Pet Peeve: Faux-superiority from publicly announcing that you do not do something that most other people do. In my circles, this usually involves not watching television, following sports, or consuming alcohol.
For example:
I do not[1] watch television. I do not even own a television.
Bully for you. Apparently, you are better than I. I watch television. I follow sports. And, I consume alcohol.
My personal theory is that it is about signaling elite status. Good theater and good art shows are far less accessible than good television or the national broadcast of Monday Night Football. Advertising that you do not pursue the readily accessible is definitionally elite.
If we substitute the word “theater” or “art gallery” for “television” I doubt many people would want to own the statement, even though it far more likely to be true than the “television/sports/alcohol” variety.
But does the medium itself doom the expression? No. The simple truth is that the average expression in any medium is crap. Most television programs are crap. Most films are crap. Most art is crap. Most novels are crap. I’ve seen more bad productions of Shakespeare than good.
It is the sea of crap that makes the exceptional memorable and moving. If the standard of inspiring, moving, timeless artistic expression in any medium was common, it too would become boring.
We’re all on a hunt for the exceptional experience in a forest of drivel. The fact that we do not all hunt in the same forest does not make my forest better than yours.
NOTES
- People who do not watch television, also don’t use contractions.
The Finch and Pea 