Modern living brings along with it many conveniences that we can't imagine life without. Cell phones, iPods, tablets, ereaders, the list of technologies that make our lives "easier" or "simpler" goes on and on. I'm not the first person to be skeptical of this notion so I won't pretend that I've had any great revelation; but, sometimes it's just too much.
Since we settled here in BC a few months ago, my girlfriend and I have developed a routine that we sink into on most evenings. One of us will make dinner, we will eat, the other with do the dishes and then we will migrate onto the couch for an evening of relaxation. The only problem is we don't relax. More often than not we each have a laptop open, a conversation going on between us, a conversation happening online, and the TV chattering mundanely in the background.
That is the modern age. We are constantly doing ten things at once and we think we are more efficient because of it. Even as I write this blog I am fighting the urge to flip over to the Facebook tab and talk to one of my friends. I suppose it's a consequence of our curious and social nature as a species, but we have taken things to far. We are getting less done, having less fun, and are all worse off because of it.
Strong words, I know. Even slightly hypocritical since I have no intention of joining a monastery any time soon, but that doesn't mean I have to sit back and let my brain turn to mush. I can take at least one step toward simplify my life; and all I need to do is press a single button on the remote. By turning off the TV and enjoying some silence I can free myself from some of the confusion that I throw at my brain each day.
Sometimes I feel bad for my poor old neo-cortex, I ask a lot of it. Read this book. Text this person. Get a graduate degree. Learn this recipe. If any person asked me to do as much as I require of my brain I would swiftly swipe them from my rolodex (if I, or anyone, still had a rolodex). From my brain's point of view, I'm a slave-driver. This train of thought has at least partly been inspired by an A.J. Jacobs article I recently read in which the author seeks to become a unitasker for one month. Trying to devote his full and complete attention to each task that he undertakes.
I'm not saying we all need to go that far, but there is something to be said for slowing things down. Having the TV on in the background while I do general chores is slightly comforting, but that is only because a TV has been on in the background for a good portion of my life. Thanksgivings, birthdays... It's kind of sad but I wouldn't be surprised if it were true for a lot of people. Over the past few days, though, I've noticed that a blank screen is somewhat serene.
Tonight, instead of having the TV on while we ate, my girlfriend and I enjoyed some music and conversation. There is something so much less taxing about music. Is doesn't demand your attention in the same way TV does and it allows you to talk over it without feeling like you'll miss something. And yes, TV does that to us, even if it's not entirely conscious.
Thanks to our experiment at dinner we had a better meal than usual. There was more goofing around and even a little bit of dancing post-meal... Behind closed doors we are kind of a sickening couple, but that's besides the point. I love having the TV off and I plan to continue leaving it off into the foreseeable future. I will resist the reflex to collapse on the couch at the end of a long day and tune out. I have too many books I want to read to be doing that anyway.
I welcome you all to do the same. You don't have to take my title (which I stole from a Red Hot Chili Peppers Song) literally, you can enjoy a program every now and then, but you don't have to be the slave to it that many of us are. It would do us all a measure of good to try and live like people in the 1940's did. You may lose some of the instant gratification that our society has become dependent on, but the things to find will enrich your life.
Cheers,
-Steve
Image courtesy of: http://expressionofsolitude.blogspot.com/2011/07/television-turning-doers-into-watchers.html
Great thoughts, Steve!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed that in old houses, built pre-1950 or so, there was often a nook for a piano in a living room/dining room? It was a place where people gathered around and actually sang together. Today, most people's living rooms are completely arranged around TVs as the focal point. I know people who won't even turn off their TVs when visitors drop by... it must be the backdrop to every conversation. And people give pianos away free on Craigslist every day. I really think that there is a connection between the advent of TV and the idea that *making* music is something best left to professionals. As for singing... whoa... unless they're tanked at a karaoke bar, most people wouldn't even consider it.
My partner and I don't have a TV (but do watch media on the internet... which can become like a TV!) We are by no means virtuoso musicians... but we while away many a pleasant evening just sitting around making music with an ancient keyboard, accordion and beat-up freebie guitar.
I think it would be really interesting to do a study of people who choose not to have TVs, and find out what they have in common. My guess (based on the small sample of no-TV people I know ) is that you'd often find people who are more community oriented, more social, more literate, more politically engaged, and more used to actively looking for information instead of having it packaged and spoonfed to them.