And another thing.

[featherynscale]

Often it comes to pass at work or in other social situations that somebody asks me if I saw [insert name of show] last night. I tell them, "No, I don't watch television."

Sometimes this leads people to look shifty and say things like "I don't watch much either, just [these shows]." Sometimes it leads people to turn up their noses and say things like, "Well, aren't you special?". Other negative reactions have been reported, but are less common.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough. I don't watch television. I say this so that people will know that if they ask me about shows, I'm probably not going to be able to provide any response at all, because I will have invariably not seen the thing. I don't watch television. I don't care for enough shows to bother. This is not because I'm inherently a better person than tv-viewers. I'm not advancing the point that people shouldn't watch television. I just don't enjoy it, myself. I also don't enjoy jogging, but nobody seems to get too offended or guilty about that, even joggers.

Why is it so often an attack if I say "I don't watch television" and hardly ever an attack if I say "I don't jog"? To me these are roughly equivalent statements.

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I think it's more offensive to be perceived as doing something that is considered "bad" (watching TV) than it is to be perceived as NOT doing something that is considered "good" (jogging).

My students totally freak when I tell them we don't watch TV during the school week and only allow a couple of hours on the weekend. Even then, it's usually films. I even had one kid ask me if when my kids are bad, do I ground them from reading. Smart arse.

As you can tell by the icon, I only watch quality television.

"ground them from reading"?

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

hey!
That's what my mom use to do to me.

It was very effective.

Re: "ground them from reading"?

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

I've been grounded from reading, too. If the point of grounding is negative conditioning, you have to go with what works for the kid...

Re: "ground them from reading"?

[agrnmn.livejournal.com]

Thank all that I don't believe in, that my mother didn't ground me from reading. That would've sucked all too often.

Re: "ground them from reading"?

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

As I said, the kid who made the comment was a smart arse and meant it as a joke. He was clever that way and is no doubt in prison now. Reading, I hope.

Reading is, of course, why "grounding" has never been an effective consequence for either of the girls. Wasn't for me, either, come to think on it. I never did anything, never went anywhere, stayed at home and read. So being grounded is substantially different from life . . . how?

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I've totally been grounded from reading. And for reading, as well.