Almost everyone has a favorite TV show. It's hard not to when about 116.4 million homes in America alone have television access of some kind, whether it be through cable or streaming services. One of the quickest ways to connect with people, I've found, is talking about TV. Many of my friends watch the same shows, particularly my roommates, and it's always fun to see them freak out back and forth over whatever's been happening with their favorite characters.
It's not often I get to participate in those conversations, though. It's not that I don't have shows I enjoy-- there's a handful of series I keep up with, most of them being cartoons or anime. Some people I know watch the same things as me, so every now and again I'll get to fangirl with friends over my shows. For the most part, though, I'm clueless whenever the subject of TV comes into play. The reason for it is simple enough: I'm just not interested in TV.
Now, before you start gasping in horror, allow me to explain. One of the biggest problems I have with television is how one-sided it is. When you sit down to watch TV, you're not really doing anything except... sitting and watching. If you have friends or family with you, then you can have conversations at the same time, but it's hard to talk when you're trying to pay attention to what's happening on the screen. As someone who likes to actually be involved in whatever I'm doing, I can only sit and stare at something for so long before I get bored. To be honest, I'm a terrible binge-watcher. I usually get through about three episodes before I have to take a break and do something else. If I don't, I'll probably just fall asleep. I have to rely on other people for longer TV marathons-- if someone else wants to keep watching the show, then I'll soldier on, but I'll probably have to pull out my laptop to stay awake and just have the TV on in the background.
The other major piece of TV that kills my interest is just how long most shows are. Watching one episode when it airs isn't so bad, but jumping into a show that already has several seasons under its belt is rather daunting. The longer a series gets, the less inclined I am to try and watch it. I can't really bring myself to invest that much time in sitting and staring at a screen. I've also found that many shows tend to get repetitive the more seasons they have ("Supernatural" is the golden example here). If I'm going to spend hours and hours with the same story, I need something new and exciting to hold my interest-- otherwise, I'll just stop the show in the middle and never come back to it.
These are the reasons I love video games so much more than I do watching TV. When you sit down to play a game, you're an active participant. You get to experience the story like you're a central part of it; you can save the world or find the treasure or survive the apocalypse with your favorite characters, instead of just seeing them do it on their own. Some games even let you customize your character at the beginning, so it really feels like your story to live through. Yes, video games can take up just as much time to finish as a TV show, and sometimes gameplay gets repetitive, but the player is always directly involved in some way. I never have the chance to get bored with a good video game, and I would much rather do something where I feel like I'm accomplishing a goal than sit back and passively watch TV.
If you're an avid television watcher, then that's wonderful. Embrace your favorite shows, shout about them from the rooftops if you want to. You're bound to find others with the same interests to bond with. It's simply not my cup of tea. If you ever need someone to shout about "Dragon Age" or "Overwatch" with, though, I'm all ears.
