The cathode-ray tube has taken over our lives.

We spend hours sitting in front of one or several of these cancer-causing devices, be it a computer monitor or a television. Vladimir Zworykin (or William Crookes, depending on who you listen to) could have never imagined when he invented the CRT in the late 19th century that his invention would have such a profound effect on future societies.

But here we sit, bathing in the light of the glowing tubes, unable to unplug ourselves from the endless stream of images and information gently floating across our eyes.

I was first made aware of the problem here at Calvin earlier this year after someone pointed out how everybody was always in their room working on their computer or watching their television. At first, I dismissed the idea as nonsense, but I became subtly more aware of the issue after it had been brought to my attention.

Before long, every room I looked into contained an occupant watching “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” or spending their 327th consecutive hour on AOL Instant Messenger.

How did we become so screen oriented? Why can’t we unplug ourselves?

The Internet in particular is a void of time and mental energy. Because of the “always-on” nature of the ResNet computer network that blankets campus, students don’t even need to dial a phone number to connect to the Information Superhighway. While in theory this is useful for finding information for research papers and other academic pursuits, its primary effect is to cause incessant instant messenging, Counterstrike playing, and Celebrity Jeopardy video downloading.

Likewise, television continues to rape our collective intellect with such juicy morsels as “Jerry Springer” and “Temptation Island.” And while Regis Philbin is certainly a sight to behold in his carefully selected Italian suits, there are certainly more interesting and beneficial things we could be doing with our time than watching other people get rich quick.

But it isn’t the reasoning of people sitting in front of screens all day that bothers me – if people choose to waste vast amounts of time on nothingness and look stupid while doing it, they’re certainly entitled to that choice. What bothers me is that it has become so acceptable to do so.

Dare I say our attachment to screen has even become chic? One might think so walking through the dormitories of campus. If you can survive the constant instant messenger beeps for 10 minutes, you can peek into people’s rooms and see the miracle of our modern society – a populace that is becoming stupider, lazier, and fatter from the comfort of its couch.

Condemning excessive television and computer use is nothing new, and by this point most people will be expecting me to point out all the other things you could be doing with your time, i.e. reading a book, doing homework, or my personal favorite, riding a bicycle.

But I have a slightly more unorthodox idea to test just how badly we really are addicted to our screens. Just turn the power switch on them to off one day and stare at it for a few minutes as if there was actually something on it you simply couldn’t live without seeing.

Do you realize what you’re doing?

You’re staring at a big box with a black glass window in the middle. Oh, the unending suspense and drama! Oh, the vast and limitless information! Oh, the miracle of worldwide communication! How did we ever survive without it?

Yes, sad to say, we spend many hours of our lives just sitting in front of a big black ray tube that occasionally changes color. What modern and sophisticated lives we lead.

I, for one, wish that Mr. Zworykin hadn’t invented the CRT one hundred years ago – my life would have been just fine without it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my computer. SkaterDude4592 just IMed to let me know what I missed on “Friends” and “ER” tonight…