Generation by generation

As a child, I watched a lot of television. I watched sci-fi series, animal documentaries, kiddies' cartoons, adult soaps, quiz shows, musical variety performances, comedy shows, children's ghost stories, and basically anything I enjoyed that I was allowed to view. In my teenage years, I watched a lot of Australian drama, B&W movies, cricket and tennis matches, TV mini series, and horror movies. When I migrated to Australia, I watched every soap I had time to follow as well as numerous movies, documentaries, Australian football and American baseball, and also music video programs. It was only after the birth of my son, that I began to slow down my TV habit and eventually give up TV altogether. The last program that I viewed was the 2007 Super Bowl.

When I trailed off, my son started. He began with Sesame Street and a few chosen educational programs and movies, along with baseball and music videos. By the time he was eight, he was allowed to watch anything that he wanted in the daytime. When we moved to the Wollongong district in the year 2001, he became the proud owner of his own TV set and what he has watched since I do not always know about!

For many years, TV was almost an obsession. I did not want to miss a single episode of a favorite soap. If there were a special movie on TV, I would cancel all other arrangements and watch it. I did not miss a World Series from 1991 through until the year that baseball was cancelled due to a player strike. Our local TV station did not show matches much after that incident. Now, I have much too much else to do - I read a couple of books every week; I study and practice Buddhism, taking online classes and listening to talks; I write poetry, articles, blogs, and books, sometimes for income and sometimes for pleasure; I socialize at forums and also play online scrabble; I play at least a half dozen CDs every week; I do an almost daily Yoga session; I am also a mother, and do all our cooking, chores and gardening without very much machinery to assist me. There is no longer any time at all to watch TV, even if I still had the inclination.

My son on the other hand, likes to balance long nature rambles in the mountains and along the coast with time locked up in his room watching TV or using his computer. He finished his schooling just last week and is enjoying even more time in his room. I do not know what he watches in detail, but every so often, he will start a conversation about this or that TV show.

I was playing an old favorite Tube's album, Remote Control, recently. The theme is television right through, and the song 'TV Is King' appears quite appropriate for my son, having once have equally applied to myself! I could not help but laugh when I played it through. My son did not even hear my amusement - or the music - he was busy in his room, treating his own TV like a king!