Jason Pargin, author
Region: US
Sunday 22 February 2026 22:34:54 GMT
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Meathi :
200 years ago it was reading books
2026-02-22 23:08:23
1029
cohst :
and back in 1854, a guy named Henry David Thoreau said the same thing about newspapers. time is a flat circle lol
2026-02-22 23:18:02
1058
OrigamiDreams :
This is why the “screen time” thing is weird to me. People act like it’s fundamentally different now from how it was for the past 60 years, and it’s not, iPad = video games = television.
2026-02-22 22:43:14
480
kitari._ :
My parents used to tell me how bad TV is and how watching any more than 2 hours a day is so bad for you, now they are retired and literally watch Fox News all day long.
2026-02-22 22:57:42
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zigfoyer :
Leisure shaming takes all kinds of forms. Anything you're enjoying that isn't benefiting others is 'unproductive.' I think it's a remnant of when humanity lived on the edge of survival.
2026-02-22 23:04:44
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celestia :
before television it was books 😅
2026-02-22 23:03:06
112
WolfmanJack :
There were Congressional hearings about pinball machines.
2026-02-23 13:06:07
18
line_reed_line :
I still think it’s considered shameful to watch too much TV.
2026-02-23 23:56:21
19
Bing 🍺 :
Dungeons and Dragons
2026-02-22 22:39:14
178
PeskyTurkey :
Go back a little further and it was reading things that were not considered intellectual, like cheap novels or comic books.
2026-02-22 23:17:16
51
not me :
I haven't heard the term couch potato in a while. I'm just imagining ancient Greeks yelling at their kid to stop going to all those plays
2026-02-22 23:20:39
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user63776095988377315 :
Also I find this take striking, bc I vividly remember my high school librarian telling us that watching long form dramas that come out once a week is damn near equivalent to reading. She said something ab how you have to have media literacy and understand complicated themes, and just like reading a book, it helps w recall bc you watch each episode a week apart so you have to retain the storyline and actually pay attention
2026-02-23 03:27:10
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Illhavewaterthanks :
There were a bunch of articles and opinion pieces in the late 19th century saying the same things about reading. READING for chrissakes.
2026-02-23 00:14:26
25
Midshine :
Reading books other than the bible was considered frivolous
2026-02-23 01:32:35
41
Gonzo :
I’m sure something similar happened around the invention and proliferation of the printing press like “oh books are making kids lazy, back in my day people had to remember the whole story without having it written down” or something about some benefit that comes from hand copying a manuscript
2026-02-22 23:15:05
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Acornica :
I was also yelled at for how close to the TV I sat
2026-02-22 23:55:35
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Queer Unreliable Hallucigenia :
Which is funny because now the tables have turned for some of us. My parents watch TV all day every day, even fall asleep with it on, and I watch tv a little bit here and there. They didn't follow their own teachings!
2026-02-23 02:31:04
18
Mike Ondolances :
anything that steals your attention for long periods of time. radio, tv, social media..
2026-02-23 11:13:57
8
User123456789 :
I'm pretty sure it is still shameful to watch tv all day.
2026-02-23 01:19:26
12
Alex 🌻 :
Before TV it was comics and magazines, but before that it was books.
2026-02-22 22:51:06
13
Mister Hatman :
Comic books!
2026-02-22 22:48:10
12
mini_me50 :
Before that is was pool, at least they thought that in River City.
2026-02-22 22:52:45
8
Skeeter Gong :
Xennial here: 2 hour max TV time per day until I was 14 years old, unless it was family movie night.
2026-02-22 22:39:33
8
Sup :
Wonder if before the TV is they said the same thing about the radio
2026-02-22 23:08:48
22
codehawg :
Given current events. Maybe they were right.
2026-02-22 23:12:44
8
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