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~my thoughts about life~



Thursday, January 9, 2014

Happy New Year!

It's still technically New Year's, since it's still January.  Did you make resolutions?  I guess I kind of did.  Bettering myself is something I try to do year round, not just on January 1.  Two years ago, I committed to reading the Bible all the way through in a year.  I did it.  This year, I did it again...and I brought Hubby with me!  Last year, I did not really make a resolution, but I did end up losing 25 lbs.  That didn't happen until late summer, but it happened!  When I see an issue in my life that needs work, I try to take care of it right then.

Presently, I see my life filled with a lot of unnecessary trash.  I see that trash filling over into the lives of my children.  That is not OK.  The main thing I am referencing is media.  Is there anything wholesome relating to media?  Television is trash.  Facebook is trash.  Youtube is trash.  I'm sick and tired of it.  Yet, I've spent hours of my life staring at it.

I'm done with television shows about these beautiful, single people who live life to be promiscuous with other beautiful (sometimes single) people.  It seems like that's all sitcoms are about anymore.  People sleeping around.  Oh, and drugs.  I don't live my life that way and I don't want to watch pretend people on TV doing it.  And don't get me started on reality TV.  There's nothing real about it.

What happened to wholesome shows like The Cosby Show?  Even things like Everybody Loves Raymond and The Kind of Queens are no more.  There's nothing interesting that I can actually watch in front of my kids.  I miss those family shows.

Facebook is another thing I'm over.  Half the people I'm linked to use it as their own personal complaint platform.  I'm tired of all the negativity and I'm tired of the hidden messages where people talk about others, but pretend that they're not.  The rest of the FB people brag on themselves.  The skinny ones take photos of their belly and brag about how fit they are.  Who wants to see that?  The rich ones talk about their grand houses, their big purchases, their new stuff.  Have they ever stopped to think who they're hurting by flaunting all their stuff?  It's typically those in bad marriages who brag about how good their marriage is.  A friend once told me that the first clue that a marriage is in trouble is when they brag on Facebook how good their marriage is.  It's so true.  The popular people brag about how many friends they have.  The people who live in warm climates brag about the weather.  Come on people...you're stooping pretty low if all you can do is brag about the weather.

Every time I sign on, I get disgusted.  I've hidden so many people from my newsfeed that there's not much point in getting on anymore.  So I stopped.  I haven't signed on for about three days now and I'm feeling much better because of it.  I'm an Instagram person. I can choose who I follow and what I see.  If someone posts something offensive, it's much easier to delete them without their realization.  There's so much less drama on Instagram.

It's unreal how much time TV and Facebook occupied of my already busy life.  When I'm exhausted and can barely make a rational thought, it's so easy to plop down in front of the TV.  We've made a habit of watching it every evening.  When I have to wait for two minutes, whether it be for a ride, at the doctor's, or for a phone call to be returned, I click on Facebook.  Those are horrid habits and I'm trying with all my might to stop them.

SO....I've taken to reading.  I'm about halfway through Pride & Prejudice.  It's not easy reading!  I feel like I'm getting less dumb as I read it though!  :)  I've started that book many times, but have never made it this far.  I don't want my grown up children to recall hours of their mother watching TV.  I would much rather them remember me as a reader.

Cropped from our family picture this year.
That's my New Year's Resolution.  It's as much for my kids as it is for myself.  How can I expect them to not be addicted to media if I am?  I've been a hypocrite!  This family is moving on to things like board games, puzzles, and interesting conversation.  I know I'll never regret an attempt to make us better people who are less dependent on glowing blue screens!

What's your addiction???

2 comments:

Jo said...

I must admit that I have a trash tv addiction but I don't have too much time for it so I don't feel too bad. It's more escapism than anything else.
But, yes I agree, tv content has changed a lot over the last 20 years.
I've been letting the kids watch Alf on youtube and they are loving it.

The Lovely One said...

You could always watch the disney channel shows! Good Luck Charlie and Dog With a Blog are family friendly!

I don't watch much tv, but I do watch the bachelor, walking dead, and big bang theory (none of which are appropriate for children). But I love to read, too!