2008 Woodie Awards
Students watch less TV while in school
Charlie Peppers
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: FUSE
Originally published: 9/27/07 at 9:54 PM EST
Last update: 9/27/07 at 11:37 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
Scheduling time to watch television was once a breeze. There was once a time that you, being a high school student, could plow through homework and have enough time to snicker at Stewie's shenanigans.
There was once a time that you could wolf down dinner and have enough time to watch Buffy annihilate her latest demon beau. There was once a time when you could stay up until dusk and catch those after- dark specials on HBO.
College students are, unfortunately, in constant motion and are not able to spend much time plopped in front of the tube.
Welcome to your new, and ridiculously busy, life.
Upon entering college, you probably did not expect every nook and cranny of your schedule to be jam-packed. Sure, you knew that you'd be carving out time to make new friends and to join cool clubs, but watching television has always been simple - you merely had to be in a specific place at a specific time. Suddenly, that has become the hardest thing in the world.
Don't fret, because there is a shining beacon of hope - the internet. There is a plethora of sites out there, all of which offer episodes of every show imaginable.
One could catch everything from the most recent Jets game to the past hysterics of Steve Urkel. From All-of-Tv.net to YouTube.com, the net is gradually making television sets a thing of the past.
Professors of pop culture like Shakuntala Rao agree that we're in an age where everyone is gaining both information and entertainment from the net.
"It's all based on convenience, especially for college students," Rao said.
Most college students are juggling classes, jobs, extracurricular activities and social lives, and have no time to be wasted before the television screen. Being able to tune into shows through your laptop makes life just a little bit easier.
"What we like to watch is not shifting, where we like to watch it is shifting," Rao said.
Now most college students are able to simultaneously write English papers and watch that must-see episode of "Scrubs," all with a click of the mouse.
Unsurprisingly, there are rising concerns about the dismissal of America's most cherished convention - sitting in front of the television.
When asked about this enormous change, Rao paused briefly in thought, smiled and then concluded, "Pop culture will always change. It is never static. It will be wrong to make a judgment on it - it merely reflects society. We'll have to wait and see if internet programming will work."
There was once a time that you could wolf down dinner and have enough time to watch Buffy annihilate her latest demon beau. There was once a time when you could stay up until dusk and catch those after- dark specials on HBO.
College students are, unfortunately, in constant motion and are not able to spend much time plopped in front of the tube.
Welcome to your new, and ridiculously busy, life.
Upon entering college, you probably did not expect every nook and cranny of your schedule to be jam-packed. Sure, you knew that you'd be carving out time to make new friends and to join cool clubs, but watching television has always been simple - you merely had to be in a specific place at a specific time. Suddenly, that has become the hardest thing in the world.
Don't fret, because there is a shining beacon of hope - the internet. There is a plethora of sites out there, all of which offer episodes of every show imaginable.
One could catch everything from the most recent Jets game to the past hysterics of Steve Urkel. From All-of-Tv.net to YouTube.com, the net is gradually making television sets a thing of the past.
Professors of pop culture like Shakuntala Rao agree that we're in an age where everyone is gaining both information and entertainment from the net.
"It's all based on convenience, especially for college students," Rao said.
Most college students are juggling classes, jobs, extracurricular activities and social lives, and have no time to be wasted before the television screen. Being able to tune into shows through your laptop makes life just a little bit easier.
"What we like to watch is not shifting, where we like to watch it is shifting," Rao said.
Now most college students are able to simultaneously write English papers and watch that must-see episode of "Scrubs," all with a click of the mouse.
Unsurprisingly, there are rising concerns about the dismissal of America's most cherished convention - sitting in front of the television.
When asked about this enormous change, Rao paused briefly in thought, smiled and then concluded, "Pop culture will always change. It is never static. It will be wrong to make a judgment on it - it merely reflects society. We'll have to wait and see if internet programming will work."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Todd
posted 9/28/07 @ 10:13 AM EST
I think every writer should be required to use the word 'shenanigans' in every article.
Brittany
posted 9/28/07 @ 1:01 PM EST
I agree with Todd.
Post a Comment