---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If television's a babysitter, the…"
description: "\"“If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.”\" — Dorothy Gambrell"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg"
---

#  If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk…

![“If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.” quote by Dorothy Gambrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg)

> ““If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.””

[Dorothy Gambrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gambrell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The Internet is noisy, relentless, and overwhelming compared to passive TV.

**In simple terms:** Internet is a noisy babysitter.

Key Takeaway

Beware of information overload.

Themes

media technology communication

Mood

critical ironic

Type

observation humor

When to use this quote

- social media scrolling
- online research
- news consumption
- digital marketing

Key Concepts

digital noise information overload

Questions to Reflect On

- How does the Internet affect your attention span?
- What strategies help you filter digital noise?

A Different Perspective

Constant chatter can hinder deep thinking.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Babysitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babysitter/) [Babysitter Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babysitter-internet-4293223/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Drunk Librarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk-librarian-4293221/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Internet Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-drunk-4293222/) [Librarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarian/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Shut up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut-up/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television Babysitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-babysitter-4293224/)

## Related quotes

> [Beer Googles: Searching for stuff on the Internet...when you're drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beer-googles-searching-for-stuff-on-the-internet-when-you-re-drunk/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I clip hand sanitizer to my purse. I used to be a babysitter back in the day, so I got germaphobic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/i-clip-hand-sanitizer-to-my-purse-i-used-to-be-a-babysitter-back-in/)

[Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/)

> [“Mom just got you a babysitter! She had to pay her a ton to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carter/mom-just-got-you-a-babysitter-she-had-to-pay-her-a-ton-to-stay/)

[Renee Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carter/)

> [Many times we talk about the people that have come to enjoy the show. They went through a lot to get here, whatever they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/many-times-we-talk-about-the-people-that-have-come-to-enjoy-the-show/)

[John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/)

> [I begged my mom to take me to CPR class at the age of 12 because I wanted to start being a babysitter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-begged-my-mom-to-take-me-to-cpr-class-at-the-age-of-12-because-i/)

[Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/)

> [When I was growing up, if there was a Young Adult section of my town's library, I missed it. I wandered right from 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/when-i-was-growing-up-if-there-was-a-young-adult-section-of-my-town-s/)

[Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/)

> [My dad's all I've ever had. When I was 3 and 4, my mom used to take me to bars. I understand why now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-dad-s-all-i-ve-ever-had-when-i-was-3-and-4-my-mom-used-to-take-me/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [“I’m probably the first woman in my family to ever contemplate hiring a babysitter so she can go break a friend out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cameron/i-m-probably-the-first-woman-in-my-family-to-ever-contemplate-hiring/)

[Marc Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cameron/)

> [There is no part of me that feels that I represented myself as your children’s babysitter or their teacher. I was always, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/there-is-no-part-of-me-that-feels-that-i-represented-myself-as-your/)

[J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/)

> [Leo: "So...giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-so-giants-who-can-throw-mountains-friendly-wolves-that-will-eat/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [It was not easy for my mother, being a struggling actress and raising a child. We were these two sort of vagabonds, never knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/it-was-not-easy-for-my-mother-being-a-struggling-actress-and-raising/)

[Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/)

> [A babysitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-babysitter-is-a-teenager-acting-like-an-adult-while-the-adults-are/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

> [In advertisements for your favorite products, are women denigrated or objectified in some way? All of that is important. I would rewrite my kids'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/in-advertisements-for-your-favorite-products-are-women-denigrated-or/)

[Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/)

> [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/)

[Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/)

## More by Dorothy Gambrell

> [“Technically you would only need one time traveler convention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/technically-you-would-only-need-one-time-traveler-convention/)

[Dorothy Gambrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gambrell/)

> [Lots of people aren't self-promoters. You've just never heard of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/lots-of-people-aren-t-self-promoters-you-ve-just-never-heard-of-them/)

[Dorothy Gambrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gambrell/)

[Explore all 3 Dorothy Gambrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gambrell/)

## More Babysitter quotes

> [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/)

[Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/)

> [In advertisements for your favorite products, are women denigrated or objectified in some way? All of that is important. I would rewrite my kids'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/in-advertisements-for-your-favorite-products-are-women-denigrated-or/)

[Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/)

> [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

> [A babysitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-babysitter-is-a-teenager-acting-like-an-adult-while-the-adults-are/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It was not easy for my mother, being a struggling actress and raising a child. We were these two sort of vagabonds, never knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/it-was-not-easy-for-my-mother-being-a-struggling-actress-and-raising/)

[Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/)

> [Leo: "So...giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-so-giants-who-can-throw-mountains-friendly-wolves-that-will-eat/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [There is no part of me that feels that I represented myself as your children’s babysitter or their teacher. I was always, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/there-is-no-part-of-me-that-feels-that-i-represented-myself-as-your/)

[J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/)

> [“I’m probably the first woman in my family to ever contemplate hiring a babysitter so she can go break a friend out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cameron/i-m-probably-the-first-woman-in-my-family-to-ever-contemplate-hiring/)

[Marc Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cameron/)

> [My dad's all I've ever had. When I was 3 and 4, my mom used to take me to bars. I understand why now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-dad-s-all-i-ve-ever-had-when-i-was-3-and-4-my-mom-used-to-take-me/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [When I was growing up, if there was a Young Adult section of my town's library, I missed it. I wandered right from 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/when-i-was-growing-up-if-there-was-a-young-adult-section-of-my-town-s/)

[Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/)

> [I begged my mom to take me to CPR class at the age of 12 because I wanted to start being a babysitter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-begged-my-mom-to-take-me-to-cpr-class-at-the-age-of-12-because-i/)

[Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/)

> [Many times we talk about the people that have come to enjoy the show. They went through a lot to get here, whatever they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/many-times-we-talk-about-the-people-that-have-come-to-enjoy-the-show/)

[John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/)

> [“Mom just got you a babysitter! She had to pay her a ton to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carter/mom-just-got-you-a-babysitter-she-had-to-pay-her-a-ton-to-stay/)

[Renee Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carter/)

> [I clip hand sanitizer to my purse. I used to be a babysitter back in the day, so I got germaphobic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/i-clip-hand-sanitizer-to-my-purse-i-used-to-be-a-babysitter-back-in/)

[Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/)

> [It is a little ironic that one thing a babysitter should not do is sit on a baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/it-is-a-little-ironic-that-one-thing-a-babysitter-should-not-do-is/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

[Browse all 98 Babysitter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babysitter/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dorothy Gambrell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-internet-is-a-drunk-librarian-who/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Babysitter"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-internet-is-a-drunk-librarian-who/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/dorothy-gambrell-74914_babysitter_if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-interne_505011.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.” — Dorothy Gambrell",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Dorothy Gambrell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gambrell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“If television's a babysitter, the Internet...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-internet-is-a-drunk-librarian-who/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gambrell/if-television-s-a-babysitter-the-internet-is-a-drunk-librarian-who/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
