:: but I digress ::

ladies and gentlemen, I take a brief moment to post an "essay" that I wrote for a scholarship (I have to post it here to enter. don't ask me why). most likely I won't win, and in that case I apologize for the boringness and my horribly unattractive capitals. if I do win, then you can say you knew me when, and I will even sign your framed copy, if you'd like. 

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I am eighteen years old, and I haven't ever owned a TV. My parents never got one after they were married, so I've grown up without television - but with the advent of online media, I have relatively unlimited access to movies and TV shows that I wouldn't otherwise watch.
  In preparation for my major in graphic arts, I spend a lot of time on the computer learning software, where the easily accessible entertainment becomes a huge distraction: the television mystique, combined with no commercials and a ready availability - I think, "I'll just finish my project later..." and I can waste hours in passive media absorption. Television is extremely interesting; but it pulls me away from my responsibilities, now that it's easy to reach.
  TV is bewailed* as a time-wasting, obesity-increasing, brain-ruining source of entertainment, one that increases health risks, heart problems, and other death-inducing effects.** Fifteen years ago, at least you had to be sitting at home to contract them; now, anyone with an internet connection can watch Big Bang Theory, making every free moment a race to keep up with every visual entertainment possible - at the grocery store, in between school periods, riding in the car. More people will be watching TV more often, and any problems related to staring at a screen will be worsened as millions capitalize on every opportunity to amuse themselves.
  The incredibly convenient access to television also means less social interaction, something everyone needs for personal growth and maturity. We constantly check our phones for social media updates; what if our favorite TV show's next season just premiered? Now we can watch it wherever we are, even if that means ignoring those around us. 
  The increasing availability of television and movies is making it harder for even tubeless me to focus on real life; the easier it gets to submerge myself in fantasy, the harder it will be to return to a banal reality - one filled with job problems, weight problems, health problems, relationship problems. For all that digital entertainment seems to proffer, it leaves me with nothing: my shrinking life threatens to suck my living dreams into limbo, as I desert them for the elusive promises and fleeting pleasure of imaginary - but now infinitely attainable! - worlds of moving pictures.  

*<http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inner-source/201110/your-unhappy-brain-television>
**<http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jan/11/watching-television-increases-death-heart-disease>
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wish me luck!