Journal Article — Why Am I Watching This? — by Kristen Slavin

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Recently, after a few minutes of watching TV, I grew bored and abruptly asked my boyfriend, “Why are we watching this?” He agreed it was boring and changed it to the Bruins game, but my question continued to circulate in my head. Why were we watching it?

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Abstract

Recently, after a few minutes of watching TV, I grew bored and abruptly asked my boyfriend, “Why are we watching this?” He agreed it was boring and changed it to the Bruins game, but my question continued to circulate in my head. Why were we watching it? Using a variety of sociological perspectives and concepts—such as phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, exchange and rational choice theory, functionalism, conflict theory, and postmodern perspective—I started to look at possible motivations that could account for dedicating so much time to an activity that, much of the time, does not provide the element of entertainment that it is used for. The idea that too much television is not good is anything but a novel idea. Since TV’s inception there has been criticism. Recently there has been a growing concern to inform the public. The White Dot project is one group that promotes a television free lifestyle. TV Turn Off Week 2006, took place the week of April the 24 th . I decided it was important for me to take part in it. What I experienced that week was: more of a life—more free time and more time spent doing things that mattered.

Recommended Citation

Slavin, Kristen. 2005/2006. “Why Am I Watching This?.” Pp. 63-68 in Student Scholarships of Learning (Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge: Volume IV, Issues 1&2, 2005/2006). Belmont, MA: Okcir Press (an imprint of Ahead Publishing House).

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