# Know TV, No Life ... No TV, Know Life **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228 "2003-03-18T07:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/21 "2003-03-18T16:38:03Z")
no TV, got PC šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/22 "2003-03-18T16:45:35Z")
Well, I have no TV and no life, so whatā€™s up with that? Actually, I have a TV, but no reception. God bless Netflix! I would love to have TV but I canā€™t afford cable right now. Itā€™s been about 8 months now. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve read more or listened to more music than before. I have always been an avid reader and an on again/off again listener of music. The shows I miss the most are ā€œModern Marvelsā€ on The History Channel, ā€œTrading Spacesā€ on TLC and ā€œUnwrappedā€ on Foodtv(?). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/23 "2003-03-18T16:54:20Z")
TV is nothing but a tool. Use it properly and it is very valuable. Stick a screwdriver in your eye, and you have made a mistake. * * * Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/24 "2003-03-18T16:56:06Z")
I own a television. It has a 13" color screen and it is hooked up to my VCR. I play rented movies through it sometimes. No cable, no antenna, no rabbit ears, and therefore no signal pickup. I think once upon a time it had a remote, but I donā€™t have it now. Havenā€™t been a TV watcher since approx. 1983. Well, OK, Iā€™ve watched at friendsā€™ houses. Iā€™ve seen and enjoyed episodes of _The Simpsons_, _Star Trek Voyager_, _Married With Children_, andā€¦uhā€¦ probably other things. Also, my parents have TV and when I visit they sometimes put a program on. I think they watch something that features Andy Griffith as an alzheimerishly spacy attorney (?), and thereā€™s something called _Touched By An Angel_ (bit on the glurgy side). Oh, and my cousin tapes episodes of _Enterprise_ and sends them on VHS occasionally (cute, needs work). I suppose if I could get cable TV for, letā€™s say, $5 month + 1Ā¢ / viewing minute, no channel limits, I might go for it. Then again, maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/25 "2003-03-18T17:15:53Z")
I donā€™t own a tv. I waste time online instead. I have a **ratty** -like aversion: my father leaves the television on 16 hours a day, at least, and I have grown to loathe it. My husband never bought one, and we havenā€™t gotten one since we married. When we can afford a dvd player, weā€™re going to buy a used set and keep it in the closet. When I was at school, I went without one, too. It just doesnā€™t interest me, and I do find the ā€œI canā€™t go out for dinner/go to the movies/go shopping because (fill in the blank) program is on!ā€ attitude mildly irritating. I think itā€™s interesting that when I tell most people that I donā€™t have a tv, they tend to get very defensive, and start talking about how little it really matters to them. I donā€™t say it in a judgemental or self-righteous way, so I donā€™t understand why itā€™s such a sore point. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/26 "2003-03-18T19:30:56Z")
We watch it all the time. The only problem is that we rarely agree on what to watch, so one of us is watching, and the other one is sighing or talking over the program, trying to engage the other in conversation that is unwanted at the moment. Get a second tv you say? No chance. Our house is small and weā€™d have to put it in the bedroom. Thatā€™s not gonna happen because Hon needs dark and quiet to sleep. We just alternate between Changing Rooms and The Hitlerā€¦erā€¦History Channel. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/27 "2003-03-18T22:41:03Z")
There have been three or four times in my life when I just didnā€™t bother getting or keeping a TV and it was fine. Longest period was probably for about 3 years. Even now, a TV for me is just a source of old movies, documentaries and something to watch videos on. I donā€™t much bother with anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/28 "2003-03-18T23:19:53Z")
**[Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesnā€™t Own A Television](http://www.theonion.com/onion3604/doesnt_own_television.html)** > [@](#): > > CHAPEL HILL, NC?Area resident Jonathan Green does not own a television, a fact he repeatedly points out to friends, family, and coworkersā€“as well as to his mailman, neighborhood convenience-store clerks, and the man who cleans the hallways in his apartment building. > > . . . . > > According to Melinda Elkins, a coworker of Greenā€™s at The Frame Job, a Chapel Hill picture-frame shop, Green steers the conversation toward television whenever possible, just so he can mention not owning one. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/29 "2003-03-19T02:05:16Z")
ROFL, Max. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/30 "2003-03-19T03:59:42Z")
1992 NFL Playoffs. Houston Oilers ahead of the Bills 38-3 at the half. And they lost the game. My television croaked right at the end of the game (psychosomatic?) and that marked the end of my regular TV viewership and my time as a Pro Sports fan. Half-Price Books became my substitute, and I read voraciously. At least until the Internet found my home. About four years ago, a friend called to come meet him for a couple of beers after work. Turns out he knew my TV had croaked, and he was flush that year, so heā€™d bought me a new one. Itā€™s a nice TV, and we plugged it in that night. Since I donā€™t have cable, the only station that comes in is the Home Shopping Channel, and being as I am all fixed up on the cubic zirconium front, I never watched it. Until ~6 months ago, when I bought a DVD player. My nights became devoted to movies. But by now Iā€™ve culled the collections of the local video stores, and things have definitely slowed down in the movie watching arena. While Iā€™ve heard of these shows, Iā€™ve never actually seen _Seinfeldt_ (SP?), _The Simpsons_, _Friends_, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Laurasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@Laurasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laurasia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/31 "2003-03-19T04:17:18Z")
I didnā€™t have cable for about a year in my old aparment. It wasnā€™t really by choice: the cable company disconnected the cable we werenā€™t paying forā€¦it was like that when we moved in for almost a year and we never bothered calling them to ā€˜fixā€™ it. So then we only had a TV for movies, video games, and The Simpsons (Fox came in on the airwaves, a little fuzzy, but watchable). Then I got a new roommate who immidiately ordered a HUGE digital cable package which he installed in HIS room. So I got the basic channels in the living room while he had all the HBOs and special stuff in his room. I hated the situation because sometimes he would be watching the same show that I was watching in the living room in his own room alone, coming out during the commercial breaks to talk to me about the show! It was weird and kind of creepy. I have a TV now, but I work at night, so I miss all the prime time stuffā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/32 "2003-03-19T06:30:15Z")
Unless I am actually the one watching the tv, having it on drives me crazy. I personally watch tv once every 3 or 4 weeks, and probably wouldnā€™t miss it if it was gone. Iā€™ve never bothered to buy my own tv, all of my roomates have owned their own. I _do_ pay for cable, though, since when I do watch tv, itā€™ll be Muchmusic, Space, or Teletoon (all cable channels). ---
**Author:** ![Shadez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shadez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadez)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/33 "2003-03-19T07:52:19Z")
Who needs TV when you got college? Seriously, thoughā€¦ Back away from my PC _right now_. MINE! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/34 "2003-03-19T08:02:01Z")
You know, Iā€™ve done it both ways. Iā€™ve gone for very lengthy periods of time without any TV at all - at one point, I was working two jobs and was gone every day from 8 am to about midnight. Then, there have been periods like now, when I have every other week off, with very little to do. I watch a LOT of TV these days - I at least have it on in the background most of the day. And I donā€™t see one lifestyle as inherently morally superior to the other at all. They both meet my needs at that particular time. ---
**Author:** ![Theobroma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@Theobroma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theobroma)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/35 "2003-03-19T08:32:20Z")
Didnā€™t watch any TV while at college, 1980-85. Once it was off, I didnā€™t know what I was missing, so I didnā€™t miss it. Resumed TV habit in 1985, but with a ā€œtake it or leave itā€ perspective. I will say this: my social life was much better when I didnā€™t have TV to rely on for company and entertainment. If bored, go out. ---
**Author:** ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/36 "2003-03-19T12:10:39Z")
Being new to the boards, I know hijacking is frowned upon so Iā€™ll open a new thread but did want to comment before moving this topic. **Ratty** , as far as TV is concerned I grew up in an environment very similar to your own. I now have mixed feelings towards TV. I absolutely abhor the TV playing non-stop all day longā€¦offending my auditory environment as it tempts to lull me into passivity and lethargy. However, given TV in small amounts, Iā€™m able to find enjoyment in a few shows (I meanā€¦who wouldnā€™t find the antics of those Survivor characters exciting? Or the Simpsons, Or Seinfeldā€¦). But on and on and onā€¦uhhhhhhh! The simple solution would be to just turn the damn thing off, but my SO is very comforted by the background sound of TV and is one of those who comes home exhausted after work and uses TV as a way to unwind. In reading this thread (as he may since he is also a member), he would probably think, ā€œ??? You watch TV just as much as I do.ā€ In the past Iā€™ve expressed my dislike for TV but after coming to what I felt was a compromise of limiting viewing, we always seem to go back to the TV on non-stop. I donā€™t know if Iā€™ve just given up on the whole issue as in ā€œchoosing my battlesā€ or have actually succumbed, myself, to the addiction that TV can provide. Either way, I would so much prefer it to stop. My question to all of youā€¦or those of you with similar situationsā€¦what compromises have you arrived at that meet both of your viewing desires? So as not to hijack this thread, Iā€™ve moved this thread over to ā€œSO loves TV on ALL the time, I do notā€¦what to do?ā€ for anyone who would like to respond. ---
**Author:** ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/37 "2003-03-19T12:19:12Z")
To those of you interested, hereā€™s the link for the aforementioned thread: [EMAIL=http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170895]SO loves TV on ALL the time, I do notā€¦what to do? ---
**Author:** ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/38 "2003-03-19T12:27:46Z")
To be a newbie, with newbie issuesā€¦:smack: I apologize for linking the thread incorrectly. Here is the correct link: [SO loves TV on ALL the time, I do notā€¦what to do?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170895) ---
**Author:** ![fizgig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@fizgig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizgig)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/39 "2003-03-19T12:48:05Z")
Dammit, **Max Torque** you beat me to the Onion reference! Going without TV isnā€™t some big noble thing. As mentioned above, itā€™s a tool, and hopefully not a crutch. Myself, I just donā€™t really like it, or especially the default setting for watching it; currently, Iā€™ve had a set for watching videos, but no reception, for about 3 years. Iā€™ve actually _had_ TV less than not. Mainly the year I was 10, and from the time I was 14 until I was 20, then for a brief period due to roommates with cable. So, 1/3 of my life has been spent with TV reception, and another 4 years with video but no reception. Instead, I just waste time at SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228/40 "2003-03-19T16:33:06Z")
I have a TV. I mainly watch the news and docos. I am not addicted. I also read newspapers and surf the Web. TV isnā€™t bad, itā€™s only bad when you are addicted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-tv-no-life-no-tv-know-life/162228.md?page=3)