Greetings from a live person!
Yay !!
Smashed your tv?
That's excellent to hear !!
Cheers
That's excellent to hear !!
Cheers
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Guest in London
TV free since last August
Hi, I'm in London, UK. Just wanted to put down a few notes on my experiences since switching off my TV for good last August, 2006. I stopped because I worked out that my 16 hours of TV a week was the equivalent of 2 working days a week (i.e. two 9-5 working days at 8 hours per day) and that this added up to approx 100 full working days per year (making allowances for 2 weeks annual holidays). So if there are about 22 working days per month, this meant I was sitting in front of the TV for the equivalent of maybe 4 full working months a year - that is, 8 hours a day, 9-5 every day for 4-5 months! Arggghh! So I switched it off. I told a woman at work that I don't watch TV, she looked at me full of sadness and said 'oh, so you must just stare at the wall then?''. I told another woman that I don't have time to watch TV, she said sternly 'well, MAKE time'!! I chat to friends and sometimes they giggle and say 'oh THAT catchphrase, you got that off 'so and so' programme'' and they repeat some meaningless catchphrase back to me - I have no idea what they are talking about. Other people reprimand me for not having seen the latest show on Iraq, obesity etc etc, saying I SHOULD keep myself informed on current events in this way. I ask them when was the last time they read a quality news magazine/paper - er, never. Adverts on the underground (metro system) mean nothing to me, they are all linked to TV ads. Since getting rid of my TV I have lost 10 pounds and have stopped biting my fingernails (been doing that for 38 years!) My anxiety levels are lower and I don't feel the need to shop. It's bliss - how is it for you?
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distractionfactory
Man found mummified, watching TV
ANyone else read this story online? It was a bit of news from a few weeks back. No one knows how long he was there, maybe a year....but the very idea of it really creeped me out, and yet...well...it's sad, isn;t it?
OMFG I just ordered my TV B GONE I cannot believe the brilliance of this piece of technology. I had no idea I was not alone in my "extreme" loathing of ambient television.
I am currently having some marital dischord in regard to the presence of television in the home. Spouse had been in agreement on the no TV rule for 10 years (using the machine only for occasional videos/DVDS) and then after a separation came back with a remote in his hand, demanding a reconsideration. I'm appalled. I fear for the mental safety of my children...I'm just totally disgusted and angry.
PS I'm in austin, tx.
OMFG I just ordered my TV B GONE I cannot believe the brilliance of this piece of technology. I had no idea I was not alone in my "extreme" loathing of ambient television.
I am currently having some marital dischord in regard to the presence of television in the home. Spouse had been in agreement on the no TV rule for 10 years (using the machine only for occasional videos/DVDS) and then after a separation came back with a remote in his hand, demanding a reconsideration. I'm appalled. I fear for the mental safety of my children...I'm just totally disgusted and angry.
PS I'm in austin, tx.
It was sad that the mummified guy sat with a blaring TV for a year and no one knew. Imagine how many people die alone with a nattering box before them.
For what it's worth: I interviewed a marital counselor about the role that excessive TV plays in marriage and he told me that it's similar to self-medication.
Men "use televised sports as a repellant spray" he said, to keep women out of their space. He compared women watching soaps to binge-eating for comfort.
If you've got older kids, they're already past the crucial addiction years. By the time a kid's ten or so they are hard-wired to real-livin' and not addicted to the TV crutch.
Since this guy is their father, it's important to respect his decisions in front of them so that they understand that you are a unified front. Maybe he'll decide independently that watching TV is a waste of his life energy. He already believed that and something changed. He spent ten years tv-free.
Nonetheless, since you've got ten years of precedent, you can banish the box to some specific corner that's NOT in the center of the living room.
Hope this helps.
Jean Lotus
For what it's worth: I interviewed a marital counselor about the role that excessive TV plays in marriage and he told me that it's similar to self-medication.
Men "use televised sports as a repellant spray" he said, to keep women out of their space. He compared women watching soaps to binge-eating for comfort.
If you've got older kids, they're already past the crucial addiction years. By the time a kid's ten or so they are hard-wired to real-livin' and not addicted to the TV crutch.
Since this guy is their father, it's important to respect his decisions in front of them so that they understand that you are a unified front. Maybe he'll decide independently that watching TV is a waste of his life energy. He already believed that and something changed. He spent ten years tv-free.
Nonetheless, since you've got ten years of precedent, you can banish the box to some specific corner that's NOT in the center of the living room.
Hope this helps.
Jean Lotus
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maggieairstream
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:04 pm
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
I live in Smyrna, Georgia, very close to Atlanta, Georgia where I have a secretarial business. Two weeks ago I got rid of my TV (and cable hookup) for good. I've had the cable turned off and on since I've lived in this condo (since September 2006) at least 6 times. I think I can handle TV and cable every time. I know this is the last of TV for me now. I even ended my Netflix account. I really don't want to waste any more time sitting in front of a TV.
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Guest
Getting Rid of TV
Hello,
I'm actually a member, but I can never log on as all I get is a blank white screen. Hence I contribute as a guest.
Great to hear from those people who have recently got rid of their TV. I especially empathise with the guy from London (and not just because I'm a Brit). People can get very peculiar when you tell them you don't have a TV. Some people seem to take it as a personal insult, as though you are being snobbish. Thankfully, most of the people I mix with think it is 'admirable' (but they don't get rid of their own set). It's a mad world of addicted TV watchers out there and it is good to be able to come to a place where everyone's contribution is a voice of sanity. It's amazing that more people don't just junk the thing. Or maybe not, given the power it seems to exert.
Over here, we recently had an anti-TV book ('Remotely Controlled', by Aric Sigman) cause a bit of a stir in the media. I was amazed that a number of media commentators attacked him and said there wasn't a problem with kids watching TV and he should stop hectoring them. They obviously hadn't read the evidence or didn't care.
Distractionfactory: sorry to hear about your partner problem. Tricky one. You'd think he'd know better, after years without TV. I don't envy you sorting that one out. Personally, I'm not even sure I could go out with someone now who had a heavy (i.e. normal) TV habit.
I've used the TV B GONE in an Asda store over here and it seemed to work well. Hopefully I'll get the chance to test it elsewhere at some point.
By the way, I've just read 'Television and the Quality of Life', by Robert Kubey and Mihali Csikszentmihalyi (I think that's how you spell it). Fabulous book, full of useful hard evidence on the negatives of TV use. I also just re-read 'Get a Life' by David Burke and Jean Lotus. Top class stuff. Thanks, guys, for both the book and the website.
Best wishes,
Jim
I'm actually a member, but I can never log on as all I get is a blank white screen. Hence I contribute as a guest.
Great to hear from those people who have recently got rid of their TV. I especially empathise with the guy from London (and not just because I'm a Brit). People can get very peculiar when you tell them you don't have a TV. Some people seem to take it as a personal insult, as though you are being snobbish. Thankfully, most of the people I mix with think it is 'admirable' (but they don't get rid of their own set). It's a mad world of addicted TV watchers out there and it is good to be able to come to a place where everyone's contribution is a voice of sanity. It's amazing that more people don't just junk the thing. Or maybe not, given the power it seems to exert.
Over here, we recently had an anti-TV book ('Remotely Controlled', by Aric Sigman) cause a bit of a stir in the media. I was amazed that a number of media commentators attacked him and said there wasn't a problem with kids watching TV and he should stop hectoring them. They obviously hadn't read the evidence or didn't care.
Distractionfactory: sorry to hear about your partner problem. Tricky one. You'd think he'd know better, after years without TV. I don't envy you sorting that one out. Personally, I'm not even sure I could go out with someone now who had a heavy (i.e. normal) TV habit.
I've used the TV B GONE in an Asda store over here and it seemed to work well. Hopefully I'll get the chance to test it elsewhere at some point.
By the way, I've just read 'Television and the Quality of Life', by Robert Kubey and Mihali Csikszentmihalyi (I think that's how you spell it). Fabulous book, full of useful hard evidence on the negatives of TV use. I also just re-read 'Get a Life' by David Burke and Jean Lotus. Top class stuff. Thanks, guys, for both the book and the website.
Best wishes,
Jim
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Guest
Well, I can believe you about the media. No one seems very interested in the subject of how harmful television is. Everyone just keeps watching television. "It's an important part of everyone's life. Without television how can you relax at the end of a work day? It's not harming anyone. It's just entertainment. You need it to keep up with the news and there are many, many worthwhile shows for adults and kids to watch. There's The History Channel, Discovery, Animal Planet and in the U.S. Georgia Public TV with a lot of educational shows. What's the big deal?"
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but it seems the actual act of watching (including movies and DVDs) has a negative effect on me. I think it's because it takes me too far away from my own life. I have been feeling mentally wonderful since giving up television and am more centered. I will go to see "Sickco" Michael Moore's movie, but for some reason watching a screen bothers me. I don't remember being bothered like this when I used to go to movies and watch movies like Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. I wonder if they are moving scenes around faster in the new movies. I know on TV they flash from one scene to another before you can even absorb the first scened. Do any of you have this type of problem?
I can't find your two books at in our library system nor do any of the book stores even have the paperback edition of Remotely Controlled. I did however, order both books from Amazon.com as well as "Four Argument for the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander, a book probably everyone visiting this website has read.
I also get negative feedback from people when I tell them I've given up television. They seem to think I'm attacking them. But I have to tell them this when they start telling me about some program they watched last night since I'm not interested in hearing about it. It's just some actor on the television living a life or having adventures or perhaps murdering someone, etc. It has nothing to do with my or my friends's day-to-day lives.
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but it seems the actual act of watching (including movies and DVDs) has a negative effect on me. I think it's because it takes me too far away from my own life. I have been feeling mentally wonderful since giving up television and am more centered. I will go to see "Sickco" Michael Moore's movie, but for some reason watching a screen bothers me. I don't remember being bothered like this when I used to go to movies and watch movies like Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. I wonder if they are moving scenes around faster in the new movies. I know on TV they flash from one scene to another before you can even absorb the first scened. Do any of you have this type of problem?
I can't find your two books at in our library system nor do any of the book stores even have the paperback edition of Remotely Controlled. I did however, order both books from Amazon.com as well as "Four Argument for the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander, a book probably everyone visiting this website has read.
I also get negative feedback from people when I tell them I've given up television. They seem to think I'm attacking them. But I have to tell them this when they start telling me about some program they watched last night since I'm not interested in hearing about it. It's just some actor on the television living a life or having adventures or perhaps murdering someone, etc. It has nothing to do with my or my friends's day-to-day lives.
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Guest
Desperate to get rid of my addiction
Due to having a few friends who don't watch television or own one I've decided to follow their example for health reasons.
It's not just the time spent watching television but the habitual addiction. Every now and then I mean to limit myself to one hour a day but find I can't get off the sofa. Also television watching and prolonged use of the internet (I don't have a working computer at home) is probably the main cause of the fatigue and migraines I suffer from. I find it hard to get to sleep at night even if I turn off by ten pm and wake feeling too tired in the morning to get up and get on with things.
Last night I didn't watch television at all and felt better for it.
It's not just the time spent watching television but the habitual addiction. Every now and then I mean to limit myself to one hour a day but find I can't get off the sofa. Also television watching and prolonged use of the internet (I don't have a working computer at home) is probably the main cause of the fatigue and migraines I suffer from. I find it hard to get to sleep at night even if I turn off by ten pm and wake feeling too tired in the morning to get up and get on with things.
Last night I didn't watch television at all and felt better for it.
Due to having a few friends who don't watch television or own one I've decided to follow their example for health reasons.
It's not just the time spent watching television but the habitual addiction. Every now and then I mean to limit myself to one hour a day but find I can't get off the sofa. Also television watching and prolonged use of the internet (I don't have a working computer at home) is probably the main cause of the fatigue and migraines I suffer from. I find it hard to get to sleep at night even if I turn off by ten pm and wake feeling too tired in the morning to get up and get on with things.
I grew up with television on in the house all evening every evening and even during the daytime once we got a colour television when I was fourteen. From then on I felt alienated at home (something I used to simply put down to puberty) and would spend as much time out of doors even wandering round the streets if my friends weren't around and I had nothing else to do. I couldn't bear to be at home while the television was on even if I was in another room. Consequently my schoolwork suffered and I had to repeat a year. I didn't watch much television when I left home as I had a lot of social life to catch up with. However I filled that void with religion as it provided me with somewhere to go and people to meet who hadn't been influenced by television. Religion brings it's own problems but that's another story.
On Monday night I didn't watch television at all and felt better for it. This is the first week I've decided to give up television and not watch any at all. Last night I went out for a meal and found the conversation itty bitty with people's attention spans lasting no more than two minutes. However once the subject of Big Brother was brought everyone joined until I killed the conversation dead by saying that I didn't watch it anymore.
(Apologies for the duplicated thread but when I first posted the name 'Guest' came up and I wasn't able to edit the post. So I've repeated the post and added to it.)
It's not just the time spent watching television but the habitual addiction. Every now and then I mean to limit myself to one hour a day but find I can't get off the sofa. Also television watching and prolonged use of the internet (I don't have a working computer at home) is probably the main cause of the fatigue and migraines I suffer from. I find it hard to get to sleep at night even if I turn off by ten pm and wake feeling too tired in the morning to get up and get on with things.
I grew up with television on in the house all evening every evening and even during the daytime once we got a colour television when I was fourteen. From then on I felt alienated at home (something I used to simply put down to puberty) and would spend as much time out of doors even wandering round the streets if my friends weren't around and I had nothing else to do. I couldn't bear to be at home while the television was on even if I was in another room. Consequently my schoolwork suffered and I had to repeat a year. I didn't watch much television when I left home as I had a lot of social life to catch up with. However I filled that void with religion as it provided me with somewhere to go and people to meet who hadn't been influenced by television. Religion brings it's own problems but that's another story.
On Monday night I didn't watch television at all and felt better for it. This is the first week I've decided to give up television and not watch any at all. Last night I went out for a meal and found the conversation itty bitty with people's attention spans lasting no more than two minutes. However once the subject of Big Brother was brought everyone joined until I killed the conversation dead by saying that I didn't watch it anymore.
(Apologies for the duplicated thread but when I first posted the name 'Guest' came up and I wasn't able to edit the post. So I've repeated the post and added to it.)
Hi, im in manchester, england.
I read remotely controlled at the library a few months ago about the harmful effects of tv, ive now bought that book along with the plug in drug and 'get a life the little book of white dot' which arrived yesterday.
They definetly make you think
Ive got a friend who watches huge amounts of tv, ive tried to get him to come out more and do more stuff but the answer is always 'nah'
Ive mentioned about the tv a few times to him but it doesnt go down well. I think if people actually made the effort to read some of these books on the harmfull effects of tv it would open their eyes
and of course the one thing you are never going to see a documentary on tv about is and indepth study in to how harmful it can be to someone
I read remotely controlled at the library a few months ago about the harmful effects of tv, ive now bought that book along with the plug in drug and 'get a life the little book of white dot' which arrived yesterday.
They definetly make you think
Ive got a friend who watches huge amounts of tv, ive tried to get him to come out more and do more stuff but the answer is always 'nah'
Ive mentioned about the tv a few times to him but it doesnt go down well. I think if people actually made the effort to read some of these books on the harmfull effects of tv it would open their eyes
and of course the one thing you are never going to see a documentary on tv about is and indepth study in to how harmful it can be to someone
Life
"Ive got a friend who watches huge amounts of tv,
ive tried to get him to come out more and do more stuff
but the answer is always 'nah' "
Hey justabout, you're a real friend. That's do sweet of
you. Hopefully he'll see you having an interesting life,
and will eventually want to try something other than TV.
ive tried to get him to come out more and do more stuff
but the answer is always 'nah' "
Hey justabout, you're a real friend. That's do sweet of
you. Hopefully he'll see you having an interesting life,
and will eventually want to try something other than TV.
White Dotting in Spain
My husband and I have retired to Spain along with many other ex-patriots. We do not drink, we do not smoke, we do not play bingo - yes, we are very unusual!!! However, we have come here for a better quality of life, which does not include the above, but I deviate.
The reason I am writing is because most of us have up to know only been able to get illegal tv set up, by a local English firm, and this has now been raided by the police and closed down as they have been pinching Sky channels etc.
This leaves most of us without tv - and boy, have we been enjoying ourselves!! The weather is hot, and although it is annoying it has happened in the middle of the olympics, we have managed to catch up on the internet,newspapers etc.
Last night a group of us met up at the local hotel for a chat, night before got together with friends for a game of rummikub, walked the dogs.
We are not tv fanatics anyway, it is just handy to have it for sport, (ie Wimbledon, olympics) and some programmes are ok.
However, do absolutely agree that kids see far too much of it and it makes me cringe.
I go to see my great neices and nephews in UK, they don't even greet us as are glued to the screen! It is appalling, and they have to be reluctantly dragged away to say hello even though we have come especially to see them.
I am interested in all that you say and am all for restricting viewing, but do think that sometimes it is nice to have tv, as long as it doesn't take over your life, which it does with some people.
We ourselves, very rarely watch it now anyway, so it is no big loss to us it has been stopped.
We are seeing a friend today who has got Spanish tv, which is the answer, as we will then use it for lessons, as an addition to our regular weekly lessons.
Thank you for your site, and look forward to reading more.
Barbra and Tony Dean
The reason I am writing is because most of us have up to know only been able to get illegal tv set up, by a local English firm, and this has now been raided by the police and closed down as they have been pinching Sky channels etc.
This leaves most of us without tv - and boy, have we been enjoying ourselves!! The weather is hot, and although it is annoying it has happened in the middle of the olympics, we have managed to catch up on the internet,newspapers etc.
Last night a group of us met up at the local hotel for a chat, night before got together with friends for a game of rummikub, walked the dogs.
We are not tv fanatics anyway, it is just handy to have it for sport, (ie Wimbledon, olympics) and some programmes are ok.
However, do absolutely agree that kids see far too much of it and it makes me cringe.
I go to see my great neices and nephews in UK, they don't even greet us as are glued to the screen! It is appalling, and they have to be reluctantly dragged away to say hello even though we have come especially to see them.
I am interested in all that you say and am all for restricting viewing, but do think that sometimes it is nice to have tv, as long as it doesn't take over your life, which it does with some people.
We ourselves, very rarely watch it now anyway, so it is no big loss to us it has been stopped.
We are seeing a friend today who has got Spanish tv, which is the answer, as we will then use it for lessons, as an addition to our regular weekly lessons.
Thank you for your site, and look forward to reading more.
Barbra and Tony Dean