TV and its impacts on the previous generation

I asked my Mom, Jennifer Dornoff, how television has had an impact on her life throughout the years and her answers were quite intriguing. Like many others from her generation, my Mom started with a black and white tube TV which required her to turn the dial to change the channel. Back then folks watched ABC, NBC and CBS most of time as those were the only real channels available. It wasn’t until the 1980s when the remote made its way into my Mom’s household which was also the same time her family purchased their first color TV. Cable TV was a momentous change for my Mom. She said that “everyone was so geeked up about it” and understandably so with programs like MTV, HBO and Showtime. My mom said she was “glued” to MTV and the VJs back in the day which she would watch on a small TV in her room as a teenager.

I also interviewed my Uncle Greg who doesn’t watch that much TV so I knew his perspective would be unique. Uncle Greg thinks watching TV moderately is fine and how it’s meant to be viewed but on overload of TV watching is a sign of “lethargy and inactivity”. He says that “everything in moderation” with TV has really driven him away from TV and though he’ll occasionally watch a show with his wife he finds most television programs unappealing. My Uncle also says that because of the internet TV has become even more irrelevant in his life because it is no longer a necessary way to get updates on current events let alone watch a new show with the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. Fox News, CNN and other network news stations are available online now so why would anyone need a TV to stay informed; especially someone like my Uncle Greg?