Stop wasting your time
More stories from Sarah Buchanan
December 13, 2019
Sitting. Staring.
Motionless. Mindless.
Watching for hours. Wasting time.
Why would anyone want to sit around and watch the time escape them? This question is one that I ponder frequently.
From the occasional afternoon movie theater invite to the Netflix binge-watching spree of my sister in our family room, I frequently have the opportunity to indulge in some visual media; however, I typically decline. Most people take pleasure in following the story of a faraway land, relating to characters with similar traits, or traveling in time to a Civil War battleground, but not me. The thought of sitting for over two hours to get to the end of a movie seems torturous.
Along with movies, binge-watching shows is another activity that I have never understood. I always hear my peers talk about all of the numerous, continuous episodes of a show they watched.
Why would I want to watch someone else live their life on a screen when I could go out and live mine?
“I had to figure out what happened.”
“I just couldn’t stop watching.”
They stay glued to the screen. They can’t escape the magnetic pull of the worlds beyond our own inside of the screen.
But I can never understand it.
Why would I want to watch someone else live their life on a screen when I could go out and live mine?
What do they gain from reaching the end of a television series?
There is so much in this world to experience, why would I want to watch others’ lives?
Places to see. People to meet.
Mountains to climb. Lakes to swim in.
Tears to cry. Jokes to tell.
Friends to make. Moments to share.
Life is so short, and there is so much to experience. No fake society could ever match the reality and depth of our own.
Not only is watching TV a waste of time, but it also has been proven to be bad for your health. Scientists from Harvard have found that watching too much TV can significantly increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Newscasts are often biased information. Many popular TV series have heavy themes. Commercials manipulate you into buying their products in ways you may not even realize.
The disadvantages of television and movies are endless.
Turn off the TV. Suggest a different activity for your next movie date. Say no to the next Netflix show about to autoplay.
Go see the world.
Don’t waste your time.
Victor Jammal • Dec 10, 2019 at 9:08 pm
How have I only just now found this article? I completely agree with you on this. I have never understood people who binge-watch TV shows. It just doesn’t make sense! People should just go talk to others or pick up a hobby (mine of choice is more than a hobby – it’s playing the piano). I don’t ever really go see movies either, for the same reasons you mentioned. Staring at a screen for hours isn’t going to do anything for you. It won’t give you any social contact. What is it, merely a distraction from the reality of the world around you? If you ask me, our generation has become quite a bit over-dependent on things like this. It’s a pity…
Ryan turley • Dec 5, 2019 at 7:04 am
I absolutely agree. I feel that people in our generation especially spend far too much time sitting around doing nothing. There is no creativity, there are no deep thoughts, there is no real social life other than that of their digital one. When people hangout now, most people just sit on their phones and occasionally say a word or 2 to each other. No one ever goes out and tries anything new. We are afraid to leave our comfort zones. There are also others who are self centered and become obsessed with what the general public has to say about them. People worry about how they are thought of and hence they constantly update their status on social media so we all become aware of their presence. The people you know now in high school will be irrelevant to your life by the time you’re 25. So suck it up and forget about what everyone or anyone says about you. You wish for others to love you when you cannot love yourself, so go out and find something that you enjoy doing by yourself, your hobby is how you love yourself. Go find a hobby.
Eli Luyckx • Dec 4, 2019 at 6:22 pm
I totally agree, I also wish the more people read the central trend because there are some fair points