It probably isn't at all surprising for me to say that I am fairly obligated to read Entertainment Weekly (really, I only look at the pictures). In the issue that calls itself "July 31, 2009," Stephen King has an article entitled My Screen Addiction, in which he wonders about a study which claims that the average American adult spends 8.5 hours a day... screening.
In the article, Mr. King mentions Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist, Drudge, Huffington Post, Daily Beast, Kos, EW, The Filthy Critic, The Smoking Gun, and even mentions his two hours a day watching TV, but can't do so without throwing in iTunes and Hulu as his entry into whatever he's watching. He even mentions PurpleSlinky.com and its list of questions to ask yourself in order to determine if you're addicted to screens.
He also throws in YouTube, and in his list of websites throws out a reference to "etc." Well, I've been called worse I suppose.
The general idea of the article is the transition from shock at the idea that people spend so much time screening to the realization of coming rather close to that average. The result is that Mr. King is reminded of the old saying, "No man on his deathbed ever said, 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.'" He Googled the quote (in order to mention Google), but couldn't find the source.
The source, by the way, is apparently "a friend of Paul E. Tsongas," but that's some manner of bull, because people have clearly been saying it long before Tsongas' speech (and it's supposed to be "on my business," not, "at the office"). It's sort of like that old saying that Shakespeare "did nothing but string together a bunch of quotes everyone already knew." Someone said that too, and I You May Have Already Won!ed it, but I didn't find anything.
Mr. King mentions some interesting points in the article, particularly on the subject of the actual addiction. The National Institute on Media and the Family (which is a good excuse to mention Twitter again), for example, lists some of the symptoms and/or problems associated with screen addiction. Running up large bills for online services is a good place to start, and let's you mention iTunes again, as well as Amazon.
Fortunately for me, I don't run up any large bills with my screening. I'm just sort of a small time guy, and I spend most of my time online on simpler pleasures like: Please Fill Out A Brief Survey Here! or Get The Coolest Emoticons! or Download The Hottest Ringtones Here! or Insert Your Email Address Here - We Don't Spam!
But, all this talk about how Mr. King would rather spend time with family and friends, or playing with his dog, instead of just letting the dull glow wash over him got me thinking. I naturally spend a lot of time screening, but how much really? I mean sure, I may check out things like Sony Pictures Proudly Presents District 9 Watch The Trailer Here And Buy Your Tickets Now At Fandango! but do I really spend that much time looking at screens? Even me?
I have to watch things a lot, whether it's a movie, or The Heat Is On With Burn Notice On USA or a new internet webshow, or a video game. If I add the numbers up though, as Mr. King did, would I be unnerved as well, and be moved toward deeper thoughts about how I spend my time? I have a dog.
Then I thought, "nah... the hell with it." See, unlike Mr. King, I do have a Check Out The All New iPhone 3GS And It's Great New Features Here!(actually, it's not that newest version) and I have a really cool ASUS EEE PC Netbook Available At BEST BUY Here! which means I'm looking at screens a lot. Mr. King may take the fifth when he gets to the question about whether or not he checks his email more than six times a day, but I'm actually in a constant state of checking my email, so I'm not sure if that's a yes or no. Of course, Email Is Simple And Free At Mail.com - Sign Up Now! so I'm not sure what that question is supposed to get at anyway.
There were good points in the article, and many of us would be surprised if we put the numbers together. Are we addicted to screening? Maybe. Some of those addiction questions don't completely make sense though. Many of those questions would leave us addicted to cars and electricity as well, and I don't know that makes for an addiction.
Still, as I read, all I could think about (I'm self-absorbed) was that "screening" is actually in the title of my website. Said title is even put together as a quandary directly pertaining to the subject at hand... with the unwritten sub-title, "You bloody well are, aren't you?" It was mocking me, this article. It was just mean. "Fine," I thought, and walked over to his house and shook my fist at his creepy gates.
Are You Screening?
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© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.
About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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