NOT to own a TV set in modern times is to say you don't own a car. But television has been around for more than 70 years, or slightly more. It has become a source of entertainment and relaxation for hundreds of millions of people across the globe.
TV, claim the couch potatoes, is as necessary as the air we breathe. However, a lot of the air we breathe in is polluted. So it is the same for television.
Quite a number of TV programmes are not good for us but we still watch them. A bit like smoking. However, you want to look at it, the freedom to switch channels is always there.
Many years ago, I found myself in a situation where it was difficult to watch TV at the apartment I stayed in. So those who stayed in the same apartment agreed not to have any TV.
I went without any serious TV viewing for three and a half years. Now on looking back, I actually found the period of absence rather fruitful and beneficial in other ways.
I read books to pass time and I went out more with friends. I learnt to scrutinise other facets of life, whether professional or personal.
No doubt, TV has tremendous advantages, too. For example, breaking news reaches our homes about one minute after it breaks out. Nothing is concealed for long. Not when CNN is on 24 hours.
Then there are the educational and informative programmes. Children learn from watching these programmes like Discovery and National Geographic.
The bottom line is there are the good shows and the bad shows. It is just a matter of choice. If you want, you can watch wrestling mania, the nastiest accidents and the most gruesome murders re-enacted. Or, if you want you can watch travel, space or culinary shows.
Life is one big decision on making the right one, for yourself and your family.
But seriously though, if television would suddenly disappear from my life tomorrow, it won't be such a big deal. I will miss it, of course but I will survive.
I have come to the conclusion that books can more than make up for its absence. An overdose of TV watching can numb the mind. Watching TV is a passive activity. It does nothing for your mind and causes eye-strain.
Little children these days are beginning to wear spectacles at an early age. I attribute this phenomenon to too many hours in front of the family TV.
Will we ever turn the TV to our own advantage? I believe we can but first we must police ourselves. TV is an info, entertainment, educational tool. It's up to you how you want to use it.
If you use it wisely, your life will change for the better. If you engage in indiscriminate viewing or spend too many meaningless hours in front of it, it will only make you visually addicted to it.
Your life will then play out to the scripts on the TV shows. Too much TV viewing will distort your sense of reality.
Television should be used mainly for relaxation and entertainment. Don't make too big a deal out of television. It is an invention to amuse humans.
Like fire, it can either help you or hurt you. The choice is ultimately yours.
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