This week has been absolutely crazy. It is tough to find time to type in my blog thoughts. I am having more and more blog thoughts, and less and less time to write them or type them down. Then when I do have time, I have forgotten the best thoughts. Frustrating.
Here is one that stuck. This is an excerpt from the sociology book that I am currently teaching from.
"Interestingly enough, individuals who watch television a lot are the ones least likely to be well-connected with others, because television watching is the most consistent predictor of civic disengagement. (Putnam 2000)." From, Engaging the Sociological Imagination by John Curra and Paul Paolucci, 2004.
The question is this, do disengaged people just watch TV, or do engaged people slowly become alienated by watching TV? Obviously, the couch potato will not automatically have a bunch of friends and be respected in civic circles if they go home and surf the net or stare at the wall. But, it is telling. TV is a one-way medium of mind numbing entertainment. Video games can be the same kind of one-way entertainment.
Our culture is desperate for real friendship. In the last few months my wife and I have been reminded by several situations that many people have no friends, and don't know where to find any. We just invite them to church. It has worked beautifully for several this year. Praise God for a very friendly church.
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