Thanks, Kimberly, for this excellent post, and thanks, Anonymous, for this thoughtful response.
TV is something I've been trying to comprehend for my entire life. I view it as a life-suck, on par with a heroin addiction. I don't allow a TV in my house, haven't for about 20 years now. But I used to watch TV a lot, and family members (since passed away) had the boob tube going all day everyday. Really gave me a headache.
I suspect that there's a lot going on with TV watching on an occult level. That said, I also think a lot of its allure is simply that, for many people, especially those who place it in their living room before the sofa, it replaces the hearth-- that flickering light people gather around... always mesmerizing. For this reason, keeping the TV in a room and place where it cannot serve as an ersatz hearth is likely to keep the watching hours down.
Another thing is, as human beings we are naturally oriented towards paying attention to human faces, and TV features faces. We are also apt to put our attention on anything bright, anything making sounds, and anything moving. So there's that. And I think this is a big reason why it is so very difficult to turn the TV off: suddenly the room is bereft of faces, light, sounds, and movement.
no subject
TV is something I've been trying to comprehend for my entire life. I view it as a life-suck, on par with a heroin addiction. I don't allow a TV in my house, haven't for about 20 years now. But I used to watch TV a lot, and family members (since passed away) had the boob tube going all day everyday. Really gave me a headache.
I suspect that there's a lot going on with TV watching on an occult level. That said, I also think a lot of its allure is simply that, for many people, especially those who place it in their living room before the sofa, it replaces the hearth-- that flickering light people gather around... always mesmerizing. For this reason, keeping the TV in a room and place where it cannot serve as an ersatz hearth is likely to keep the watching hours down.
Another thing is, as human beings we are naturally oriented towards paying attention to human faces, and TV features faces. We are also apt to put our attention on anything bright, anything making sounds, and anything moving. So there's that. And I think this is a big reason why it is so very difficult to turn the TV off: suddenly the room is bereft of faces, light, sounds, and movement.
Cetiosaurus