| Author |
Across the Fence:  Is T.V. a Waste of Time?  |
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 11:23:48 AM
|
Normally I don't turn the T.V. on until well after dinner....and even then I don't pay it much mind....
I have pretty much considered T.V. a waste of time & brain cells,,with the exception of a few shows that I do like (and yes I was addicted to Dalles & Falcon Crest back in the late '70's).
But I LOVE the PBS stations... as well as the "Create" channel which is sort of a PBS version of HGTV with gardening, cooking, crafts & travele shows....
I so enjoy shows like The History Detectives and last night I got to watch a documentary on the plite of Native American Indian children, primarily the girls at the turn of the century. It was about the Girls Basketball Team (1902-1905) at the Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School in Montana....who would have thought that in the prim & proper 1900's that women liked to play Basketball, let alone how popular it was, so much so that these young native american girls were given the opportunity to travele as well as attend the 1904 St Louis Worlds Fair. Unfortunatly they as well as other Native Americans were put on 'display' sort of a Before & After (tribal vs Modern).
But while they were being given an education, sadly the plight of their families had not improved and was very dismal....
Anyways,,,if you don't watch your local PBS channel I so encourage you to...it is amazing and the things we can learn... There is always something for everyone. 
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom.
"Is it time for my Dirt Manicure yet!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
|
Edited by - katmom on Mar 16 2011 11:56:57 AM |
|
|
levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9364 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9364 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 11:28:24 AM
|
I'd have to say yes and no. Like the computer it can take up lots of our time. Just need to judge if what you are watching is worth the investment of your time. Time cannot be taken back. Once it is spent it is gone.
We do not have "regular" t.v. Haven't since 1997 I think it was. We do however have a tv and we do watch movies on it. Honestly, I have not missed it much. Gave me lots of time for other things.
farmgirl sister#43
O, a trouble's a ton or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it!
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only--how did you take it?
--Edmund C. Vance.
|
 |
|
|
Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 11:39:01 AM
|
The tv isn't the waste. The shows are!! <giggle> No, seriously, in our neck of the woods, the television becomes a life saver in the spring when tornadoes rear their ugly heads and our local doplar radar can show a map and the exact location and path of a twister. Our news/weather stations are invaluable. As far as the rest, it totally depends on the show and your time.
Regarding PBS, I like some of the shows on it too, but as with all stations, there are some that I find totally a waste of time or worse. The diffence in PBS is that I am required to pay for it (through taxes) while I can choose what to pay for otherwise. I am hoping that PBS can prove that it can stand on its own two feet and give us programming that we will pay for by choice. I see our country is in so much debt that the government just can't afford supporting frivolous things like television and radio programs. Having been through near bankruptcy, I understand the concept of having to give up all but the necessities, even though we don't like it, in order to avoid financial disaster.
Mary Beth
www.OklahomaPastryCloth.com
www.Oklahomapastrycloth.com/blog
The Sovereign Lord is my strength - Habakkuk 3:19 |
|
|
|
embchicken
True Blue Farmgirl
1487 Posts
Elaine
Ocean
NJ
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 11:48:14 AM
|
I agree with you Denise, the computer can sometimes take up more time than anything else! if I am going to be inside working in the house then I will out the tv on more for background. I love to go to the History Channel or Science channel and just listen as I work. It's amazing the information your brain absorbs by just listening. I think that PBs will be able to stand n its own. Some of the programs may change. There will be foundations with grants that will give money to those programs that educate or promote their industry.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~Gandhi
embchicken.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
HDA
True Blue Farmgirl
59 Posts
Heidi
Hood River
OR
USA
59 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2011 : 9:04:27 PM
|
| oh my I just was thinking about tv a lot tonight because I am married to a tv addict! ugh. I love him dearly, but oh man that man can watch some tv! Hopefully this won't turn into too much of a vent for me, but most of the time I think it IS a waste of time! My husband was a divorced bachelor for 10 years before we got married so I think that is how he got into that habit...but now I don't think he'll ever get out of it. I don't hate tv or anything..I watch the news, not every day but a few days a week...and there is a show or movie here & there that I will record & watch with my hubby and those are usually fun especially on a rainy evening or something! But I tell you, my husband could easily sit & watch tv non-stop all day! He works a lot, and when he gets going on a project at home he will usually work on it until it is completed, but all the in between times he is so addicted to tv. I get tired of the constant noise. It is probably the only thing we occasionally bicker about! of course then again, the computer can suck me in too. I guess the only benefit to that is it is not so noisy. I just get cranky about the tv because I think of all the things we could accomplish if the tv wasn't on. Anyway, I lived without tv for 7 years before I met my husband and never missed it, but it is one thing he is not willing to give up. The only compromise I could negotiate when we got married is since I had 0 tvs and he had 2, we now have 1 :) Sigh, we are so compatible in every other way! |
|
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2011 : 9:37:16 PM
|
Yep, TV's & 'putors can truly steal time from us....both have merits,,,it's knowing how & when to use them...
Lately I have been having internet access issues(our system just keeps hick-upping) and several times this week, I have not been able to use my computer until late in the day, or for a limited time during the day,,,& ya know what...I got a lot of other thing accomplished....whodda thunk it! lol!
p.s. Thanx Marianne for letting me whine in your ear today about my 'putor! hugz
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom.
"Is it time for my Dirt Manicure yet!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 7:19:21 PM
|
I think there's a time and a place for TV, but for many people, TV becomes a substitute for reality. I watch very little TV and I don't miss it. But I know people who watch a lot and are missing out on life because of it.
cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
dutchy
True Blue Farmgirl
4427 Posts
4427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 11:46:58 PM
|
I am Marian and I am sort of "addicted" to my tv . I live alone, no family near...so it is a way of keeping my sanity...along with the computer and radio. I always turn on the radio first thing in the morning...except in the weekends yuck. We have a pirate station in out village and that spoils it lol. HATE the music they play and it is on till 9 in the morning so will turn it on then haha. That way I feel like I am not so alone. Same with the tv. I turn it on in the early evening just to hear some voices and see some movement around me. Not always watch it...just the "feeling" of not being alone in the house. Puter is on from the moment I get up till I go to bed. "Talk" to brother in Thailand on Skype....read email....read some blogs and the leave it alone...but it is ON if I need it.
I don't miss out on anything though in real life  , go to church, friends, town etc. It is a way of keeping my sanity, and not waste away in loneliness
Hugs from Marian/Dutchy, a farmgirl from the Netherlands :)
http://pinkprincessdecorating.blogspot.com/
Almost daily updates on me, my home and my crafts
Farmgirl sister # 2410 |
Edited by - dutchy on Mar 18 2011 11:49:10 PM |
|
|
|
walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Mar 19 2011 : 04:49:56 AM
|
My mom said the TV will melt your brain. LOL. I think certain programs are worth watching-programs that educate you, introduce you to new skills/lifestyles/places etc. Junk tv? Not so much. But, everything in moderation!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Violets November
True Blue Farmgirl
342 Posts
Violet
Exeter
California
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Mar 19 2011 : 08:33:38 AM
|
I love t.v. but I'm not fanatical about it. In the evenings when my work is done, hubby and I watch while I either work on our online shop or one of my projects. I have several stitching projects that I love to work on in the evening.
Even though I love t.v. I could never just sit, without anything in my hands, and watch it.
My faves are Hallmark, History, Discovery and the old movie channels, HGTV and I love the food network!
~Violet~
Farmgirl Sister #1669
My blog, http://hiddenacre.blogspot.com/
Our Organic Jewelry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/GaelicForge |
|
|
|
peapicker
True Blue Farmgirl
716 Posts
texas
USA
716 Posts |
Posted - Mar 19 2011 : 08:48:38 AM
|
Most of the time , I think it is. We do watch some. I turn it off all the time because I flip through every channel and there is nothing I want to watch. I would love to see more educational channels on life skills and a whole lot less of whats going on with hollywood celebs. I see and hear so much about the "movie stars" that I really can't even stand to watch movies anymore. We do get RFD and they have some really good shows for us farm and ranch people.
We do get a lot of news and weather from it, so it definately has its place.
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
Robert Brault |
|
|
|
dutchy
True Blue Farmgirl
4427 Posts
4427 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 01:06:03 AM
|
BTW I hardly ever just "sit and watch" My hands are mostly busy with something like crochet, or my journals :)
Hugs from Marian/Dutchy, a farmgirl from the Netherlands :)
http://pinkprincessdecorating.blogspot.com/
Almost daily updates on me, my home and my crafts
Farmgirl sister # 2410 |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 03:51:29 AM
|
My DH has been off work for the past month recovering from bunion surgery.
He has eben watching the March Madness basketball games, but the funny part is, he really digs those public tv cooking shows!
I love it! Have come home on several occasions to dinner waiting.
We also watch more public tv shows. We really like the ones about travel. Locally we get one called The Desert Speaks. I mis the desert, so it's cool to see all the other deserts out there in ther world.
I would have to agree, that most of the tv shows out there are the same cop and reality based type things. Very few can hold my attention. So I'll read or just go outside.
We are Survivor junkies. So that's the one show we will pretty much drop everything for and just watch.
During the day if I'm baking, I do listen to Rachel Ray. And I used to be an avid Ellen Degeneris fan...........until te local tv station moved that time slot from 10 in the a.m. to 4 in the afternoon. At 4 I'm just getting off work, or heading outside to do evening chores. We do live in an ultra conservative neck of the woods, so I wonder if it was a ploy. Never mind Andy Griffith is played twice in the same day on the same netwiork. No thanks |
|
|
|
Fannie
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
North Huntingdon
PA
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 06:36:53 AM
|
TV, what's that??? Every since the kids left, we got rid of the Direct TV. Now we just have an antenna that lets us have baout 6 channels...We both have our own crafts that we do. I retreat to my sewing room and he goes off to his shop. When our 7 year old granddaughter comes over she refers to our house as a dinosaur house because we don't have TV like she is use to. We accomplish alot of different things.
Fannie
Farm Girl #2746 |
|
|
|
goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 11:49:44 AM
|
I watch regular tv now. Since I'm on the road most of the time, I suspended Direct but! I found a digital antenna for my flat screen tv (in my big rig) and can get up to 46 channels. Usually about 1/3 I can't watch cuz they are in spanish or religion or sports or in chinese but I've been pleasantly surprised about the other channels.
I guess I'm a knuckledragger cuz I like the gamut of shows. Everything from downright silly to information. I don't have to learn something from every show I watch. Sometimes I just want to disengage and be swept along.
I think PBS should stand on its own "two feet". Sink or swim.
For some 'venting'-type of entertainment, please read my blog, http://lostadventuresintrucking.blogspot.com . Now with pictures!!
|
|
|
|
Violets November
True Blue Farmgirl
342 Posts
Violet
Exeter
California
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 12:46:49 PM
|
I realize that I don't know just how far from the farm some of us here are, so I'm going to go out on a limb and add to my above choices.
I LOVE old movies. I don't like any shows that's all about the latest Hollywood thing. Having said that, I do love American Idol.
And.....does anyone here watch House or Fringe?
~Violet~
Farmgirl Sister #1669
My blog, http://hiddenacre.blogspot.com/
Our Organic Jewelry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/GaelicForge |
|
|
|
4forMe
True Blue Farmgirl
166 Posts
Dawn
Easton
MD
166 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 06:42:32 AM
|
I am getting disgusted by the recent change from educational T.V. to "everything Reality TV". TLC is so exploitive of people. A&E channel, what is "Arts and Entertainment" about the shows Hoarders and Intervention....seriously A&E. The Bravo channel which is supposed to be another cultural enrichment channel, has "Real Housewives of ......" on several times a day, who cares? The History Channel has American Pickers or Pawn Stars several times a day. I am so tired of it, I just don't really watch it anymore.
I LOVE the Masterpiece Classics on PBS and tune in, whenever they are on. However, I do think that PBS needs to rely on itself and viewer donations, not the taxpayers. I support PBS with donations and buy DVD's there. I don't think that people who don't enjoy that type of programming should be paying for it with their tax dollars.
Sewing, knitting, gardening mom of 5. |
|
|
|
mommakatof2
True Blue Farmgirl
62 Posts
nieki
dalhart
texas
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 08:13:12 AM
|
| I feel for you Heidi, my husband is a tv addict too. When I was growing up, we a tv, but only got the local channels and my parents were one of those people that if it wasn't worth watching, the tv was off. Unfortunately, my husband wasn't raised that way, I didn't know until after we married that his whole family is addicted to tv. I agree that tv can be a waste of time at moments. Here we only get the local channels and I really like pbs and the create channel too. we have 2 boys, 8 & 10. They usually only get to watch the pbs channel, but I still limit it. Only about 1 or 2 hours per day. That is until dad gets home and it stays on until 10 or so. There are days I wish I could just throw the tv out the door, but I doubt that will ever happen. |
|
|
| |
Across the Fence: Is T.V. a Waste of Time? |
|
Is T.V. a Waste of Time?
