Television isn't all bad!

“Don’t be a couch potato.”
That’s what my babysitter used to tell me every afternoon in elementary school. My parents weren’t strict about how much time we were allowed to watch television every day, but I was always encouraged to be doing something with a little more brain activity. I usually watched one show after school every day, and for a really long time it was “Arthur”.
I loved watching Arthur. I love turning on PBS and accidentally catching a few minutes of it. Sometimes the theme song will still get stuck in my head (“…and I say ‘Hey! What a wonderful kind of day!’”). It wasn’t a guilty pleasure- the show was a nice time of my day, before my parents got home and when I could relax and enjoy the adventures and debate with my siblings over what type of animal Francine was.
But some of the stuff that’s on today…I mean, come on. VHI is infamous for being tacky, but still a lot of people spend a considerable amount of time watching these shows. I find them painful to watch. I just want to grab Paris and tell her that you do not pick a friend through a reality TV show and where in the world do you find these Rebekkahs and Ashleighs that are willing to increase their glam factors so they can spend one night watching you pole dance in a bunny suit.
Do people really not have better things to do?
Some shows are wonderful. From Jimmy Neutron to Thirty Rock, there are some shows that are plain fun to watch. And I don’t mean to sounds like a 70-year-old man, but honestly PBS news shows are so much better than the rude biased talk shows that have become so typical of the 24-hour news stations. In moderation, television can be a good part of our lives. We just have to have the self control and decency not to waste all of our time on tacky broadcastings based on materialism and consumerism and celebrity-worshipping.