I'm embarrassed to admit how much TV I typically watch over the course of a week. For years, I defended, if to no one else but myself, so much time spent in front of a computer screen (watching downloaded and streaming video content - I long ago gave up cable) as escapism and the perfect way to unwind or chase away uncomfortable feelings, like loneliness.
For some time though, I've been aware of the brain rot it instead nourishes, particularly when you watch it alone. Like hordes of similar minded computer lovers, I fell for the multitasking lie and thought I could watch TV on one computer monitor while effectively working on another. That's crap. Now I suspect any task worth doing well, even casually surfing the Internet, suffers when you split your attention between it and the television.
A while ago, I borrowed a famous quote and postulated that TV is the opiate of the masses in the 21st century. A well-meaning friend countered and articulated what she believed to be the many virtues of entertaining and educational television content. However, she was arguing from the perspective of a mother and the context of typically, I presume, watching TV with at least one other person. I see value in communal television watching, but I'm rejecting the time wasting, productivity killing, spirit numbing, anti-social act of watching TV alone.
I was inspired while contemplating this decision by a blog post titled 29 life lessons by Benny the Irish Polyglot. "TV is the greatest black hole of time available to mankind," #11 on the list, spoke so precisely to what I was considering that I laughed like an inmate from Arkham Asylum for five minutes when I read it. The remainder of the post is worth reading, as well.
Benny is one of what I think of as a new class of writers rejecting tired, traditional ways of thinking in exchange for accomplishing really big things. I don't actually believe they're new, more that they're new to my old way of thinking which has already begun to fade as I've already been weaning myself off TV for the past month. I've felt my brain capacity grow as I've restricted the input of so many distracting, thoughtless voices.
Nine months ago, I changed my diet with the hope of losing some weight. I was reluctant to declare my plan, and I didn't hope or believe I could lose 100 pounds, but in six months I did just that, and it transformed everything, including my attitude and outlook. I often find myself thinking of the old me versus the new me. The new me isn't content to rest when there are so many other inspiring peaks within sight, and I'm very excited about what lies ahead.
