Television - entertaining ourselves to death?

Why do we watch television? Is it good for us? What did we do before we all started watching television every evening? What did we gain when we started the television habit - and what did we lose?

There are various statistics about who watches television and how much television people watch - and none of them seem particularly reliable. However the real, on-the-ground truth seems to be that most people, in countries where it's available, watch television. 

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Most television watchers use television as a default position - "I'm free, there's nothing else I need to do right now, I'll see what's on television". Some people who have problems in their lives - loneliness and/or isolation, no job, 

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