For the past week, I didn't do any "valuable" play. I got up late and grabbed some fastfood to eat. I was supposed to do some reading; however, I wasn't in the mood of study at all. Therefore, I decided to just relax and do whatever I want.
I opened my computer and surfed on the internet to see if there is anything interesting to watch. And then I found there is a new Chinese TV program called 'I am the singer' in which some singing stars are invited to compete singing. Honestly, it is an excellent TV program which soon attracted me and I almost lost the track of time. After I finished several periods of the program, I realized I almost spent the whole afternoon and evening watching it. I didn't feel relaxed as I expected to; rather I felt empty and guilty for wasting time. Later I called my boyfriend. Coincidentally at that time, he was also watching the same TV program. I talked to him about my guilty of wasting time watching entertainment program rather than doing exercise or watching TV programs of culture, art or history as a way of recreation. He could not understand my feeling. For him, it was really a relaxing period of time watching the show and thought I was thinking too much.
Based on our different reactions to the same type of play, I am wondering why I lost the joyfulness of the play? Is it really because of the frivolity of the play itself or due to my prejudgment of the value of the play? It seems that I need to go back to the pretty fundamental question of the value of play. For me, adult play is value based and should serve as some functions. For example, doing exercises or outdoor activities are benefit to health and thus can make us more efficient; and watching TV programs on culture, history and art can nurture the soul and cultivate the mind. While entertainment programs, for me, just satisfy our vulgarity. However, when I retrospect the play experiences of my childhood, there is no such distinct categorization of play as frivolous or valuable. At that time, all play experiences are joyful and valuable. Therefore, what potential factors could contribute to the evaluation of the value of play? Is the value of play socially constructed?
It seems to be a human condition of the 21st century -- guilt. Did our ancestors and even our parent's and grandparent's generations feel such guild when they engaged in relaxation after a hard day's work? Maybe... Or maybe it's the plight of the academic. Our 'jobs' never end. We aren't "9 to 5" workers who leave our jobs behind us at the end of the work day, but rather can work (and do unfortunately) at all times. And, the downside of the new tech era is that we're constantly connected and lured by the computer at all hours. It's making all of us LESS productive and LESS well-rounded as human beings, I think. Something precious is certainly lost.
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