TV = Family Time

The TV is a powerful force in our society. For some, the television can be a negative influence and acts as a source of procrastination and takes away from the “finer things in life.” Where as for others the TV can serve as a type of company to fill void and quiet spaces when home alone or a tool to help one concentrate or maybe just a flat out form of pleasure from every day life. In my case, TV is a shared bonding experience for my family.

Ever since I can remember, the TV has always been a type of bonding experience for my family. I grew up in a home where our family dinners did not consist of telling tales of our day. Our dinners revolved around the television. Whether that involved sitting at the kitchen table watching The Simpsons or sitting “indian” style at the coffee table in my family room. I can honestly say my parents, brothers, cousins and I rarely missed an episode of The Simpsons.

This act of the television uniting my family still holds true today. During dinner my mother and I always tune into Access Hollywood and yes, The Simpsons. Religiously every Tuesday and Wednesday night we are glued to the TV watching American Idol. Not to mention, just last year during the finale of American Idol my brother, sister-in-law and two nieces came over with some take out as we sat around the TV in anticipation of the crowned winner.

Television has and probably will always serve as a form of communication between me and my family. If one of us was to miss out on an episode it’s only necessary to keep them up to date. Or when silence fills the room, its normal for my brother and I to ask each other if we have seen the latest episode of Jersey Shore or something silly of that nature just to crack jokes and share a laugh.

I wouldn’t necessarily consider this type of bonding experience a good or bad thing. It may seem to on outsiders that the television has somehow hindered the communication between my family members. They may believe that family time should be full of meaningful conversation. That the television is a negative and unproductive distraction. Spectators may also say that too much media consumption draws us further from one another.

My response would be as follows: I feel that television in some way brings my family closer. Although we do not speak much during dinner time we laugh at the same jokes and bond through our non-verbal communication. The TV brings us together and provides a type of common interest between my family members. Although we are related, we are all unique and do not share common interests. By staying connected through programs that we have grown up watching such as The Simpsons or through other shows, our different interests are set in the background as we bond as a family through laughter and opinion type conversations. The TV may not work for all families, but for my family it does and I like it that way.

-LV