“You probably don't think I could force this towel down your throat, but trust me I can. All the way. Except that I'd hold onto this little bit at the end. When your stomach starts to digest the towel, I pull it out. Taking your stomach lining with it. Most people probably take about a week to die. It's very painful.” These were the words spoken by Jack Bauer from the hit television series 24. 24 is the TV show that was the biggest hit in my family. Every Monday night we would gather in the living room to watch this action packed series. Until the day all three of us kids started to get involved with sports, 8 p.m. came too soon for the whole family to be home to watch 24. The invention of the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) became a huge influence to keep the tradition of family time alive and thriving.
As Ellen DeGeneres said in , This Is How We Live, “Everyone like to talk about how advancements in technology will change the way we live forever.” (638) It is true that many people frown upon the fact that technology is attacking our society and its values rather than helping or influencing them. Ellen also goes on to say, “Technology has done one beautiful thing for us.” (640) If one was to ask a group of people what the number one tradition for families is; there would most likely be an overpopulated answer of ‘family time’. Family time is crutial to every single family throughout the world. It is what unites families and keeps them strong and thriving.
There are major factors that play into keeping family time from disappearing such as, movie nights, dinner around the table, family devotions, thirty minute talks in the living room, but what I see to be the largest impact to family time is the DVR. A little personal story, my family doesn’t eat dinner together. We all get home at different times of the night; My brother (15) gets off the bus at 3:00 p.m., my dad gets off work at 5:00 p.m., I get off of work at 7:30 p.m., and my mom and sister (10) get home from gymnastics at 9:00 p.m. We never have ‘sit-downs’ to just talk about life. The only question I get when I get home and when my mom gets home is, “How was work tonight?” The DVR began to change the whole entire idea of family time.
In 2010, the television series, 24, came to its final season. My family has been watching since it started back in 2002. Every Monday night at 8 p.m. it was time to be sucked into the television. Once sports and work began to interfere with the time 24 was on, we weren’t able to watch it as a family. The DVR finally came into our house in the year 2010. We were able to record 24 while my mom and sister were on their way home from gymnastics. We would turn the television off and wait until they made it home. After every episode is when the family time would expand to new limits. We would discuss the 24 episode we just watched and we also would predict what would be on the next episode (because the ending always left the biggest cliffhanger).
Many people would argue that the DVR is part of the bigger picture of all of technology. People may say that video game systems are in the same category. Cell phones are also becoming part of that ‘bigger picture’. Cell phones are causing more problems to traditions than anything else. Texting is affecting the way people interact with one another, video games are stealing the kids, and grown-ups from necessary family time. Instead of picking an innovation much more different than the DVR, there are problems with the DVR that can prevent family times. For example, the DVR may cost too much for a family to have. The DVR may not be available for their cable provider. These issues can prevent families from coming together to watch a program.
The DVR is bringing families together. There is no more excuses for not being able to watch a family movie that was on at two in the morning. Even though the family is not interacting verbally during the show or movie, there is still the presence of being together in the same room watching the same thing. That is what makes the traditionn of family time thrive. Uniting families to come together to watch the next American Idol, or the Biggest Loser, or witness the Event, or laugh at America’s Funniest Home Videos, is what the DVR has brought to society.
Works Cited
Latterell, Catherine G. ReMix: Reading + Composing Culture. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.
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