Could you live a week without your TV?

@cassidy22 (2974)
United States
July 15, 2008 8:32am CST
How about a month? Would you try it to see how your life was different? I haven't had TV in over a YEAR. My husband and I still watch movies from Netflix, but have NO TV stations in our house. I absolutely love it! I've lost weight, I get more done around the house, and I don't have to see annoying commercials or plan my week around stupid TV programs. I really appreciate getting outside and doing things with my pets and my spouse and my friends, and NOT getting sucked into the idiot box.
10 people like this
60 responses
• United States
19 Jul 08
I guess you can say i do that anyway. If i am home during the day, my son watches his cartoons or movies on the tv in the room that the computer is in (the family room) and in the evening my hubby is home and watches it, i am on here so much that i really dont miss not watching shows i once watched.
1 person likes this
@Daffodil20 (1754)
• India
16 Jul 08
It seems like a very difficult choice.But if perforce I have to live without TV for a week,then I think I will be able to do so because I can occupy my freetime by pursuing my other hobbies,cooking,painting,photography,singing etc.
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
15 Jul 08
I have no idea why I'm paying cable bill for... I listen to radio more than I do watch t.v... When I do watch t.v., it's mainly for news... I do watch movies now & tne but not much... My daughter watches t.v. more than I do, which is understandable being she's 8 years old... I definately could do without t.v. for a month or two... I don't know if I could without radio, though...
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jul 08
Good for you, cassidy22 ;) I promise everyone who reads this thread, if you stop watching TV, you will feel a bit better. definatly different. probably bored. but that just means you missed the point, and TV and yourself deserve each other.
1 person likes this
• Australia
15 Jul 08
I'm thinking life without television would be fairly easy these days, what, with the internet taking over peoples lives and decision making, why watch t.v? Now, could I go a week without both television and internet?.......Don't be daft! We are creatures of habit and rely heavily on routine, I enjoy knowing at 6pm I can sit and watch the nightly news, even so, it can be a battle when the simpsons are on at the same time. Thats when the internet is free and master 5 gets 30mins unsupervised usage, of course dad is sitting 3 feet away pretending he has no interest in whats going on around him, lol. Personally, well I could go without the television for at least a week, however, that would mean extra expense to go to a movie or extra sporting events, and would also mean more internet time to keep up with world news. There are 2 televisions, 2 computers, and sometimes a laptop in the house, and they ARE STAYING.
1 person likes this
@Spider64 (26)
• United States
16 Jul 08
i would be able to live as long as i still have my skateboard and computer and psp but if i didnt have any thing my life would suck
1 person likes this
@sylvia13 (1850)
• Nelson Bay, Australia
15 Jul 08
I could definitely live without my TV, but not without my computer! I think I am more addicted to the computer than the TV, even though both are in my bedroom.
• United States
15 Jul 08
Yes I could! I would love to get rid of all the TV's in this house. I hate that thing with a passion. All they have is smut on most of the channels and the other channels are repeats of repeats. If it wasn't for my kids and my husband there wouldn't be a TV in this house cause I would never spend the money to get one.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
15 Jul 08
I know several people that don't have a TV and they are very happy without it. I think life without commercials would be wonderful. Unfortunately I multitask, I watch TV, play on the computer and listen to music at the same time. Of course if I did not have a TV, I would not know what movies are out and what I would even have a remote interest in seeing. For example, Mama Mia would still just be a song to me instead of a movie.
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
20 Jul 08
That;s not multi-tasking. That's audio and video overload. You can't possibly pay attention to the TV and the radio at the same time, it would just be a bunch of noise. I usually have music playing when I am doing mylot, but I can't concentrate with the TV on too.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
20 Jul 08
I have always been able to do that, it is a gift. I can carry on 2 conversations at the same time. People are always amazed by it. Back before I lost hearing in one ear, it would scare people because I could do it so easily. Now I have to have perfect body position to do it. Let's see -- TV is about 12-15% commercials, same thing with radio, on the internet, especially mylot loading of pages seem to be very slow so that is more down time. So it is actually quite easy. Now if I am listening to iTunes, it gets tougher, since I don't have commercials on there.
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
21 Jul 08
The only reason I would hae the TV on in the background is just for the noise, it makes me feel less alone. However, I don't have TV, so I listen to pandora. No commercials, because the commercials are more distracting than the music, to me!
• United States
15 Jul 08
i had my cable disconected only because my bills have gotten a little out of control,I only have a couple of channels but i don't have really mind,when i get my bill a little better then maybe i might consider getting it back.
1 person likes this
@CharRay7 (1549)
• United States
19 Jul 08
retro tv - illustration of retro tv
Hi my friend I could probably go a month without TV, if I had to that is Just as long as my dvr would still record my soaps and a couple shows I watch I'd be fine. I've had tv as long a I can remember. In the olden days, my family would all sit around in the living room with the TV as the main focus. Now a days, I have the tv on some of the time, but I never just sit and watch it. I'm always multi-tasking: internet, feeding my geckos, cooking etc. Have a nice night, Char
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
15 Jul 08
Oh I could live without it for a week. LOL But it wouldn't be a happy week in my household if I had to thats for sure. TV shows me the world that I can't go see. I love watching Discovery channel and almost feeling like I'm in some of those places. Animal planet also shows me the world and the animals I love. And news - if I didn't have TV, I wouldn't have news since we don't have a major newspaper in my little town.
1 person likes this
@KellyMate (361)
15 Jul 08
I have lived for a week without my tv. im not a big fan of tv shows, im not like hooked on a series of something. I only watch one programme lol. So it wouldnt bother me if I didnt have a tv.
15 Jul 08
Which program do you watch?
@Farcha (677)
24 Aug 17
Me too I used for 5 years, studying, I used just PC and a little TV. There is no problem, there is the alternatives.
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
16 Jul 08
I really think I could live without it and for probably longer. However the rest of the family DOES NOT feel the same. I dont watch TV much at all and it is more background noise to me. I do like some shows but it isnt a must watch.
@vicki2876 (5636)
• Canada
16 Jul 08
I can live forever without a tv. I never watch it. I only have it for the children to watch the shows they like and talk about with friend and mainly to free up the computer because you can get everything on television on the net. Once the kids move out I am getting rid of cable and just having internet. Also I agree that we should be outside and enjoying the outdoors and reading more than we are. I read everyday which is more than I watch tv. I garden in the summer and go sledding with the kids or skate on the pond come winter. I love it.
@MOMMASAM (1004)
• United States
19 Jul 08
i already am able to do this. i only have basic cable. most of my time is spent on the computer, so i don't even watch the basics. now, i do love animal planet and cooking, etc. when i work nights at the crisis center and it is slow (not often, sadly), i will turn on these channels. i watch animal planet until i get upset with some of the situations on animal cops, then switch to cooking, then to discovery or national geographic and then back again. your discussion brought back a funny memory for me. when i lived in san francisco, i had a friend whose husband was so upset with their viewing time and habits that he actually connected a generator to a bicycle to their tv. wanna watch? got to exercise. at first, it was just a nasty prank. lots of complaining from the kids. then, ROOTS was first aired ! OMG, the kids were pedaling for each other AND for their parents, too.
• China
16 Jul 08
Mm...I have also lived my life without TV for quite a long time. At first, this is a situation cannot be imagined, but after a period of time, I found it not so hard without TV. Er...I forgot to say a thing, when I got rid of the TV, I began to use my computer, and got fun on line, is that OK?
• United States
16 Jul 08
The responses I have read to this post should remind us all of the things we can and can't do without. To be truthful, I could do without a TV but in order to have DSL I must have cable TV, so I watch it every now and then. Maybe we do spend time watching TV that could be time we could use more productively.
@rbailey83 (1428)
• Canada
16 Jul 08
i could live without it. i watch a tv program once in a blue moon, my main use for a tv is just movies, but i don't watch many of them, i just don't seem to have much of an interest in it. The only reason i have cable is because my girlfriend likes to watch tv programs