Greetings from a live person!
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Annie
Where are the whitedotters....a response
I am in a small town in New South Wales, Australia. I have given away my TV....found I couldn't discipline myself to be "discerning" in my viewing.....decided the screen had addictive powers....so...no TV at all now. Liberating.
:)
Hello. i'm a 20year old form Ireland and am delighted that I found this site. I have read throught some of the comments and i agree with pretty much most of what is being said. I have been watching TV since birth and have recently decided that enough is enough. I'm not going to get into how advertising pollutes our thoughts or how nonsensical programming messes with our minds. You all know this already. I just think it's sad that nobody really socialiases anymore.Nobody sits around chattin or listening to one anothers stories. Like I said, I've watched TV all my life and deprived myself of some very important and much needed social skills. Even when I talk to other people the conversation usually seems to turn into what happened in last nights episode of "LOST". nobody will listen when I try to explain what television is doing. I stopped watchin television excessivly about a year ago but still tune into some programmes now and again. I can't help but notice all the crap on the telly so I just get annnoyed when I watch anymore. I came across this site by accident but I think I will be a regular visitor. No more TV for me! Thank you WhiteDot for letting me see others out there who also have their own thoughts and pushing me over that line between TV and a healthy mind. I look forward to thinking for myself.
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Shakedown1980
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:37 pm
- Location: Helsinki,Finland
- Contact:
Re: :)
"Even when I talk to other people the conversation usually seems to turn into what happened in last nights episode of "LOST". nobody will listen when I try to explain what television is doing"
Hey merv,
I've noticed the same thing that people talk an incredible amount about tv.It's almost like they consider fictional characters to be their close friends or something.
also secondly no-one seems to listen to me either,when i try to either tell them about televisions way of damaging our health or directly show them some study from the research part of this forum.A lot of people just seem to reject the evidence and keep their own belief that television is harmless way of spending time.
but luckily there are some who listen so it's not all hopeless.Of course i've given up trying to talk to hard core couch potatoes,with them you can't just change their opinnion,or it would be incredibly hard.
Anyway i'm glad you've found whitedot,and turned off the TV,I think in general the number of people without television is growing,maybe slowly,but growing
Hey merv,
I've noticed the same thing that people talk an incredible amount about tv.It's almost like they consider fictional characters to be their close friends or something.
also secondly no-one seems to listen to me either,when i try to either tell them about televisions way of damaging our health or directly show them some study from the research part of this forum.A lot of people just seem to reject the evidence and keep their own belief that television is harmless way of spending time.
but luckily there are some who listen so it's not all hopeless.Of course i've given up trying to talk to hard core couch potatoes,with them you can't just change their opinnion,or it would be incredibly hard.
Anyway i'm glad you've found whitedot,and turned off the TV,I think in general the number of people without television is growing,maybe slowly,but growing
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Woolf
who spoke last
Merv + Shakedown - Doesn't it seem that an opinion becomes something far more than just an opinion if it's given TV airtime? Put something on TV, suddenly it has an authority it doesn't necessarily deserve. I think a lot of people still half believe that if something is chosen to appear on TV, it is important. The effect is most obvious if you look at the news on a slow news day (where the most trivial events are escalated to become headline stories, simply because there's nothing else that day to talk about), but also with shows like Lost - a transparent tease-act, in which people are willing to invest time for very little return... because they buy into the significance myth. It's hard to compete with that, as a non-TV individual. I write novels, and there's no way any publisher would accept the ridiculous string of nonsense which comprises Lost were it not on TV.
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Shakedown1980
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:37 pm
- Location: Helsinki,Finland
- Contact:
Hi Woolf,
I agree with you.I think it's the medium of TV which gives the extra authority.
"Television transmits an incredible amount of information that is not thought at the time of exposure" that was almost a direct quote from one study i submitted at the research section under the title "how television is brainwashing you" which means people accept ideas/opinnions that they would normally find hostile when they read or hear about them.
I agree with what you say about the news too.
I never saw an episode of Lost,but I know what's the main story in it.It might not just be the myth that keeps people watching,but the medium which is moving images+sounds which keeps people watching it.
You're right,no publisher would print LOST,because no-one would buy such a novel.
I agree with you.I think it's the medium of TV which gives the extra authority.
"Television transmits an incredible amount of information that is not thought at the time of exposure" that was almost a direct quote from one study i submitted at the research section under the title "how television is brainwashing you" which means people accept ideas/opinnions that they would normally find hostile when they read or hear about them.
I agree with what you say about the news too.
I never saw an episode of Lost,but I know what's the main story in it.It might not just be the myth that keeps people watching,but the medium which is moving images+sounds which keeps people watching it.
You're right,no publisher would print LOST,because no-one would buy such a novel.
Click!
Hello Everyone,
I live in East Yorkshire, in the UK. We (my wife and myself) gave up TV in 2002, since we were watching it less and less. We just totally lost interest, I suppose. We still have a TV, but it cannot do anything but display what the DVD player sends it. Thus we will, once in a blue moon, watch a film or something like that, but generally we just don't have the time - there are so many books to read, so many websites to read, and good music to listen to.
Nowadays I notice how people's rooms are laid out, specifically to give the TV the most prominent position - and so many keep the damn thing on when I/we are visiting, which I really hate! It sucks people in and their minds sort of wander whilst in the middle of a conversation - sometimes in the middle of a sentence.
At home, more often than not, I put off watching a DVD, because I have noticed how many of the senses it requires. Listening to some music, or even a talking book, is much less demanding, so I end up with that and the DVD is put on the shelf.
So there you go. Whilst I freely admit to being a couch potato, I am generally lying there reading a decent book!
More power to everyone joining this forum - they'll have to find another way to control us...
Blessed Be everybody!
Brad.
I live in East Yorkshire, in the UK. We (my wife and myself) gave up TV in 2002, since we were watching it less and less. We just totally lost interest, I suppose. We still have a TV, but it cannot do anything but display what the DVD player sends it. Thus we will, once in a blue moon, watch a film or something like that, but generally we just don't have the time - there are so many books to read, so many websites to read, and good music to listen to.
Nowadays I notice how people's rooms are laid out, specifically to give the TV the most prominent position - and so many keep the damn thing on when I/we are visiting, which I really hate! It sucks people in and their minds sort of wander whilst in the middle of a conversation - sometimes in the middle of a sentence.
At home, more often than not, I put off watching a DVD, because I have noticed how many of the senses it requires. Listening to some music, or even a talking book, is much less demanding, so I end up with that and the DVD is put on the shelf.
So there you go. Whilst I freely admit to being a couch potato, I am generally lying there reading a decent book!
More power to everyone joining this forum - they'll have to find another way to control us...
Blessed Be everybody!
Brad.
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bfermanich2
26 yr. old living in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Been without TV now for over 2 years. Ditched it when I got married and moved into a house with my wife. We just never got around to hooking up the cable. It was the best thing we ever didn't do. Now we have a little girl 9 months old and rest assured she won't have a clue whats on the TV. She won't be raised on Baby Einstein videos, or Teletubbies, or heaven forbid Barney. Some people think we're new-age neoconservative nutjobs but I know that we're not the ones who are screwing ourselves up. They are the ignorant ones. I want to bless each and every one of you who strives to live a TV-free lifestyle for the sake of purification and self-betterment in today's media saturated world!
God bless,
Brad
Marietta, GA
Been without TV now for over 2 years. Ditched it when I got married and moved into a house with my wife. We just never got around to hooking up the cable. It was the best thing we ever didn't do. Now we have a little girl 9 months old and rest assured she won't have a clue whats on the TV. She won't be raised on Baby Einstein videos, or Teletubbies, or heaven forbid Barney. Some people think we're new-age neoconservative nutjobs but I know that we're not the ones who are screwing ourselves up. They are the ignorant ones. I want to bless each and every one of you who strives to live a TV-free lifestyle for the sake of purification and self-betterment in today's media saturated world!
God bless,
Brad
Marietta, GA
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Guest
Thats true, but I'm afraid that the internet is becoming more like TV. Heck you can even watch TV off of the internet now. The internet is great because you can control what you see making it more interactive. But its also becoming more and more like television, in that more and more things (pop-up ads, flash animation, those stupid "ad games", etc.) are competing for our attention. Gone are the early days of the internet where you go somewhere and all you get was text and some graphics. Now everything has video and sound introducing you to the world of a website. I don't know if I'm being too picky here, but I'm pretty sure that the internet is becoming more TV-like. Just a thought...Nikk wrote:However much I dislike telly, it's difficult not to have my attention broken by the sounds of helicopters, explosions, comedy voices etc. Meanwhile, the internet cafe up the road, even with 20 people in it, is an oasis of peace and quiet, where it's possible to hold a thought longer than 5 seconds.
When I read this I immediately thought of IPods. Take a look at how many people walk down the street of any city with those little white wires sticking out of their ears. These people don't have a clue whats going on around them! I've heard that theives and thugs like to target people while listening to their personal audio players... they make very easy targets! Not to mention the whole "alternate reality" generated by these things. These people are living in their own virtual realities, they aren't participating in the real world, and they often times are oblivious to almost everything around them. Its a shame.Nikk wrote:I'm scared of distraction. If you get distracted all the time, that puts your potential power in someone else's hands; also I'm suspicious about what's going on while the majority of people are distracted. Also, doublethink becomes pretty feasible if everyone has a highly reduced attention span.
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Michael
Web annoyances
I live in a suburb of Boston. I've been without a TV for over 30 years (since before I went to college). I also have ADD, but my attention span is often greater than most people's.
TV is an annoyance. Unlike reading, you don't have a chance to stop and reflect and think critically about what you're absorbing.
So far as all those web distractions, they are totally unnecessary. It is fairly simple to remove Flash Player and Shockwave from your computer so that you do not get all the annoying moving ads. Flash Player also has lots of security holes. And it puts an ID on your system so the web sites can track even more than with cookies (and they can recover cookies you've deleted).
Search for the Macromedia or FlashPlayer folder on your system and delete it. That's all it takes!
I simply refuse to use web sites that require it. But if you're not stubborn enough to do without it 100% of the time, there is an extension to Firefox called FlashBlocker that displays a button in place of a Flash object. In the 0.01% of the cases when you actually want to see it, you can click on the button.
Also, search for "Mike's Ad Blocking Host File" (a different Mike). It's a simple way to block 95% of the ads on the web. (It contains the names of a whole bunch of ad servers and remaps them to tell your computer that they do not exist. It is not browser-specific, and works on all Windows and Unix system, incl Mac OS X.)
TV is an annoyance. Unlike reading, you don't have a chance to stop and reflect and think critically about what you're absorbing.
So far as all those web distractions, they are totally unnecessary. It is fairly simple to remove Flash Player and Shockwave from your computer so that you do not get all the annoying moving ads. Flash Player also has lots of security holes. And it puts an ID on your system so the web sites can track even more than with cookies (and they can recover cookies you've deleted).
Search for the Macromedia or FlashPlayer folder on your system and delete it. That's all it takes!
I simply refuse to use web sites that require it. But if you're not stubborn enough to do without it 100% of the time, there is an extension to Firefox called FlashBlocker that displays a button in place of a Flash object. In the 0.01% of the cases when you actually want to see it, you can click on the button.
Also, search for "Mike's Ad Blocking Host File" (a different Mike). It's a simple way to block 95% of the ads on the web. (It contains the names of a whole bunch of ad servers and remaps them to tell your computer that they do not exist. It is not browser-specific, and works on all Windows and Unix system, incl Mac OS X.)
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Socrates62
Hi All,
I'm from Perth, Australia.
I started disliking 'Satan's little helper' in my late teens, early 20s i spoze. I used to go for walks at night, at times feeling lonely, and would walk with bemusement down the dark, empty streets, with the flickering blue tv light emanating out of the windows of the houses. I enjoy a good conversation and so i started to wonder how sad it was that people didn't really communicate much anymore. And as TV marched on into our lives, the amount of advertising only increased - the amount of ads and the sheer idiocy and annoyance of them drove me crazy. I could also see how extremely disruptive television was to the normal functioning of families, in particular, those families with kids.
I rarely watch tv these days, though i do watch a couple of dvds a week - but with these i can pause/stop them under my control, and there's no ads. I enjoy going to the movies when i can but that isn't very often. Soon it may not be at all - i went to the cinema on the weekend and was subjected to 15 minutes of corporate advertising, before another 5 or 10 minutes of previews, before the movie started. I don't pay to see ads, i pay to see a movie so i don't have to be subjected to ads!
Cheers all,
S.
I'm from Perth, Australia.
I started disliking 'Satan's little helper'
in my late teens, early 20s i spoze. I used to go for walks at night, at times feeling lonely, and would walk with bemusement down the dark, empty streets, with the flickering blue tv light emanating out of the windows of the houses. I enjoy a good conversation and so i started to wonder how sad it was that people didn't really communicate much anymore. And as TV marched on into our lives, the amount of advertising only increased - the amount of ads and the sheer idiocy and annoyance of them drove me crazy. I could also see how extremely disruptive television was to the normal functioning of families, in particular, those families with kids.I rarely watch tv these days, though i do watch a couple of dvds a week - but with these i can pause/stop them under my control, and there's no ads. I enjoy going to the movies when i can but that isn't very often. Soon it may not be at all - i went to the cinema on the weekend and was subjected to 15 minutes of corporate advertising, before another 5 or 10 minutes of previews, before the movie started. I don't pay to see ads, i pay to see a movie so i don't have to be subjected to ads!
Cheers all,
S.
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Guest
The TV-less Life
Hello Everyone,
It's soothing, coming here. Reading the messages from all of you is like entering a little sea of sanity amidst an ocean of television addiction. Most people I speak to seem to think I'm rather eccentric for making what is, to me, one of my most sensible decisions.
For a few years, now, I haven't been chased by the TV detector vans. I think they have finally realised that if I don't have an arial on the roof or a dish on my wall it's a safe bet I'm telling the truth and not watching. Now, rather than pay the BBC a licence fee, they couldn't get me to watch the stuff even if they were doing the paying. It's been that way for a long time now.
I have a TV set in a back cupboard, in case I have any addict friends come to stay and they need to watch a film or something (also because it was a present). I might get rid of that one day, as well. After all, I've got a decent stock of books and games and a good music collection.
Someone mentioned that the internet is becoming more like TV. It's true, but on top of that I find that the internet itself can be almost as addictive. Not as passive as TV, it's true, but I still think one has to be careful of it. I'm trying to avoid it most of the time, because I'm a bit of a trivia and news junky. I've got TV and radio out of my system, but the internet is harder to stay away from given its necessity at work.
Someone also mentioned how irritating it is when you go visiting and people leave the TV set on. I feel the same. I increasingly see it as very rude. My perspective on what's acceptable socially has changed over the years I haven't had a TV and now I recognise the implicit assumption some people make that you will find TV acceptable whenever and wherever you are.
Oh, one final quick rant while I'm in the mood: who on earth approved the BBC slapping up these massive TV screens in city centres around the country? We have one in Bradford. It's occasionally watched by one homeless man on a milk crate. Otherwise it just distracts people who are trying to drink and eat at nearby restaurants. Do the people at the BBC think they are so important to the nation that the can simply impose themselves on us while we are walking to the bus stop or going shopping? Evidently they do. If anyone knows of a campaign to get them removed, let me know. I'd sign up tomorrow.
Anyway, keep on with the no-TV lifestyles. It's good knowing there are a decent number of us out there. Hopefully it'll spread if we stand up and explain to people why it's better. I am fortunate in having a colleague who is also TV-free. That's a rare luxury.
Best wishes,
Jim
It's soothing, coming here. Reading the messages from all of you is like entering a little sea of sanity amidst an ocean of television addiction. Most people I speak to seem to think I'm rather eccentric for making what is, to me, one of my most sensible decisions.
For a few years, now, I haven't been chased by the TV detector vans. I think they have finally realised that if I don't have an arial on the roof or a dish on my wall it's a safe bet I'm telling the truth and not watching. Now, rather than pay the BBC a licence fee, they couldn't get me to watch the stuff even if they were doing the paying. It's been that way for a long time now.
I have a TV set in a back cupboard, in case I have any addict friends come to stay and they need to watch a film or something (also because it was a present). I might get rid of that one day, as well. After all, I've got a decent stock of books and games and a good music collection.
Someone mentioned that the internet is becoming more like TV. It's true, but on top of that I find that the internet itself can be almost as addictive. Not as passive as TV, it's true, but I still think one has to be careful of it. I'm trying to avoid it most of the time, because I'm a bit of a trivia and news junky. I've got TV and radio out of my system, but the internet is harder to stay away from given its necessity at work.
Someone also mentioned how irritating it is when you go visiting and people leave the TV set on. I feel the same. I increasingly see it as very rude. My perspective on what's acceptable socially has changed over the years I haven't had a TV and now I recognise the implicit assumption some people make that you will find TV acceptable whenever and wherever you are.
Oh, one final quick rant while I'm in the mood: who on earth approved the BBC slapping up these massive TV screens in city centres around the country? We have one in Bradford. It's occasionally watched by one homeless man on a milk crate. Otherwise it just distracts people who are trying to drink and eat at nearby restaurants. Do the people at the BBC think they are so important to the nation that the can simply impose themselves on us while we are walking to the bus stop or going shopping? Evidently they do. If anyone knows of a campaign to get them removed, let me know. I'd sign up tomorrow.
Anyway, keep on with the no-TV lifestyles. It's good knowing there are a decent number of us out there. Hopefully it'll spread if we stand up and explain to people why it's better. I am fortunate in having a colleague who is also TV-free. That's a rare luxury.
Best wishes,
Jim
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Luke
So now what?
It's good to hear so many people tell it how it is.
The question that keeps nagging at me is: WHAT NOW? if tv has taken so much control of our society, is there any hope of turning the tides? I say yes, though admittedly without any clear solution. The answer will require a revolution in the thinking of people everywhere. There must be education. More people, all people, need to know what is happening (or lack thereof) when they plug into a fake reality for hours on end.
This will not be a simple task. It's not the same as standing up for equal rights, or some other agreeably noble cause. TV is a drug to most people, and they are addicted! Telling them to stop watching TV would be like taking the needle out of the hands of a drug addict, or maybe even worse, since it's socially acceptable to be a zombie.
I have many thoughts on this, as I'm sure many of us do. However, the distant communication of this blog is an inadequate platform to launch any type of movement. So, I am seeking like minded individuals in my community (central Oregon) to gather and brainstorm possible solutions. If small gatherings started taking place everywhere, then perhaps a larger voice may emerge, and be heard internationally.
My plea is that we not only talk about what has obviously gone wrong, but begin identifying and implementing strategies to turn the tides of this epidemic.
The question that keeps nagging at me is: WHAT NOW? if tv has taken so much control of our society, is there any hope of turning the tides? I say yes, though admittedly without any clear solution. The answer will require a revolution in the thinking of people everywhere. There must be education. More people, all people, need to know what is happening (or lack thereof) when they plug into a fake reality for hours on end.
This will not be a simple task. It's not the same as standing up for equal rights, or some other agreeably noble cause. TV is a drug to most people, and they are addicted! Telling them to stop watching TV would be like taking the needle out of the hands of a drug addict, or maybe even worse, since it's socially acceptable to be a zombie.
I have many thoughts on this, as I'm sure many of us do. However, the distant communication of this blog is an inadequate platform to launch any type of movement. So, I am seeking like minded individuals in my community (central Oregon) to gather and brainstorm possible solutions. If small gatherings started taking place everywhere, then perhaps a larger voice may emerge, and be heard internationally.
My plea is that we not only talk about what has obviously gone wrong, but begin identifying and implementing strategies to turn the tides of this epidemic.
White Dotting in person
Central Oregon... Hmm. Why don't you try a Meet Up and see who else you can meet?
However, I warn you, having in-person meetings to discuss the evils of television is quite often a depressing proposition. In 1982 when anti-TV people gathered under the banner of the Society for the Eradication of Television in New Mexico, founder Mary Dixon told me that they would gather at coffee shops in the evenings and have nothing inspiring to say to each other. After you say, "I hate TV," and "so do I!" people are at a loss for words. I think it would not be fun for a modern American to attend a 1830s temperance meeting.
Having a TV-B-Gone pub crawl is often rather fun, though. (See Adbusters.org for testimonials).
White Dot used to host picnics in the summer time in Chicago (and we still will again). These were much more fun, especially with small children frolicking in the sunny weather. Plus, newspaper reporters would come to gawk and we had fun with that.
Here are some other ideas: Try a Zocalo like David Burke held in Brighton (see details on the website) and try to get some local businesses to pay for printing flyers etc. The newspapers will give you TONS of free publicity is you give them enough lead time.
Also, of course BLOCK PARTIES are a great way to get children convinced that playing outdoors is rewarding. I'd say they "Build Community" but I hate talk like that.
If you're young and don't have kids, why not try to find one of these "Adventure Groups" Like Thames Valley Spice:
http://whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp ... alleyspice
That way you will become the envy of your friends who are home watching "Lost" (whatever that is!?) I've heard similar groups advertised on US radio, although they're often combined with a matchmaking service here. Or, if you're an entrepreneur, open a franchise of Spice in Oregon.
Having free time to enjoy Real Life experiences is a great example to others who are TV-addicted and gets whe wheels turning in their heads.
Best of luck. Please let us know how everything turns out!!!
Jean Lotus
However, I warn you, having in-person meetings to discuss the evils of television is quite often a depressing proposition. In 1982 when anti-TV people gathered under the banner of the Society for the Eradication of Television in New Mexico, founder Mary Dixon told me that they would gather at coffee shops in the evenings and have nothing inspiring to say to each other. After you say, "I hate TV," and "so do I!" people are at a loss for words. I think it would not be fun for a modern American to attend a 1830s temperance meeting.
Having a TV-B-Gone pub crawl is often rather fun, though. (See Adbusters.org for testimonials).
White Dot used to host picnics in the summer time in Chicago (and we still will again). These were much more fun, especially with small children frolicking in the sunny weather. Plus, newspaper reporters would come to gawk and we had fun with that.
Here are some other ideas: Try a Zocalo like David Burke held in Brighton (see details on the website) and try to get some local businesses to pay for printing flyers etc. The newspapers will give you TONS of free publicity is you give them enough lead time.
Also, of course BLOCK PARTIES are a great way to get children convinced that playing outdoors is rewarding. I'd say they "Build Community" but I hate talk like that.
If you're young and don't have kids, why not try to find one of these "Adventure Groups" Like Thames Valley Spice:
http://whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp ... alleyspice
That way you will become the envy of your friends who are home watching "Lost" (whatever that is!?) I've heard similar groups advertised on US radio, although they're often combined with a matchmaking service here. Or, if you're an entrepreneur, open a franchise of Spice in Oregon.
Having free time to enjoy Real Life experiences is a great example to others who are TV-addicted and gets whe wheels turning in their heads.
Best of luck. Please let us know how everything turns out!!!
Jean Lotus