As you wander through the stores this holiday season -- be it at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Target (NYSE:TGT), or Costco (NASDAQ:COST) -- consider whether giving someone a TV series box set is a good use of your money.

In an article originally published on Slate.com, Grady Hendrix thinks something has gone horribly awry:

The DVD box set is the newest and most terrifying form of ritualistic abuse we inflict on one another. … We've been told that we're living in a new golden age of television, and suddenly we're expected not only to watch but to read essays, think about, and discuss one-hour nighttime dramas like 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Dollhouse'.

Hendrix ribs television shows from outlets including Disney's (NYSE:DIS) ABC, Time Warner's (NYSE:TWC) HBO, and Cablevision Systems' (NYSE:CVC) AMC.

How will Americans' TV-watching habits change in the next five years, and who will benefit? Will we get tired of it all and walk away from the glowing boxes, or fall more in love with the cheap entertainment?

Scroll down and let us know what you think in the comments box below. For each post, the Fool will donate $0.10 to the Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington, D.C., in furtherance of financial literacy.