ABSTRACT
As we have considered in previous chapters, the presence of television is perceived in family life in many ways. According to 35% of the adult nonviewers in my study, television influences either their perceptions of “real life” or, more inscrutably, it interferes with their real lives. At least one-third of the adults who do not watch television believe that there is a “real” life, separate from television viewing, that must be embraced, and that living with television distances us from that real life. Although some nonviewers who expressed concern over this potential effect of television worried that television content could affect their perceptions of their real lives, they were more often worried that the mere presence of television could keep them disconnected from what they considered to be their “real” lives. In this chapter, television is viewed as both content and medium; however, among nonviewers, the concept of medium was
mentioned more frequently in relation to their concerns over engaging in real life.
