The thread on the TV addict prompted me to
post this topic out of curiosity. Does anyone
else on this forum (besides me) NOT own a
TV? I know this sounds crazy to “normal”
people, but I haven’t had a TV since I moved
out of my parents house at age 18. And I think
my life has been all the better as a result.
People wonder how I can be so productive -
well it’s because I don’t waste my life
vicariously in front of the propaganda
machine. I mean, not to get on a rant or
anything, but to me, TV is a form of mind
pollution that I refuse to subject myself to.
Kind of like cigarette smoke to the lungs.
Anyway, so am I the only one? Or are there
others out there who don’t partake in this
electronic heroin? (that’s hyperbole OK)
Right on!
when I moved out at 19 I didn’t have a tv for like… 5 months. I didn’t miss it really. Then I bought myself one for christmass. Now the damned thing is on all thetime, (my comp is in my living room facing it hehe)
I completely agree with you, BUT I still watch HBO(no commercials) on sundays. HBO really does have some good non-conformist programing.
TV isn’t the culprit. Its what we watch on TV. If you spend three hours a day watching junk, that’s a problem. I have learned things from TV. Saying TV is bad is just like saying reading is good. I think you’ll learn more form some shows like Nova and some of the Discovery Channel shows than reading Playboy or Maxim or even some novels. I’ve read plenty of books that were as much a waste of time as some TV shows. Sure, there’s a lot of crap on TV but there’s some good. I’ve never been to the moon but TV’s helped me imagine what it’s like.
I own a television, but were I single I probably wouldn’t. My wife and have discussed getting rid of the TV, but… certainly there are times when she needs to take a shower and keep the kids out of trouble, etc. So we use it with discretion. My kids see only a couple of broadcasts, the rest of their viewing is video tapes. I don’t want to be fanatic, but if my wife got on board, the sucker would go.
I do technically own a TV, but use it for two purposes only: (1) to get Japanese language programs and thus help me to further improve my language skills (TVs are GREAT for language acquisition) and (2) to watch videos. No regular TV at all, for at least the last 15 years or so. Haven’t missed it.
BTW, interesting that you pointed out the similarity between TV and cigarettes. John D. MacDonald noticed the same thing a long while back in one of his Travis McGee books, noting that "Hardly any of my friends smoke or watch TV any more. One rots the lungs, the other rots the mind."
Because of work, lifting & school I’m having less & less time for TV. I guess I’m getting uused to it, but I still kind of miss Seinfeld.
lets get this right, tv= bad but spending time staring at a comp. is good? some things are just entertainment. your life is better with no tv, fine. i enjoy some great entertainment thats on tv (most is probably over your head). your condescending attitude is sad.
miko, you are correct: TV is not inherently
bad, and I didn’t mean for my message to
come out that way. But the fact is that 95%+
of everything on TV is shit and a waste of
life. And even for those things that are
useful like educational programming - well
TV is not a very effecient method for that
either (IMO). To me it seems like I can accomplish a lot more (learning) with a book or a computer than TV. The medium of TV seems a lot more like a medium suited to passive entertainment, than of interactive learning (or anything else either).
The internet can be a much greater vice than TV, it eats up way more time.
The TV we have now is the first one we ever paid for. We’ve been married 20 years. At first we had the stereo. We’d talk, listen to music, play cribbage, etc. A friend found out we didn’t have a TV so they gave us an 8" portable B&W set. It was good to be able to sort of watch the news but it got little use. Later my mom couldn’t believe we didn’t have a TV and bought us one. It eventually died. My mother in law had a bigger TV that seemed dead. My wife took it to a repair guy and all it needed was a $1 fuse. We kept that one for years. We really don’t watch TV very often except in the winter evenings. We have things to do outside. Sometimes we watch TV as an excuse to cuddle on the sofa. I could probably live without it. It is nice to be able to rent a DVD now and then tough.
Life would be much moe productive if I didn’t have a TV. The only problem would be that I wouldn’t be able to save money by staying home Fridays and Saturdays watching the Hockey games, etc.
If I had a choice though, excellent music on an excellent hi-fi stereo would be my choice for entertainment. Unfortunately, it’s not the neighbors choice, at least that’s what the police keep telling me.
We have a TV/VCR combo in our bedroom, a big 32" with DVD (and now a VCR) in our living room, and a TV with attached VCR in my studio (art). I wouldn’t have a TV if there were no DVD or VCR. We prefe to have sports on and there’s only three shows I watch religiously (Buffy, Angel and Alias) - period. We have about 100 movies on video and are now catching up with DVDs’.
There was a exceptional 2-hour special on PBS last night about Kurosawa (the late great Japanese director) and I was able to tape it. So, TV can still be a valuable source of info. Just like anything else, moderation is the key.
YO! I am 21, I have lived on my own for a little over 3 years and do not own a TV…oh yeah, people think I am a freak…
Ahhhh…the ol’ devil box huh? That piece of crap is a big waste of time. I have one, but not cable. Never watch the basic channels either. I do though rent movies for a buck every now & then. Anyone seen the movie “Jade”?
I own a TV but I don’t watch broadcast or network shit like that, I just watch old Schwarzenegger flicks and violent movies that are deamed bad by society. In the event that I do watch TV, it is usually movies or the discovery channel.
My freshman year in the dorms is my only year that I have not had I TV in my life (I’m 25 now). I found out that I had so much more time to study, hang out with friends, workout, try new things, explore. My wife and I have discussed tossing our TV, but we can’t seem to do it. I think TV can be fine but it must be controlled. Having a TV is like living in a house with good food choices but also an endless supply of every kind of junk food that you could ever crave. Sure you can avoid the junk food when it is in your house, but it is a lot easier to avoid it if there is none in the house.
ok im gonna be the bad apple here. i couldnt live without a tv. im not addicted to tv, i mean i get my priorities (lift, homework) done before i turn the tube on, but i love tv. its relaxing, entertaining, informing, and my favorite way to waste time.
Well I have to admit I watch all the football games I can. In the winter I probably watch more television as well since it is hard to run around with buddies and be outside. I have been without a television during a few summers in my lifetime. It works pretty well, your friends are always over, you’re hanging out with your chick. I finally got really good at pool one summer when I would play for four hours a day. Hmmmm…was that what was addicting? Maybe. Then I got hooked on putting together puzzles. Man I’m a dork.