Our summer fast from electronic entertainment has been an interesting experiment. One consequence of the fast was to see how much power this medium had over us. Foregoing something you enjoy for a significant time educates you about yourself and your motivations. You learn that you may have overestimated your level of self-control or that your use of time has been unwise. It can teach you about what you’re neglecting and what you’re missing out on.
Two of our teens, Pat and Brittany, have written down some of their thoughts about our experiment and some articles we read together during the fast.
Pat says:
The passive pursuit of television is a key idea that has stuck out to me through this article and our TV fast. Above any other psychological effect TV has on us I think that the passiveness of TV watching or video game playing is the main danger of the medium. Something that surprised me when we ended the TV fast was that I actually did not have the desire to go watch TV or play video games like I used to. Being unplugged forces you to spend your time actively, engaged with those around you.
Another subject that I found interesting is how TV feeds emotionalism and hinders the logical thought process. It is so true that you can watch the news for an hour and really not get any more information out of it than you would reading a ten minute article on the event. TV flashes images which make you feel in touch with what is going on without the need of giving you real substance. Emotionalism blocks your mind from judging reality for what it is.
TV can truly be a “blood-sucking parasite” as Frank Schaeffer puts it. The passivity of TV watching leaves a hole in one’s life if left unchecked. I have greatly benefited from the recent awareness in our community to this subject.
Brittany agrees and adds:
The one point that really stuck out to me, however, was this: television encourages a loss of the “immediate community.” It makes you out of sync and out of touch with the people who are around you. I can relate. I have found myself getting so sucked into the hockey game I am watching that I don’t pay much attention to the people around me. Short of the house burning down, I really won’t know what’s going on – until the next commercial. Television, in and of itself, is not evil and is not bad. However, if we allow ourselves to be accosted constantly through this medium, it can be harmful. Television is to be used as entertainment, not as a replacement for reality.
Next post I’ll share how we decided to manage the Tube.
