SWARTZBERG

Rationalizing TV with a clear conscience

Jade Swartzberg SWA03006@BYUI.EDU admittedly addicted

As with most students, the beginning of each semester is a time for me to carefully work out my class schedule so that nothing clashes and establish a routine I will be living by for the next four months. But there’s another schedule I have to get straight and make sure nothing conflicts with — and that’s my strictly specified daily dose of television.

It’s natural for a grade-conscious student such as myself to feel a tinge of guilt when I think of more productive ways to use my time. However, I’ve found this feeling can be avoided by employing a few useful rationalization tactics, which I am willing to share.

First and foremost, I like to keep a stack of textbooks at my side or on my lap while in front of the TV. Unless you’re a multi-tasker, which I am not, you won’t actually be able to get much reading done while The Amazing Race is on, but I like to tell myself the information is being absorbed through osmosis. And whoever said biology terminology wasn’t applicable to everyday life?

Though I may not be completing any tangible homework, I add watching Gilmore Girls to my to-do list for the day. This way, I still achieve that wonderful feeling of accomplishment when I cross it off my list. If I have multiple shows scheduled in one day, I get to cross several items off my list, heightening that feeling of achievement.

Besides, after a long day of diligently working at crossing things off my to-do list, I deserve the reward of an unproductive hour in front of the television. The prospect of Lost at the end of the day certainly makes life seem less bleak and gives me something to look forward to.

Finally, the familiarity of the TV personalities is a comfort to me while I am so far away from my home and my family. After all, I’ve known people like Survivor host Jeff Probst, (who, by the way, has thankfully signed another contract with CBS) for longer than I’ve known anyone here at BYU-Idaho. To deprive myself of my time with him and others would leave me dangerously vulnerable to catching the homesickness virus.

And so, my fellow avid and slightly obsessed television viewers, with a touch of creativity, we can devote countless hours to the television and still feel good about ourselves.