# "I don't own tv" people **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859 "2013-12-08T23:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/21 "2013-12-09T02:47:38Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > If I had a TV, I’d have to pay for cable to watch the shows I’d want to watch, so I’d be out hundreds of dollars up front plus a monthly fee. I’d rather eat better and watch whatever shows are available online, plus DVDs. I tend not to go out of my way to find people who are smug about something they’re doing or not doing; they tend to make themselves apparent whether I want to know or not. Since when do you have to pay “hundreds of dollars up front” for cable? Where the hell do you live? ---
**Author:** ![Earth001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@Earth001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earth001)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/22 "2013-12-09T02:47:44Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > There was just a relatively long and contentious thread on this topic. For me, it breaks along two lines, both of which make the actual source - broadcast, cable, streaming, disc, YouTube - irrelevant. Not having cable and watching a ton of stuff on other portals is a completely irrelevant distinction. > > The real distinctions, I think, are these: People who \*have \*to “watch something” regardless of what it is or how it gets to their eyes. Broadcast, cable, Hulu, YouTube… doesn’t matter as long as they can flick on the idiot box and find \*something \*to occupy their eyes. Vs, people who will start with a wish to watch something specific and watch that, in separation and isolation from a stream of other material. > > The other distinction is those who watch material on commercial sources and absorb or accommodate the advertising one way or the other, vs those who never watch a commercial on any portal. > > We “don’t have TV” in that we don’t have either broadcast or cable, watch only stuff we select from outside the box, and see commercials only for the few things we watch on Hulu. (We probably see fewer commercials a year than most people see in an evening.) > > I’ll make no argument about superiority, but it sure does reduce the wasted time and annoyance. Not to mention the unwanted influence and control of our casual leisure time. Mind me having a link to this older thread? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/23 "2013-12-09T02:56:56Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I’ll make no argument about superiority, but it sure does reduce the wasted time and annoyance. Not to mention the unwanted influence and control of our casual leisure time. When people talk about how evil the media is, with all its fear-mongering messages and inadequacy-inducing images, I always want to give them this piece of advice: just stop listening to it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/24 "2013-12-09T03:00:05Z")
There was a thread I started a while ago, called [“Do you think people who don’t watch TV are braggarts/snobs?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679792) Not sure if that was the thread being referred to here. There have been other similar threads, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/25 "2013-12-09T03:02:54Z")
I’ve noticed that most people who say they don’t own a TeeVee follow it up by saying, “if I want to watch something, I’ll watch it online.” Here’s the thing … most of those people own a 21-inch computer monitor on which they watch what other people watch on a 50-inch TeeVee. Not owning a TeeVee is essentially equivalent to saying, “I don’t want to pay for cable.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/26 "2013-12-09T03:23:56Z")
What’s really odd is that, for over a decade, I didn’t own a TV but _did_ have cable. It came with the rent in the on-campus apartment I was living in. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/27 "2013-12-09T03:29:56Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Since when do you have to pay “hundreds of dollars up front” for cable? Where the hell do you live? Probably means the initial purchase of the tv to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/28 "2013-12-09T04:34:29Z")
Moved MPSIMS to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/29 "2013-12-09T05:23:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I have a TV but I rarely watch it. I do watch TV shows through Hulu and Netflix so that I can stay on top of pop culture and have something to talk about (as well as be entertained) You _do_ have a tv you use often; its just part of your computer now. You’re watching the exact same things now for the exact same reasons as you were when you only watched tv. The delivery methods for these “tv shows” are what have changed. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/30 "2013-12-09T06:16:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Jerks. Seems kind of a broad stroke against anyone who doesn’t watch TV. Perhaps you mean only those who brag/act snobby about it. I went without a TV on purpose for a couple of years, until I met my SO who can’t live without it. It was a conscious decision because I was living alone and having trouble with no social life. It was just too easy to sit at home and watch TV. It did, I think, tend to get me out of the house more, as well as reading more. This was some time ago, very early 90’s, so there was no streaming entertainment through the internet. It was either TV, or else something completely different. I hope I wasn’t a jerk about it, I don’t really remember mentioning it to anyone. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/31 "2013-12-09T06:21:21Z")
We don’t watch much anyway. I think we’re just more likely to be playing games or surfing the net. Not being a snob about it, and I don’t care what anyone else watches. I just don’t see the point of owning a TV when I have the internet. My roommate covers that and a Hulu+ account but other than TWD and occasionally a Community or The Middle I don’t have much interest. IF I had a TV I’d probably spend way too much time using it as background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Jesse\_Pinkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jesse\_Pinkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesse_Pinkman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/32 "2013-12-09T06:25:02Z")
Ten years ago, I felt the same as you. Nowadays, with video streaming services running cheap, people don’t have TVs for lots of reasons outside of general snobbery. That being said, people who boast about not having TVs and all the reading they do are pretty annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/33 "2013-12-09T07:03:02Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > I don’t own a TV and it rarely if ever comes up in conversation. I don’t make a point to tell anyone and if anyone asks me if I’ve seen something on TV I just say no and they proceed to describe whatever it is they’re talking about to me. If I want to watch a show I can watch it online. This is pretty much my answer. I don’t own a TV because I don’t NEED a TV. I have a computer that does everything a TV does. And I’m a pretty big watcher of movies and shows…I just watch them online. I also was a member of Netflix for a good 5-6 years. When they came in the mail, I’d watch them on my computer. I think there’s a pretty big difference between someone saying “I don’t own a TV” and “I don’t watch TV”. The first could mean (as I and **CatherineZeta** show) that we just use alternative means to watch shows/movies and, thus, I don’t see how it’s gloating or bragging. “I don’t watch TV”, now that has a bit more of a “bragging/feeling a bit more superior” feel behind it, although I (personally) still wouldn’t be too rush to judge anyone who didn’t watch as being that way. Anyway, my computer: Making me not need a TV for 8 years now. : p ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/34 "2013-12-09T08:23:12Z")
I have several TVs but they are all used for video games and computers. I don’t even own a standard computer monitor anymore except an old CRT that is in storage. I do technically have rabbit ears for my TV and may watch a football game on it or a particularly important/emergency announcement. Otherwise, I just download the TV shows I care to watch, which are few and far between as it is. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/35 "2013-12-09T13:35:32Z")
I do think there is a strong cultural idea that TV is bad, wasteful, indulgent, whatever. We all internalized it growing up watching PSAs about how we should read more. Some people who say “I don’t own a TV” are being smug jerks. But some people who have a vague sense of guilt or shame about watching TV are also sensitive to perceived criticism. I think both of those can come into play. The cable internet people call once every six months to try to get me to bundle in cable TV: them I enjoy telling I have no TV, which is a lie. However, it means we get to skip the whole script and say good-bye to each other like civilized people, so I think it’s a nice lie. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/36 "2013-12-09T13:51:54Z")
I know quite a few people who are in the camp of not owning a TV and sort of claiming some form of superiority in it. I believe it is the opposite, When they start figuring out about self analysys they are afraid of what they might learn about them self - so they ‘hide’ from that by not getting a TV, and sometimes demean others. For me TV watching falls into 3 categories: 1 - mindless entertainment (this is the camp ‘no TV’ people usually place TV watchers into 2 - ‘No TV people’, these people claim a sort of superiority over those in category 1, but don’t see category 3 3 - Self reflection and self improvement, finding out why you like the shows you do and what that says about you. It is far easier to see flaws in other people then in yourself, but by watching the shows you are drawn to you can hopefully see the flaws in others are actually speaking of flaws in you. I do believe in some ways they are just not yet mature enough to be able to use it to help better themselves. I have seen that there is a reason for the shows we like to watch, they are ultimately instructive about who we are, the no-TV crowd is just not prepared to find out yet and need to have a reason to make themselves feel better. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/37 "2013-12-09T14:07:48Z")
Don’t give a damn if others watch or not. If they think they’re better than me, well… {shrug} Okay. Doesn’t hurt me one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/38 "2013-12-09T15:34:47Z")
> [@Earth001](#): > > So, what are your thoughts on people who don’t own a television? I have noticed that a lot of people who blog about not owning a tv tend to gloat about it or act like they are superior to everyone else because they don’t watch television. Am I the only one that notices this? This is one of my pet peeves. I see the possibility of confirmation bias here. To what extent have you noticed the people who don’t have a TV, but never mention it? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/39 "2013-12-09T15:37:17Z")
What is this…TV…you speak of? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859/40 "2013-12-09T16:21:55Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I think there’s a pretty big difference between someone saying “I don’t own a TV” and “I don’t watch TV”. The first could mean (as I and **CatherineZeta** show) that we just use alternative means to watch shows/movies and, thus, I don’t see how it’s gloating or bragging. True but I’ve found (in my own limited experience) that the Hulu/Netflix/etc types are eager to talk about how they don’t own a TV _because_ they can do all their watching online. That is, in talking about it they make it clear that they’re just as interested in watching The Daily Show as the next guy, they just do it via alternate means. Which is a different dynamic than the “I don’t OWN a TV” full-stop kind of responses. I agree that they’re different but I don’t know how often they get confused. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-own-tv-people/675859.md?page=3)