Losing Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about television today.  I watch very little commercial TV any more.  When I turn my TV on, it's because I'm wanting to watch a particular show.  And while I enjoy many broadcast shows, I don't enjoy enduring all the commercials needed to get through an hour sitcom.  Which is why I'm willing to watch older season episodes of shows - commercial free.  (Thank you Netflix!)

The last thing I need is to watch commercials filled with women who have a) lost weight with this miracle product;  b) the family enjoying a delicious calorie-laden meal at a restaurant; or worse yet, c) those campaign ads who resort to knocking each other down.   Life is difficult enough without feeling the .... slight guilt complex that's implied in commercials.  "Use this shampoo and your hair will be long, blond and full of gorgeous curls that last all day". 


But what I realized as I sat there watching my episode of NCIS is that TV is designed to keep our mind occupied so that any thought we might have goes out the window.

I went shopping this morning, and thought of a topic for my blog.  I arrived home, prepared my lunch, watched 20 minutes of NCIS and promptly forgot about the blog topic.  Which is just as well, because when it came back to me, it was obvious that it would be a judgemental piece that wouldn't sit well for very long.   But in that single moment, I noted that watching TV took away moments of real thinking. 

I'm not anti-TV by any means.  It keeps me company on days when I'm indoors doing chores, or exercising, but it can be a hindrance to thinking something through.  Even if it chatters on from the other room, your mind follows along and it's easy to lose focus of the topic that needs thinking through. 

 
While this graph is from 2015, it's probably relative to today's figures.  I'm in the 55-64 group .... do I watch a little over 3 hours of TV a day?  My TV is ~on~ that long, but I don't actually sit and watch it for that long.  I might.... if I didn't have Sadie, who requires a lot of hands on attention after I get home from work!  lol 




I usually watch about 40 minutes while prepping/eating dinner, and then an hour or so after I'm ready for bed but not ready for sleep.  During summer, while we're stuck indoors in the AC, it's probably 3-4 hours a day --- because that's our "winter" !!!

TV can provide hours of entertainment, but it can also hinder other things in your life.
As always, have balance, or try for balance.