While reading
about TV and screens, I learned a lot about the ways in which TV can control an
individual’s daily happenings. In Mcarthy’s Television
While You Wait. McCarthy speaks about leisure. The first point that I want
to talk about is the dictation of socialization and free time. I’ve never been
one to stop everything that I am doing to watch a specific show, especially as
a kid. I had a few shows here and there
but for the most part, my mom regulated the amount of TV I watched. By the time
I would get home from school, it would be 4:30pm and I would be able to catch
Sailor Moon. However, my Mom also made sure that I read for an hour each day. Then
I had dinner by 7 and then I was in bed with the TV off by 9. Overall I was
probably watching 3.5-4hrs of TV a day. Fast forwarding to today, with the
constant coursework of grad school and the invention of DVR, I rarely catch my
favorite shows. I just record them and come back to them when I can so I think
there are more views that the McCarthy can consider.
In the article, McCarthy talks about
the visuals associated with television. The images of people crowded around
display windows and in bars etc., to create this idea of collective interest. I
don’t know how common this is today, because society has become even more
individualistic. My family doesn’t even eat in the same room anymore. But one
point raised that I did agree with, was the relevance of TV screens in time
passing. Working in a daycare center, located in a hospital, I see TV screens
in every waiting area. Whether its playing the Jerry Springer show or CNN. I
love how McCArthy challenges the ideas behind CNN’s Accent health. Hospital’s
swear that they doing something, in having these 18-inch cubes repeat the same
depressing information, to people that could care less. What makes it worse is
the claim that people enjoy these infomercials and take notes. (209) I appreciate
McCarthy for this. 
I found these readings to be very thought provoking as well. Now, granted it has been a minute since I first read these pieces, but liking back I remember thinking about how completely engrained screens have become in all of our everyday lives. If seems like everywhere you go you are surrounded by screens- computers, digital billboards, at the gas pump, and the smaller screens we carry around in our packets. But with this over abundance of screens and the decentralization of our viewing experiences, I still have found there is a community that grows out of television viewing- however, the conversations surrounding this community have changed. I remember in high school rushing in to class and asking your friend if they had seen last night's episode of America's Next Top Model and then squealing with excitement when they had because that meant you were able to talk about it with them. In today's delocalized streaming environment in which entire seasons of shows are released at one time, the question everyone is asking is: "what episode are you on?" The although now viewing, like you mentioned, is very solitary there is still this desire to connect and share in this experience.
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