this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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Probably. We need something to get through the day to day of being a person even before we get into all the horrible things all around the world. If we avoided everything we do that has unacceptable ramifications we'd pretty much have to crawl into a cave and die.
Use the modern tools you have access to to improve lives, not try and make others feel guilty for not having done enough.
I wish I had the free time to crawl into a cave and die
But some things use way less power than others... TVs use a lot of electricity compared to listening to a podcast for example
There's a lot of deeper calculation to consider there. Is it a full production show, or someone's YouTube project? Is the podcast a single person, or many? If it's many are they in the same location? How much electricity is used to deliver your chosen medium to you?
Ultimately though none of that matters. If a podcast is what entertains you and makes your human condition livable that doesn't mean it does the same for Jack.
If electricity is such an issue than you using whatever electronic device to relay data to a server where my electronic device retrieved it from another server with who knows how many hops in between each for both of us is not a good use of your time.
If instead, as I suspect, you see value in harm reduction you need to realize that not everyone can reduce harm in the same way.
Right now, somewhere, someone is getting by because they can't wait for the next part of their favorite TV show or movie. Chances are you may even know one such person and not realize it. If that's gone their tenuous grasp on life may slip away. Even if you are ok with that, and I hope you're not, what positive impacts might that person have had that they will be unable to because they just can't take it anymore.
Life is hard. Stop trying to make people feel guilty for not living it the same way as you.
It’s silly to gripe about someone watching a movie for so long, but not because the person watching needs something to fill their life. If that was the only justification needed you could justify owning a yacht because it’s the only place you could get away.
The real argument is that running a television is not very energy intensive, and being on the grid means the energy it does use is produced at a scale where the environmental impact is drastically reduced.
I’ve had to reread your second to last paragraph multiple times because it just feels bonkers to go from saying that people enjoy television to saying people might kill themselves without it. What basis does that have in reality? I tried looking into it a little and the only search results regarding suicide and lack of tv discussed suicide coverage on tv and whether it increased suicides. Searching for whether people are happier without tv had a lot of anecdotal “yes” articles and articles relating to a study about teens being happier with less screen time. That seems fairly inconclusive and may just mean there’s a gap in the research that could be filled, but I think you’re really underestimating the average person’s ability to live without television.
It's not necessarily about the average person. Depression is a bitch and different people have varying reasons for hanging on while under its weight. Just because there aren't readily available studies about what reasons people didn't commit suicide because of doesn't mean these aren't reasons. I can assure you they are. Someone's favorite show has been their only light on more than one occasion I've known personally.