TELEVISION!

My childhood consisted of me walking in from school and seeing my dad in front of the television. He was constantly on his island. Even today, when I see him, he is in his chair watching television. I see my sister's husband and he also sits on his couch and puts himself in television mode. Reality shows and even television become part of peoples schedule. Are people living their life through the television set?

The book, DigitalCulture by Glen Creeber and Royston Martin, addresses how television and programming has evolved over the years. In the 1990s, I remember huge wood TVs that took five people to move. We also had a huge satellite in the yard that my dad's friends seemed to be obsessed with. As I grew older, bigger TVs evolved into plasma screens and flat screens. The new big thing to have now is 3D television.

Not only have TVs evolved but also programming has evolved. We started off with tapes and then converted over to DVDs. People started to have satellite and cable with more and more channels. Programs have evolved to have different genres for different people. People can purchase sports packages, movie packages, and even gaming packages.

Digital age has evolved so much that many people live their lives through the TV with Reality shows. I frequently have to quickly do homework in order to watch my scheduled program. My sister's husband had to get HD because it made the television seem more real. Television is not supposed to be real. It is supposed to inform us and help give information faster, but now it has lost its purpose.

Family time now consist of sitting around a TV and watching a movie or a show the family enjoys. We have become inactive in life, and with the people we care most about. Television alone has increased obesity levels because kids are no longer seeking the outdoors for entertainment. Parents allow their children to live their lives on the television instead of giving the attention and physical activity they need.

As television evolves, I can see us sitting around as a bunch of people in the movie Wall-e. We will all be sitting in our own personal island with a television in front of us living out our lives. We need to look back to when television wasn't in our lives and see what we have lost.