No vision with television

Dave: Tessa and I had a small gathering of friends the other night. Just five of us getting together for food and drinks. I was really looking forward to it because we always have some great conversations and laughs. We decided to watch the hockey game while waiting for the group to arrive. Then a strange thing happened. When our first guest arrived our effort to turn the TV off was disputed. She said that we should leave it on so we could see the outcome of the game, we'll just turn down the sound. So an hour later, the game over and our guests all there, we again went to turn off the TV. To my dismay the person who grabbed the control started going through the channels instead of turning it off. This shockingly turned out to be a popular choice. As he went through the channels people started talking about different shows and wanting him to stop at certain programs. The television set had absconded with the attention of everyone in the room. It was a real eye opener. Everyone in the room is very social and usually save their television watching for alone time, but because the beast was on when everyone arrived it had total control. I finally turned the music on and started dancing to snap everyone out of it.

This experience has made me realize what power a television has. If you've ever been having a conversation with someone and there's a TV on in the room... it will grab their attention continuously throughout the time you're there. The show can be crap and the sound off, but guaranteed they will be glancing over continuously.

It's also sad that most people have their living rooms set up for TV viewing and less for socializing. In most places you go, even when the TVs off, every one's sitting staring at where the monster lies dormant, instead of at each other.

I guess this is easier for me to say because I'm not much of a TV watcher. Every time the TV goes on in our place Tessa starts banging things and dishes get broken.