The Idiot Box

My name is Alvin and I'm a television addict.

Funny as it may seem, I really do have an addiction to the boobtube. It's a wonder my brain has not yet turned to mush!

My love affair with the television started when I was a little boy of about 3 or 5 (I guess TV has rotted some parts of my brain, afterall). My mother was suddenly busy with so many things that she decided to put me in my crib and face the television towards me and...like a shot of Heroin (or so I assume), I was hooked! A magical world opened before my eyes. A world where people become other things! Cartoons were my bestfriend and Sesame Street was my babysitter.

Somehow, I was more discerning of the programs I watch than my siblings. My affinity for educational, American-language, and (oddly enough) cooking programs (WHOO-HOO for Wok With Yan!) Through the years, I developed a strange relationship with the television. It taught me lessons in life through the various programs I watched and I kept my eyes glued to it everytime.

One funny incident when I was younger was when the TV set in our room didn't work. I had to go and get the TV from our store (this could be another story on its own). The TV antenna was extended and I ended up poking my eye with it. I walked around with a red mark on my eyeball for a week or two. Yet my affair with the idiot box didn't end. As years went by, I found it easier to study, retain information, and concentrate on my schoolwork when I did it in front of the TV. I also relied on the TV to lull me to sleep at night. Cable was a godsend to me!

Now that I'm in my earliest of 30s, I still consider the Television a wonderful invention, but I do understand why it has been called the idiot box. I've seen kids stare blankly at the screen, fixated at whatever show was on. On occasions, I've found myself suffering the same fate.

I cannot fathom spending a weekend without television because I still rely on it to lull me to sleep or keep me company on long hours of work, but I wouldn't trade it in for a nice book, trip out of town, or a relaxing day at the spa.