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A Week Without Television

Tallulah

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You know, EffEm? I think television is turning on us. Did you know there are now reality shows that follow around meter maids and exterminators? (Not on the same show, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.)
 
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Why do people watch so much television?

Because it's awesome? Why do people eat so much cheese? Why do people have so much sex? I don't want this to turn into a giant debate about the merits of television, because that's not what this is about. I'm unabashed in my appreciation. I'm not doing this because I think television is bad for me, or rotting my brain. I just think it would do me some good to give it a rest.

You know, EffEm? I think television is turning on us. Did you know there are now reality shows that follow around meter maids and exterminators? (Not on the same show, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.)

I'm kind of peeved that I don't have my own show now.
 

heart

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My husband loves TV, it seems to be from the source of external stimuli, he says he likes the noise in the background and that is one of the things that irritates me about the TV being on all the time.
 

Wolf

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Try going without the internet
Heh, that's one that I had a hard time with. A few days without and I'm like a junkie trying to beg, borrow, or steal a connection.

TV is nothing for me. I've gone months without any TV/Movies/etc. When I was outside the country I didn't watch any TV and barely used the internet at all due to connectivity difficulties.

I don't own a TV.

Going without meat is going pretty well for me so-far. I think I've lost just a little weight and seem to have a lot more energy than before...

Why do people eat so much cheese?
Fat. We love to eat fat, we're attracted to it. We're wired to eat fat, sugar, and salt whenever it is available, and cheese is a great source.

It's also delicious.

Why do people have so much sex?
No clue. It doesn't bother me that it has been over 27 years since I last came in physical contact with that part of a female...
 

Tallulah

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My husband loves TV, it seems to be from the source of external stimuli, he says he likes the noise in the background and that is one of the things that irritates me about the TV being on all the time.

It's funny; I go in cycles. Sometimes I like the background noise, and other times, it's just irritating. I don't think I'd want to have it on as background noise the whole rest of my life. I'd think there would have to be some compromise there.
 

Geoff

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You know, EffEm? I think television is turning on us. Did you know there are now reality shows that follow around meter maids and exterminators? (Not on the same show, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.)

Apparently, it is not compulsory to watch reality tv shows, even if one doesn't give up tv altogether. I've discovered this device, the remote control (in control of the male of the species, naturally) and have realised it can be used to move channels away from all reality television :yes:
 
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I think the larger question you are begging here is: Why do people eat so much cheese during sex, while the TV is on? :huh:

Because they are part of a laboratory experiment to see what happens when every pleasure sensor in the human body is stimulated at once. I keep hoping to get a golden ticket to be part of this experiment :)

Edit: I heard from a friend on the lab team. Apparently 87% of subjects have an eye pop out of their head, spontaneously poop, and then lapse into a coma. The percentage rises to 96% when the TV program is The Simpsons, and falls to 44% when the TV program features golddigging hos, aspiring actors, or Rosie O'Donnell.
 

Tallulah

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Because they are part of a laboratory experiment to see what happens when every pleasure sensor in the human body is stimulated at once. I keep hoping to get a golden ticket to be part of this experiment :)

Edit: I heard from a friend on the lab team. Apparently 87% of subjects have an eye pop out of their head, spontaneously poop, and then lapse into a coma. The percentage rises to 96% when the TV program is The Simpsons, and falls to 44% when the TV program features golddigging hos, aspiring actors, or Rosie O'Donnell.

LOL! That's the best experiment EVAR. I totally agree with the findings.
 

GZA

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Awesome, I hope it works out! You should actually physically remove your TV from your home for this week (make your friend look after it, or at least unplug it and put it somewhere where it would be impractical to try to get it again to sneak in a few shows).


My law teacher said the moment he stopped watching TV was one of the best of his life. Initially, he says, he didn't know what to do with his time, but then he quickly rediscovered hobbies, friends, girlfriends, ect. He put his TV in his friend's mom's basement and never looked back. He still only has a little TV in his basement with no cable that he only uses to watch for an hour or two a week max, mostly for news or occasionally something else.
 

heart

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Someone I know very well tried to limit their TV watching time with one of those plug in timers that turns it off at a certain time. He got to where he would just reach back there and restart it! I think GZA has a point that it might be good to get it physically out of the house for a time.
 

Geoff

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It's just about will power. I've given up the internet, or tv, or my favourite snack or whatever for a week at a time.
 

hiddengem

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Several years ago we decided to not watch tv during the school week. Our children spent too much time watching and were not getting their homework done.

It was hard at first. But after about two weeks it was the most wonderful thing we had done. We seemed to have some much time in the evenings. Once the kids were in bed my husband and I would watch but after a while we stopped doing that. There just wasn't anything on and we had better things to do. Weekend watching even diminished too.

Sadly we have fallen back into our old habits. But when the children are visiting relataives during the summer I have noticed that we hardly watch it at all.

Good luck!
 

MacGuffin

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My law teacher said the moment he stopped watching TV was one of the best of his life. Initially, he says, he didn't know what to do with his time, but then he quickly rediscovered hobbies, friends, girlfriends, ect. He put his TV in his friend's mom's basement and never looked back. He still only has a little TV in his basement with no cable that he only uses to watch for an hour or two a week max, mostly for news or occasionally something else.

There's no need to get so masochistic about it. Just get TiVo.
 

Martoon

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I'm so used to instinctively turning on the TV in the morning and having it on whenever I'm home, even if I'm not paying attention to it. I'm a multitasker, always doing at least two things at once. And most of the time TV is one of those things.
There are a handful of TV programs I like, but that's about it. I never have it on for background noise. One thing I definitely can't do is just watch whatever's on. It's got to be something I'm specifically interested in, or at least watching with someone who's interested, as a social thing. Anymore, I consider a TV without a DVR as nonfunctional.
Mealtimes are awkward. I don't know what to do with myself when it's time to eat dinner and the TV is off. It's like sitting across from an empty place setting where your dinner companion should be. It's also very quiet.
Now that I relate to. I have gotten in the habit of often watching something while I eat. Part of it is that I really don't like hearing people eat, including myself. And if I'm eating by myself, it does feel strange to just sit there and eat. Though just as often, I'll eat at my computer desk.

The last several weeks I've been in kind of an unusual state, taking a leave from work while I try to figure out what to do with my life next. And I just don't feel like doing most of the things I used to do a lot; kind of looking for new things. During this time, I've watched very little TV. There may even be a week in there somewhere where I watched none. If you don't count the watching-while-eating, there's definitely a TV free week in there, maybe two or three. So if you don't make it through the week, FM, I've got some excess credit you can have, so you're good.

Net access is different thing entirely. If I think I'm going to be somewhere for more than several hours without internet access, I feel almost panicky.

P.S., the cheese-eating and sex-having questions were rhetorical.
LOL!
 
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I can't believe it's been four full days without TV. Frankly, I didn't think I'd get this far. Willpower eludes me in the areas of exercise and healthy eating, and I didn't think TV would be any different.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were bad. It reminded me of what a friend told me about quitting smoking: "The first three days are the worst." I've already written about specific times and rituals that made me miss watching TV. But after a few days the overall feeling is becoming clearer. I'm edgy and restless and seem to have an energy that doesn't know how to express itself. Inside, it's strikingly similar to what I'd expect to feel if I were married and my wife went on a trip. I realize that this is not the first time I've anthropomorphized television, and it's somewhat but not completely disturbing.

Wednesday was a little different. The edgy restlessness lessened. I wasn't upset about missing my favorite programs, I had more of a general malaise. This realization dovetailed with everything else I've written this week to lead me to an inescapable conclusion, one that will likely be the grand revelation of this experiment.

I'm in love with my television.

I'm lonely without it. I miss having dinner with it. I miss laughing with it. I miss talking sports with it. I miss hearing about its day, also known as the news. Most of all, I hate the quiet. I hate the void. I'm not against the notion of quiet in itself; I love the serenity of the outdoors and even half-jokingly describe myself as a neo-Luddite. But quiet has its place, and this little apartment in which I live alone is not that place. Television, the bed's too big without you.

I've already admitted I'm in love with my TV, so no harm can come from extending the metaphor. It's a replacement for all the people I don't have in my life. For all the friends that I don't talk to or see enough. For all the co-workers I haven't had in a long time. It's a reliably human voice that always wants to talk about the same things I do, that always wants to go the same places, that doesn't need me to cultivate a relationship with it.

I've borne this out in my behavior. I have managed to avoid television, but I haven't even come close to avoiding outside stimulation. My already excessive internet time has become scarily obsessive. I've consumed podcasts one after the other like a chain smoker, and I've found the joy of listening online to radio stations from my hometown. I've played my favorite new CDs until I know the words. I've pursued these activities instead of the ones that inspired me to engage in this experiment. I haven't written, I haven't done my graphic design lessons, and I haven't done any "state of the union" type heavy thinking.

In the end, it feels like I'm just riding out the storm. I know this is over in a week, so I'm clinging to the most TV-esque activities I can find. I haven't had either the courage or the realization to try to truly live without TV. I haven't devoted myself to fundamentally different activities. I'm just closing my eyes, gritting my teeth and waiting for it to be over.
 
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