"Living" the way I used it means "living to the fullest" or, a little more specifically "feeling really engaged in life" or "feeling fulfilled".
I understand that you do not feel fulfilled when watching TV, but other people might. I would agree with your reply on Kawoomba's sub-thread:
Now, if you want to disagree with me on whether they think they are "really living", that might be really interesting. I acknowledge that mind projection fallacy might be causing me to think they want what I want.
For better or for worse, passive entertainment such as movies, books, TV shows, music, etc., is a large part of our popular culture. You say:
I puzzle at how you classify watching something together as "social contact". To me, being in the same room is not a social life.
Strictly speaking this is true, but people usually discuss the things they watch (or read, or listen to, etc.), with their friends or, with the advent of the Internet, even with random strangers. The shared narratives thus facilitate the "emotional intimacy" you speak about. Furthermore, some specific works of passive entertainment, as well as generalized common tropes, make up a huge chunk of the cultural context without which it would be difficult to communicate with anyone in our culture on an emotional level (as opposed to, say, presenting mathematical proofs or engineering schematics to each other).
For example, if you take a close look at various posts on this very site, you will find references to the genres of science fiction and fantasy, as well as media such as movies or anime, which the posters simply take for granted (sometimes too much so, IMO; f.ex., not everyone knows what "tsuyoku naritai" means right off the bat). A person who did not share this common social context would find it difficult to communicate with anyone here.
Note, though, that once again I am describing a situation that exists, not prescribing a behavior. In terms of raw productivity per unit of time, I cannot justify any kind of entertainment at all. While it is true that entertainment has been with us since the dawn of civilization, so has cancer; just because something is old, doesn't mean that it's good.
Okay, so to clarify, your position is that entertainment is a more efficient way to learn?
No, this phrasing is too strong. I meant what I said before: many people find it easier to internalize new ideas when they are presented as part of a narrative. This doesn not mean that entertainment is a more efficient way to learn all things for all people, or that it is objectively the best technique for learning things, or anything of the sort.
Music is only passive entertainment if you just listen at it, not if you sing it, play it, or dance at it.For better or for worse, passive entertainment such as movies, books, TV shows, music, etc., is a large part of our popular culture.
...Strictly speaking this is true, but people usually discuss the things they watch (or read, or listen to, etc.), with their friends or, with the advent of the Internet, even with random strangers. The shared narratives thus facilitate the "emotional intimacy" you speak about. Furthermore, some specific work
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