20100917 TV and You (1)

TV and You

Is there anything wrong with turning on the TV?

Sarah and Josh recently got married. They are discussing the amount of time they should spend watching TV.

Conversation A

Josh: Let’s turn on the TV and see what’s on.

Sarah: Josh, you know I dislike channel-surfing to find something to watch. It steals our time. We'll end up sitting in front of the TV all evening and not doing anything constructive.

Josh: TV is a good, inexpensive way to be entertained. If we went to a movie or concert, we'd have to pay at least $10 a ticket. Our cable TV bill is only $60 per month.

Sarah: You’re not addicted to TV, are you?

Josh: Of course not. I can turn off the set anytime. But if watching it doesn’t keep you from doing something important, it’s OK.

Sarah: We can discard the TV as far as I’m concerned. It’s such a waste of time! Did you know the average American watches four hours of TV every day? Over a lifetime, that’s nine years!

Josh: But I don’t watch that much a day. I mostly watch sports events. I get the best seat in the house! It’s a much better view than if I were actually at the event.

Sarah: That’s true. But you’re talking about turning it on for no particular reason.