People schedule lives around TV programs
'Is it healthy that Americans shape such a big part of their lives around this television?'
Krystin Phillips
Issue date: 3/8/10 Section: Opinion
Everyone loves a good TV show, but how much is too much? Some young adults shape their daily schedules around a broadcasting station's lineup.
As a kid, I was dead set on watching every episode of a Saturday morning cartoon called "Digimon," which is not to be confused with the more popular "Pokemon." I went as far as to set an alarm to make sure I was up on time. My oldest sister noticed my obsessive behavior early enough to save my soul from the demon known as television.
The Media Use Clearinghouse Web page showed that the network television stations lost viewers and cable stations gained viewers as a result of Oprah's plans to appear and participate in new programming for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network , a 24-hour cable network, in 2011.
Viewers who have been watching the "Oprah" show for free for a long time will pay the extra money for cable television to keep seeing her at work.
Is it healthy that Americans shape such a big part of their lives around television?
We depend on sources like TV, the Internet, Podcasts and printed materials for entertainment. We are a wired nation and our dependence on technology grows like an addiction.
All Americans are not becoming big couch potatoes, but the amount of time viewers spend in front of the TV has increased over the years.
The Media Use Clearinghouse showed, according to research conducted by the Nielson Company, U.S. viewers watched an average four hours and 49 minutes a day of broadcast television, which is 20 percent more time than 10 years ago.
The study also said an average household watches approximately eight hours and 21 minutes of television per day.
With the adaptation of technology continuously creating new entertainment outlets, it is hardly likely that our dependence on broadcast shows will diminish.
However, to mold your schedule around Oprah is a quick way to get behind in a changing world.
As a kid, I was dead set on watching every episode of a Saturday morning cartoon called "Digimon," which is not to be confused with the more popular "Pokemon." I went as far as to set an alarm to make sure I was up on time. My oldest sister noticed my obsessive behavior early enough to save my soul from the demon known as television.
The Media Use Clearinghouse Web page showed that the network television stations lost viewers and cable stations gained viewers as a result of Oprah's plans to appear and participate in new programming for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network , a 24-hour cable network, in 2011.
Viewers who have been watching the "Oprah" show for free for a long time will pay the extra money for cable television to keep seeing her at work.
Is it healthy that Americans shape such a big part of their lives around television?
We depend on sources like TV, the Internet, Podcasts and printed materials for entertainment. We are a wired nation and our dependence on technology grows like an addiction.
All Americans are not becoming big couch potatoes, but the amount of time viewers spend in front of the TV has increased over the years.
The Media Use Clearinghouse showed, according to research conducted by the Nielson Company, U.S. viewers watched an average four hours and 49 minutes a day of broadcast television, which is 20 percent more time than 10 years ago.
The study also said an average household watches approximately eight hours and 21 minutes of television per day.
With the adaptation of technology continuously creating new entertainment outlets, it is hardly likely that our dependence on broadcast shows will diminish.
However, to mold your schedule around Oprah is a quick way to get behind in a changing world.
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