My kids are now at the age where they have their own place and only come to my house to “crash” and watch TV on a larger set than they have at their apartment. I sit down with them for a relaxing show and am stunned by the flash of images flying through my brain.
15 – 25 year olds don’t watch a TV show any more. They watch snippets of many TV shows at one time. After thirty to sixty seconds of a show, they will pause and move on to the next show. They become exceptionally skilled at the thumb manipulation of the remote, moving their digit at lightning speed, changing from the channel button to the numbers and back to the down channel button.
I just start to get into a show and before I can say, “Wait, that’s good!” we have passed two more stations on our way to the next. All I get is a “Wha …” out and then I am too late. I will ask him why and he says he want to see what else is on. Then I show him the TV guide that comes with my Sunday Paper and he looks at it like it is toilet paper. I find myself watching a movie on TV even though I have that same movie on DVD sitting next to my TV. My son will look at me like I have just fallen off the turnip wagon. Why, he would reason, would you watch a movie that has all those advertisements and editing in it when you have the same movie without them? I shrug, “I … uh … I don’t know.” To him it is just as ludicrous to watch any TV show and not surf during the advertisements. I worry about missing part of the show while he hones his skills at getting back just when the show is starting.
I must say that I have ventured out of my box a little. When I am home alone I might actually change to another station for a while, and then hit the RETURN button on the remote to check if my show is starting again every 5 or 6 seconds. That is radical territory for me. I don’t think the issue is the short attention span of that age group. I think the issue is the abundance of choices we have. We have been blessed with options and they overwhelm us. If you don’t believe me just check out versions of soda in the store; it used to be just Coke and Pepsi. I love options and I thank God for the abundance he has blessed us with, but I know that TV surfing would end if my son would have to get up and walk to the TV knob to change the channel. I think remotes are evil … unless it’s in my hand.