Giving up television

Cafe Society
1

Tonight, before going to bed, my boyfriend shared something that had been bothering him. He was worried that he doesn’t complete anything, that he sees projects he wants to do but never follows through on them.

We talked for a while about it; I’ve been noticing the same thing about myself.

Earlier this evening, after watching a disappointing episode of Angel, we were lamenting the dearth of good television this year. Last year was epic, monumental television. We watched the last Sorkin West Wings, the final Buffies, the beginnings of Everwood, the continuing adventures of The Gilmore Girls, and we thrilled to them all. We got all excited to come home Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and watch everything we’d taped. It was a good season of TV.

This year, though… bleah. With Buffy gone, the West Wing cast suddenly become junior high school students, Everwood wandering into standard soap-opera plot-driven fare and Angel lacking substance and showing an excess of peroxide, the only thing left that’s good is Gilmore Girls. And yet, we’re still watching. Hours a week. Complaining that nothing’s on.

I proposed that we give it up.

Cancel cable, ignore broadcast television. Sure, we bought a surround sound system last week, but we’ll continue to watch DVDs and play video games, so it doesn’t go to waste. Give up TV with dinner, reclaim weeknights as our own domain. Read more, do more projects, play more music, play more games. Maybe even get some exercise. It sounds, frankly, delightful.

We’re going to talk it over tomorrow. I’m suggesting we abstain for six months, and then a year if it’s going well, and that we start this weekend.

I’m wondering what other Dopers have made this choice, either presently or in the past. What difference has it made in your life? What regrets do you have? What is it like giving it up? Any tips for beginners?

2

I’m in the (long slow) process of giving up TV. I made a decision a few years ago to not start watching any new shows, so that as my old favourites died off, I would gradually cut down without feeling like I was making a big sacrifice. I did make exceptions to that, but I’m down to 2 hours a week average of actual network TV (more if you count watching old shows on DVD that I didn’t watch when they were on TV - or they never played in Australian TV - but I do that with friends so don’t count it as wasted time).

It’s been difficult because my partner has made no such decision, and is still in same old habit of turning the TV and then watching pointless stuff for an hour or two while complaining there’s nothing on.

It’s given me a lot more time. I maintain reading, writing and crafting habits with ease, plus time for exercise and with my partner. I don’t regret anything or feel I’ve missed anything.

Tip for beginners? Well I’m doing it slowly rather than cold turkey. Maybe you should put your TV in storage for the duration. It helps that you both want to do it. This is rather obvious - if you’re going to watch something, turn the TV on when it starts and turn it off when it finishes; don’t just leave it on or it will attract your attention.

And - have something else planned to do, even if it’s just sitting on the back porch and chatting. If you’re both sitting there twiddling your thumbs wondering how to “fill in” the evening, the temptation to turn the TV back on becomes difficult to resist. After a while, of course, you’ll have loads of other stuff to do, but when you first give it up, the amount of time can be daunting.

And this is a bit long, so I’ll stop there. Good luck.

3

I didn’t make a deliberate choice to stop watching television, but I haven’t regularly watched it for over a year. I’ve seen the occasional show–something random maybe once a month–but that’s it. I’m not some anti-TV nut (there really are some decent shows out there), but in my case it was an easy change to make: once I get home from work, go to the gym, cook dinner, check my email and surf the Dope, it’s time for bed anyway!

I say go for it. Play some music, so you’ll at least have some background noise to replace the constant din of the TV. Particularly try to stop eating dinner with the TV on; you really do miss a lot of conversation if you’re both concentrating on chowing down while keeping an eye and an ear on the box.

Just don’t become this guy. :wink:

4

I don’t watch television. I gave it up about five years ago when I realized that I was paying the cable company an outrageous amount of money for something that was a total waste of time. I haven’t missed it.

When the televison is on, you’re not actually doing anything. You’re just sitting there like a lump, reveling in other people’s imaginary experiences. You’re a totally passive observer. Are these the memories you want when you’re older? Not memories of stuff you did but things you just watched? Where is your life in all of this?

Not only that, but you take yourself out of the advertising loop. There will be thousands of products that you won’t have because you haven’t given Madison Avenue the opportunity to create an illusory need for them. Think of the money you’ll save!

Have your cable disconnected. Don’t tune in to broadcast TV. Read a book. play game, go for a walk, have a nice dinner. Life is too short to spend it all in fantasy land.

5

I’ve given up TV on a few occasions in the past, usually for a month or two but last year I did a longer stretch of about six months beginning in January. I’m actually considering doing it again myself because it was a good change.

Cricket is about the only thing I miss because it is great to have on while doing other things. When the TV was off I felt like I missed one or two good shows per week but on the plus side I would also miss 10 terrible shows.

You will probably find yourself hiring more movies but that isn’t a bad thing. I found I was listening to music a lot more and reading more as well, both books and the Internet.

My tips are:
[ul]
[li] Disconnect the TV from the aerial. There were a few times where I would come home and turn the TV on and then wonder why there was no picture because it was such a habit.[/li]
[li] You don’t need to tell your friends/family/coworkers that you have given it up, if you metion it you often end up having to explin your reasons and some people want to argue for TV (I’m sure there’s a Homer quote I could insert here). Just say you didn’t see whatever show they are discussing. If someone notices you never see any shows you don’t need to deny that you don’t watch TV but just don’t be too eager to mention it.[/li][/ul]

I would actually suggest cold turkey because it is easier to just unplug the TV and forget about it. Just be prepared to feel a little “lost” for a while because you will have to find new things to fill in the time

6

I recently realized I haven’t really watched TV for more than 6 months. I still watch videos, but have seen only one 2 hour broadcast show. This was not a conscious decision. it just sort of happened. There was nothing on I wanted to see, so the TV stayed off.

I was not one who was ruled by the TV to begin with. I work in a noisy environment and did not have the TV on for background noise at home. Anything I wanted to see was taped, to be watched at my convenience. After a while the unwatched tapes started to pile up. I just never got around to watching them. That may be one way to start. Tape, and watch, only those shows you really want to see.

You will have more time for reading and other pursuits.

I have no regrets.

7

Filthy traitors!

8

I like to watch Angel and (God help me) Charmed. But otherwise, my Tv viewing is limited to reruns of old shows like Golden Girls and MASH, gotta have my MASH, which is convenient since the Hallmark channel shows it all the freaking time.

9

Ditto here, though it’s been at least four years in my case. I’ve never watched a “reality TV” program, couldn’t identify anyone on Buffy or CSI or The Sopranos or The West Wing, and generally use my widescreen TV either for watching DVDs or home movies. My wife will sometimes turn on the evening news, but it’s not something regular we plan our lives around.

I did snarf videotapes of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit! from my brother for a while, but that was largely because I didn’t/don’t have cable TV. Even with that, my level of television-watching is so insignificant that I don’t think a dozen half-hour episodes really qualifies.

10

Actually, in the opinion of some, you can’t mention it enough! In fact, I think that this change in your life is the perfect time to turn yourself into an eccentric weirdo, if that’s what you’ve been looking to do. Become a vegetarian and sell your car, and nobody will ever talk to you again! :slight_smile:

11

I very rarely watch TV anymore. Lately whole sitcoms have come, run their course, and died, with me only barely aware of their existence, and then only because I am bombarded with commercials on the radio and when I’m at the theater waiting for the movie to start. I nearly missed out on the entire run of Buffy (a rare, highly intelligent and witty show by the way) because of this habit. But lately more and more shows are becoming available on DVD, so if I’m curious I can just Netflix it and buy the box set if it’s worthwhile. I have, for example, replicated myself a full set of Star Trek: TNG episodes, so if i get a hankering I don’t have to suffer through the bizarre juxtaposition of warp drives with ads for monster truck rallies on the Spike channel. Buffy is being summoned as well, but the witches are a bit slow to conjure up the later seasons.

12

You’re 55 minutes too slow, my friend. :wink:

13

I’m not going to say that I’ve given up television… I just don’t watch it. I occasionally watch a sporting event… I saw the New England - Indy game last weekend… but that’s about it. I’ve seen no episodes of Survivor (or any other reality show), no episodes of The West Wing, a couple of episodes of the first season of Enterprise… I guess I’m really missing out, but I have no desire to watch TV anymore.

14

I stopped watching television about five years ago because I felt like a big chunk of my life was going down the sink, and it has made a huge difference in the amount I have accomplished since then. The experience has been 100% positive–I didn’t give up anything of value, but I gained a lot. Now when I look back at the hours of television I used to watch every day, it seems as gluttonous and wasteful as habitual overeating.

15

I envy you, Mr.Visible! It’s a dream of mine to give up the idiot box. Unfortunately I’ve never convinced the family. Of course, I sound like a bit of a hypocrite right now because I’m tuning in for American Idol. But I can give it up anytime I want. Really. :wink:

16

My husband and I gave up tv last year for 4 months, and it was awesome. And really easy for us to do too, logistically speaking. If you turn off our cable, we don’t get anything “out of the air”, for whatever reason. So, no cable = no tv.

We got a lot of other things done, baking, reading, surfing, etc. The only reason we turned the cable back on again was for football.

I’m noticing that a lot of our friends are downgrading their cable to the lowest possible packages. I don’t think it has to do with money, I think it has a lot to do with there not being much on.

Good luck, Mr Visible!

(I must say, I actually enjoyed last night’s Angel, so us cancelling the cable again might have to wait till the season’s over!)

17

When I separated from my wife I didn’t have a TV and never bothered to get one until the day after 9/11 (happened overnight here) when I rented one. Eventually I bought one. For the 20 odd months I didn’t have one I only missed sport broadcasts.

18

4thMonkey said,

Heh. I don’t believe I would even recognize a game of cricket if it bit me in the nose. The only cricket we have here in the Midwest is the one that hides in my closet and chirps all night long! :wink:

19

Twice in my life I’ve been off TV. The first for about 4 years 1994-98. Lady Chance and I realized that we’d inadvertently done the ‘Turn off your TV’ week without realizing it was happening. The we realized we hadn’t actually watched anything other than movies on the set for months. So we cancelled it.

I was lured back by the Cubs making the playoffs in 1998. Then watched some stuff intermittently (like when TV Land had that Emergency/Dragnet/Adam-12 block every night). Then I watched Enterprise for about 1/2 a season but found that I didn’t like having to schedule my evenings around a television show.

I turned it off again after the Cubs lost the NLCS this year.

Really, I don’t miss it. We HAVE a TV for DVDs and such but that’s it.

I may get cable again when we move to Ohio next month because the local cable company is apparently adverse to supplying broadband without television access, too. But I don’t expect I’ll use it much.

Really, the breakthrough point is when you realize that even the GOOD television shows aren’t as valuable in entertainment value as your own time.

20

Ack! :smack: I was going to post that link almost right when the thread started, but there was something good on television! How Ironic! :slight_smile: