The availability of television shows on the internet has completely changed the extent to which I watch TV. It used to be that I never kept up with shows. At boarding school I didn't have access to television and air times often conflicted with obligations I had. Now my weekends are filled with a plethora of random trash television shows because the internet has allowed me to stream high quality tv at any time I want. I know I know, it's not the responsibility of the networks to ensure that I don't act like a total couch potato but it is interesting to note how the flexibility of time changes things. I don't need television but the fact that it is convenient and I can watch want I want when I want to has really altered the way I think about tv. Now I find myself trying to keep up with around seven shows, which while it might be pathetic is really entertaining. I've also discovered shows online that I never would have paid attention to otherwise.
To me this says a lot about how I personally interact with digital media. I'm lazy and it's sad. I just watched one tree hill, a show I hadn't seen an episode of for a few seasons until this year when I started watching it on cwtv.com. If it's easy and I'm bored that I'm likely to watch anything. The other day my friend and I watched this terrible gameshow on NBC called 'My Dad is better than your Dad'. To be fair, I feel asleep maybe ten minutes in. All I'm saying is at some point it became too much for me to actually go to a common room and watch a television show. Probably good that I don't plan my day around Grey's Anatomy. But rather than detach myself from this mindless world of television watching I'm soaking up more of it than ever before. It is the most beautiful form of procrastination, second only to facebook, and I'm senselessly hooked.
Internet TV
By chunkymonkey89 - Posted on 24 February 2008 - 3:10pm.
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Agreed. I don't find myself watching that many tv shows (online or not), but i find endless amounts of things to distract me from doing anything productive. Whether its watching youtube videos or flash animations or some stupid game online, there is plenty out there to stop me from working. And it's always available. Always. Sometimes I wonder how much I could get done if I didn't spend so much time online. Oh well, such is life. Maybe I'll stop procrastinating... tomorrow.
The convenience of watching television shows online does make it more likely for people to watch shows they normally stray away from. I think the mentality is that since the show is online, we can control when we watch it. We don't need to take the few extra steps to the couch in front of the tv. If we are bored or need a study break, instead of browsing the Internet, it's easier to watch mindless tv shows, then return to doing work. Why not do everything on our laptops if we can? It's very easy to waste time with the conveniences that the Internet offers. We have adjusted our lifestyle to function with the use of it. I mean, Facebook has grown so popular that phones have an application for it. Is it necessary that we have it on our phones? Probably not, but it is another excuse for us to waste time and rid us of boredom.
It's funny how when I walk through Pitzer on the weekend, there are always a lot of people outside, walking around, and having loud conversations. But Pomona (my school) is usually eerily quiet. I think that is partially due to "the Network" of Pomona; when I walk around much of the time my friends are watching TV shows in their spare time. I do this myself a lot of the time too, I've started to really enjoy watching old seasons of Futurama. I sometimes wonder how college was different for our parents without computers to distract them.
As a pomona student I feel the exact same way. I am a freshman from a very different culture/society where computers are not as heavily relied upon. Here at Pomona its really sad to walk outside in the days or nights (other than at class changing times) just because so many people are just inwardly focused on what they are going to watch our play inside instead of actually enjoying the cali wheather that we are all so happy to be in.