Television

Television. One of the most common source of entertainment and, also one the largest time wasters that our culture has to offer. I watch TV every now and then, but not a real lot. I'm mostly on the internet, which is also a common source of entertainment and time wasting. But we won't get into that. Anyway, most of the time spent watching TV is wasted. Pure and simple. We might laugh or cry, but are we really being engaged? Not especially, our minds aren't given time to let our imaginations work. Honestly, what do you gain from watching a reality show? Not much, I can tell you that. Yet we are entertained. Instead of making our mind do the hard work of thinking, we give it a break and let a show do the thinking for us. We aren't even usually given the choice to share feedback, like we would while watching a youtube video or something. This doesn't mean that TV is bad, necessarily. Many documentaries are engaging, intriguing, and education in a way that the information will stick with us. And I can't help but crack a smile when watching old retro shows like "The A Team", "Knight Rider", and "Leave it to Beaver".

As you most likely know, I enjoy anime. Isn't that a cartoon? Well, yes it is. But it is on the computer, so I am able to pause the video when ever I like (which is usually extremely often, it can take me an hour and a half to watch a 30 minute video because I am bouncing back and forth so much). Not to mention that it is in Japanese with English subtitles. That is just cool. And because I plan on learning Japanese at some point it is educational. And did I mention that I can also experience Japanese history and culture? Yeah, I don't think time is being wasted here.

To clarify, I am not against film here. It is an art medium that many film makers feel is a why to express their creativity. After all, I quite enjoy doing special effects. What I'm against is the mindlessness that TV has evolved to represent. Many shows allow us to stop thinking. All the mental capacity is needed is to be able to operate a remote control. And sometimes, not even that is required. Just pressing the "on" button. I just wish that we would press it again a little sooner, instead of allowing it to steal our valuable time.