There's Nothing On TV...

How many times have you or someone in your household uttered the words, "there's nothing on TV"? What does this mean exactly? Most American households today have digital TV (so called free TV), cable TV, internet TV, and/or a myriad of other forms of entertainment delivered through our TVs.

I think when we say there's nothing on TV what we are really saying is I need someone (not in the real world)  to entertain and engage me. Some of my friends joke about being in the same house with their spouse/children, but seeing each other rarely because they are living in different areas or zones of the house watching their own individual TVs. These families only see each other when they are passing through a zone of the house on the way to the kitchen to get food only to be taken back to their individual living zones. Some of these families send text messages from room-to-room, and individual-to-individual, while never actually uttering a verbal word. This behavior may occur all weekend in some families and is considered normal.

I really, really enjoy technology, but this familial misuse of technology can't help but have lasting negative affects on the family unit and our society as we know it. As I write this blog I can't help but think about how people may have reacted to the invention of the telephone, and other technological advances that improved familial communication across distances. The invention and mass production of the early telephone helped bridge the gap and bring together family/friends separated by distance. In today's family it may be the technology that is creating the distance within the family household.

Our consumer-driven 24/7, 365, high-paced, high energy, always accessible, never say no, make as much money as you can, work as many hours as you can, secure more toys (cars, houses, spouses, jobs, etc.) than your neighbors, don't know your neighbors culture has us forgetting what is truly important, deep, meaningful relationships with our families and friends.

There are few regrets in life that don't include wishing we had taken more time to talk with our loved ones, or having built wonderful experiences to recall later in life. Many of us are guilty of vegging-out on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, but let's remember the next time we say "there's nothing on TV" that there are others who would love to spend time in real life engaging and entertaining us, so let's talk and really get to know each other.