explorer instead of teaching them how to read a book or ride a bike? What does it say when people think the Broadway musical song, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserable was originally sung by Rachael Berry from Glee? What does it say when someone knows all the rules and regulations for the National Hockey League but has never even tried to learn how to skate?
As admitted before, I am a lover of television but I know that the day television starts determining my relationships and life, is the day my six year old self standing in my imaginary land of snowflakes and gumdrops, would shake my own head in disapproval. I think it’s time that we step back and really look at what we are doing. Instead of building relationships, bettering ourselves or helping others we are counting down the days until the Super bowl or making bets on who will win Dancing With the Stars.
We have become such a lazy nation that relies on television getting us through the lull of one-day-to-the-next. We should be embracing life, not wasting it on re-runs. Maybe it’s time we put down the remote, DVR our favourite programs for a rainy day and meet up for coffee with a friend and discuss the real world instead of MTV’s The Real World.
