Entertaining Ourselves
I've been thinking a lot lately about time. How do I spend the little bit of time I have to myself each day? Could I be using it better? TV is a waste of time for the most part, although I enjoy an episode of ER when I get the chance. I don't have a lot of time to read, either, so I rely on magazines rather than books to fulfill my desire to read. Whenever I am in the car I will listen to talk radio because it's the only way I get any news and find out what's going on in the world. I don't have a hobby per se to fill that bit of time although I enjoy scrapbooking when I get a chance and I still love to play my instruments.
How are most people entertaining themselves now? I would guess that many use the computer. I use the computer at least once a day for e-mail and more recently, to blog. But, I long for the days of chatting with neighbors, backyard barbecues, family board game night, and discussion being the main entertainment. Too many distractions now with computers, TV, video games, movies, etc; there are just too many electronic things vying for our attention.
When we moved to our new house we were "unplugged" for about a month. What a great month. I'm not saying that all of the electronic gizmos don't have their place (I really like using the computer for this blog..for example!) . But I think all of these gadgets are forcing us to be less social, less creative, and ultimately less interesting. The great thing about the blog is that I am finding that there are many interesting people who have a lot to share and don't live next door. In our increasingly global community it makes sense that the backyard chats are now sometimes online chats. But I still believe I'm out of place in this plugged-in culture.
2 Comments:
Interesting post. I totally waste a ton of time watching TV. Some of it is okay, though, especially if you watch it actively rather than passively. For instance, I marvel at the world when I watch "The Amazing Race" and wonder how we Americans must seem to others in the world. I develop opinions about the different teams and try and make an educated guess about who will win and why. But you are right, this culture needs to strike a balance. Have you ever noticed how bent out of shape people get when the power goes out for a couple of days?
8:25 PM
Active/Passive TV Viewing. I always enjoy watching with someone rather than by myself for that very reason. Often, I find myself just vegging out rather than being a participant when I watch TV. Sometimes I need to veg, though, so that it okay, too. I read somewhere that you actually use more of your brain sleeping than watching TV.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Frances just blew through our part of Florida and I must say, we were very lucky. (The power only went out for a couple of hours.) I almost got all bent out of shape but for me it was about all the food that would have spoiled in the freezer!
9:40 PM
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