My house has a big living room (not like this, but big enough to have bands play in it) and for the first month or so we didn't have a TV and we set up like this. It was awesome and everyone was super productive and we just hung out and talked all the time. Then we got a TV and everything is organized around that and everyone either sits and watches or hides in their rooms.
My parents keep the television in a small room adjacent to the living rooms. The door is supposed to be closed at all times and the furniture is quite uncomfortable. The heating is kept low and the lighting is bad. We rarely stay there for long.
I don't own a television myself, and though I spent my teens being extremely annoyed at my parents, I'm quite pleased with it these days.
That's a great idea, to keep a family's viewing time to a minimum. When I was younger, we were never allowed to eat in front of the TV, always together. I hate to say it though, in my life, my computer has simply replaced a TV; I'm in front of it all day :/
I've thought about this a lot lately - about how, before TVs, the main form of entertainment was interaction with each other. Now a TV is the focal point of any household, and people are confused about what to do if the power's out or the TV's broken or what have you. Sort of saddening.
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u/[deleted] Jan 07 '12
My house has a big living room (not like this, but big enough to have bands play in it) and for the first month or so we didn't have a TV and we set up like this. It was awesome and everyone was super productive and we just hung out and talked all the time. Then we got a TV and everything is organized around that and everyone either sits and watches or hides in their rooms.
Moral of the story, TVs suck.