My Response to "Go away, I'm watching TV"

Vanessa's post was on the subject of TV being more personal and less communal. Here is my response:

I wholeheartedly agree that, in this modern age, the ability to watch television shows alone has grown by leaps and bounds. You mention DVRs, torrents and online streaming as ways that the audience has been segregated.

But I think we can trace back this segregation even further than that: to the rise of multiple television homes. The rise of multi-television homes occurred, at least in my family, around the early-to-mid 1990s. I had a TV set in my room when I was 14 (that was in 1996), but we had two sets – one in the living room; one in the basement – as early as 1991. This allowed for my mom to watch what she wanted and my dad (and usually me, since it was mostly sports) to watch what he wanted. Now, there are three of us living under one roof, and not only do we have our own TVs, we have our own high-def TVs, with all the necessary accoutrement.

I also see a dearth in what I refer to as appointment viewing. I just recently wrote about Lost, which I view as the last of the shows that needed to be watched when it aired. But aside from live sporting events, there really is not one show I see on the TV schedule that can be considered “must-see.” I have spent the better part of a year looking for another show that my friends and I can experience together, but to no avail. I love the communal aspect that a great television show can provide, but sadly none seem to exist in the current TV climate.

Having said that, The Office is the only show that I watch with any regularity that I do not watch when it airs. However, the only reason for that is because I am usually on a Go bus coming home when it is broadcast.

Perhaps I am the last of a dying breed, but I still do carve out the necessary time to watch my favorite shows when they air – South Park is the only exception because it airs later in Canada than it does in the United States. If it aired at the same time, I would not watch it online – and I still hold out hope that another Lost will come around so I can once again share an experience with some of my friends.