Unplug- Or So We Tried:
An Informal Essay on Using Less Television “MOM! MOM! MOOOOOMMMM!!!” Me and my sister yell in unison. We are attempting to get our mother’s attention. This is always a worrisome thing to do; never knowing when she would become furious with us for interrupting her show. It is so inconvenient, since she wears headphones it is always a big production when trying to get her attention and often times it infuriates her. Is her show really that interesting? It wouldn’t be so bad if she watched it on normal television and she could hear us when we call, but since she watches Netflix on her iPad with headphones in we must all jump around like buffoons, scream like banshies, and run around like chickens with our heads cut off …show more content…
She is very great and works hard; she just happened to find the addiction to Netflix that so many others have found since it was created. This banter back and forth has become a daily phenomena, and my father, siblings, and I are quite annoyed with it. Later that day, as the Chex mix and cooking baking continued, we tragically needed to know where the butter went. So we go through the whole process of getting her attention, and once we ask she tells us that she does not know. As she begins to reach for her iPad once more I role my eyes and begin to mumble nonsense about the hedonic treadmill and how Netflix can not truly bring one happiness. She looks at me with a deathly stare and says in her best scary-mom voice, “what did you say to me?!” Now I’m done for. She doesn 't like to be questioned about her viewing habits, which coincidentally is because she already knows she watches the dreaded iPad way too much. I muster what confidence and passion I can and whirl around. “The hedonic treadmill Mom. You watch your show, get temporary happiness that is then almost immediately metamorphosed into stress of neglecting your other duties, guilt for ignoring your children, and unhappiness because a little screen with fake actors cannot bring you happiness like your loving family can. Yet, while on this hedonic treadmill you still go back to watching your show and repeat the whole process over again. For goodness’ sake Mom we are …show more content…
“Hey, so we are reading this book for my honors class and it is all about a man who tries to live his life for a year- no impact. One of the first things they did was they unplugged the TV for good. They go on and on about how much happier it makes them and how much the family time means to them. I was thinking that for the next few nights we could attempt to emulate them and play games as a family or something.” I look around the table at my family. The little ones have gleaming eyes; they love to play games as a family. My parents are looking at one another, my father giving my mom an encouraging smile. They all look at me and simultaneously agree that we could give it a shot. So we clear the table, grab some of our favorite games, and settle in for a nice night of
An Informal Essay on Using Less Television “MOM! MOM! MOOOOOMMMM!!!” Me and my sister yell in unison. We are attempting to get our mother’s attention. This is always a worrisome thing to do; never knowing when she would become furious with us for interrupting her show. It is so inconvenient, since she wears headphones it is always a big production when trying to get her attention and often times it infuriates her. Is her show really that interesting? It wouldn’t be so bad if she watched it on normal television and she could hear us when we call, but since she watches Netflix on her iPad with headphones in we must all jump around like buffoons, scream like banshies, and run around like chickens with our heads cut off …show more content…
She is very great and works hard; she just happened to find the addiction to Netflix that so many others have found since it was created. This banter back and forth has become a daily phenomena, and my father, siblings, and I are quite annoyed with it. Later that day, as the Chex mix and cooking baking continued, we tragically needed to know where the butter went. So we go through the whole process of getting her attention, and once we ask she tells us that she does not know. As she begins to reach for her iPad once more I role my eyes and begin to mumble nonsense about the hedonic treadmill and how Netflix can not truly bring one happiness. She looks at me with a deathly stare and says in her best scary-mom voice, “what did you say to me?!” Now I’m done for. She doesn 't like to be questioned about her viewing habits, which coincidentally is because she already knows she watches the dreaded iPad way too much. I muster what confidence and passion I can and whirl around. “The hedonic treadmill Mom. You watch your show, get temporary happiness that is then almost immediately metamorphosed into stress of neglecting your other duties, guilt for ignoring your children, and unhappiness because a little screen with fake actors cannot bring you happiness like your loving family can. Yet, while on this hedonic treadmill you still go back to watching your show and repeat the whole process over again. For goodness’ sake Mom we are …show more content…
“Hey, so we are reading this book for my honors class and it is all about a man who tries to live his life for a year- no impact. One of the first things they did was they unplugged the TV for good. They go on and on about how much happier it makes them and how much the family time means to them. I was thinking that for the next few nights we could attempt to emulate them and play games as a family or something.” I look around the table at my family. The little ones have gleaming eyes; they love to play games as a family. My parents are looking at one another, my father giving my mom an encouraging smile. They all look at me and simultaneously agree that we could give it a shot. So we clear the table, grab some of our favorite games, and settle in for a nice night of