A month without TV?

Canada
November 3, 2009 10:24am CST
We decided to turn off our TV for a month, and I'm already finding it a bit difficult. I never thought of myself as a TV watcher, but it's awfully quiet some mornings when I'm by myself, and I used to turn on the TV and have it in the background. How long could you go without TV?
5 people like this
32 responses
• India
3 Nov 09
yes i can stay without watching Tv but i cant stay with out my system... i actually stayed 5mnths without Tv in some hostels but i went to internet cafes regularly as i cant stay without a System.
• India
3 Nov 09
yes you are right internet is compulsory for atleast an hour a day we cant spend the day properly without this internet. i think we are almost adicted to this one.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
oh, we have a computer with internet - I don't think we'd make it a day without the internet.
• United States
3 Nov 09
Actually 4 years with no T.V. It's easier than you think since I watch what I want online Free. Cable can be boring and repeats over and over. This way I watch what I want documentaries, ect... (yes Im a computer geek at heart) But in the age we live in I see so many people doing it to save on that cable bill why not?
• Canada
3 Nov 09
Yeah, we're also not watching shows on our computer, either. We will still watch a movie or two, though.
• United States
3 Nov 09
sounds good.. You get used to it and after a while tv is really something you really have to have. Just give me my computer...im happy
• United States
3 Nov 09
I tip my hat off to you because I do not think that I could do that. I think that I could go four days without the television. I do not think that I could go any longer than that.
• United States
4 Nov 09
My main advice for all of this so that you really divert your attention from the television: read as much as you can, go to the library; exercise, go to the gym or just walk around a lot; play a lot of games, board or card games; go out if you can afford it, go to the beach, the park, the museum, any place that will get you away from it for a while; another thing is cleaning, believe it or not, cleaning helps you get your mind off of things, and it gives you a peace of mind; and you can also have family time with your family, by that I mean really get to know who everyone is and have real conversations with everyone.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
Well, right now, I'm on day 1. So we'll see how long I can go. I'm hoping that once we go a few days, it will get easier.
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Nov 09
I have been turning off my TV service for the summer for years. We usually cancel it around April and turn it back on in October or November. We just got it back last week. I feel like the break is good for everyone. We still watch movies and play some video games but I just don't see the need for it when the weather is nice and the outdoors is calling. I was actually ready this year to get it back on and I think it is because I do not have a lot of money to go and do things that I enjoy. I find myself bored now and TV cures that in a lot of ways. I guess the longest I have gone without TV is for 9 months. When you need background noise put on a Radio Station or CD. I love Pandora.com because it morphs to your musical tastes. Enjoy the quiet time and learn to find peace with it. Once you get used to it you will really enjoy it!
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I think that once I get used to it it will be easier - it's just the first few days that will be tricky.
• United States
3 Nov 09
Breaking any habit is difficult. Replacement therapy seems to work best for me when I try to break habits. That is why I suggest the music. Perhaps you are not a silence kind of person. Best of luck to you!
@SouravRC (247)
• India
3 Nov 09
Once addicted it's very hard to get rid of this habit. If you are TV addict then you can't live without TV for long. You'll feel very lonely and a sense of missing something.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I never really thought I was addicted to it. Hopefully I can break this habit and just be able to enjoy TV without having to have it on all of the time.
@agv0419 (3022)
• Philippines
4 Nov 09
I'm addicted to watch TV and even up to now. I can't live without watching TV because I'm missed what's happening here in our country and some of my favorite shows. It is hard to break the habit and it makes me lonely.
@Merry343 (26)
• United States
3 Nov 09
We don't have cable, so I basically NEVER watch tv. We've been without it since the end of february and I'm suffering!!! Haha. We have a playstation 3 and we play games and watch dvds and blu-ray, but... it's not cable television :(
• Canada
4 Nov 09
yeah, cable tv has some good shows. It's a good way to save money and time, though, not having it. Day 2...I think I'm surviving.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
3 Nov 09
although i dont watch a ton of tv there are shows that i really like to watch through the week such as murder she wrote and documentaries on the history channel so i dont think i could do that. we do watch less tv during the summer, but more during the winter.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
Our tv watching has slowly been increasing - I want to make sure that we're not just sitting down and turning it on because we're avoiding work.
@udnisak (609)
• Australia
4 Nov 09
actually i dont watch tv much these days.. mainly because of my computer.. i was a heavy tv watcher like 5 years back.. but now i am heavily addidcted to my pc.. so i can stay without watching tv as long as i want bcz of my pc.. but without both it will be really difficult..
• Southend-On-Sea, England
3 Nov 09
I stopped watching TV when I started using the internet, as I found that overall I preferred the internet. I do have a TV but never watch it at all these days. If there is anything I specifically want to see, I just catch up with it when somebody's uploaded it to YouTube. I've now been without TV for almost 11 years.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
wow. 11 years is an impressive length of time.
• Philippines
3 Nov 09
Without television it could be definitely add to the boredom in the house especially if the one have been accustomed to watch the noontime show and the nightly news. It is so difficult to adjust if one already get acquainted in watching TV. I think i could control for almost half the time given.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
Yes, we'll have to find other things to do. At least the house should be cleaner, lol.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I couldn't begin to imagine life without TV. I must admit it has become a necessity for me. Not only as a background noise, but it helps me with whatever I am doing around the house. Back in the university days, I used to have the TV on while I was studying. If there was no TV, I'd fall asleep. These days, I use the TV to get to sleep (funny, it has become the reverse of what it was). I put it in sleep for 15 minutes, and I would have fallen asleep before it turns off. I also use the TV as one of the things that wake me up in the morning. I set it the night before so that it opens up around 15 minutes before I am supposed to wake up. Then my cell phone goes off. Then snooze, then I wake up. So no, I have not gone without TV for any span of time.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
It can be very pleasant background, I know! It's just that in the evenings, we have started just watching tv, and we were staying up too late and maybe not doing the dishes, etc.
@SACHIN2708 (1634)
• India
3 Nov 09
oh my God live without T.V is like Live without air and water bcz T.V is a good friend and time pass .I think it is not easy but I can not watch T.V toomuch not because I am not fond of T.v But I use internate instead of T.V so for me I can not live computer instead of T.V what do you say ?
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I'm trying to not watch TV so much, that is why we unplugged it. I've been avoiding replacing that by watching shows on the internet.
• Philippines
3 Nov 09
I have been living without TV for more than 4 years now since I started working. At times when I go back to our main house in the province, I would watch TV but that rarely happens (like about every couple of months). Most of my news come from the internet. I do watch movies (downloaded ones) and even youtube clips. So I don't really feel deprived of television.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I'm hopeful that by next week I won't even notice. I think I just got into a bad habit.
@kosta007 (36)
• China
3 Nov 09
I never watch TV,I find that my head will stop work when I watch TV and I become very lazy and even a little stupid,so I never watch TV,I would rather sleep in bed when I have nothing to do.
• Canada
3 Nov 09
I think it was making me lazier too.
@farazkh1 (1153)
• Pakistan
4 Nov 09
Yes sometimes Tv & Radio creates mess. and as the result our minds lost focus on things we need to do. it also creates anxiety. so its better to watch tv during free times and when you feel to watch otherwise dont make it your addiction.!
• Philippines
4 Nov 09
Whoa?! I don't know if I'll be calm if I don't have a TV in the house?! I think I'll be freaking out because of silence, how will I be updated to the news and what's happening in my country? The shows that I regularly watched, I'll missed them all? I can't imagine myself in that situation. LOL. But just for a month? I think I can do it, as long as it'll be back after a month. Happy mylotting!
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
4 Nov 09
sure not a month. lol. ok i would go completly nuts without tv, to watch my shows i enjoy or almost not being able to play my vedio games too i look back and see why i got into so much trouble when i was younger i was bored lol
@icegermany (2524)
• India
4 Nov 09
it is really difficult to stay back without tv for a long time. i use to watch tv serials on time but most of the timtv should be on due to my child as he keeps watching cartoons but he dont watch cartoon also he wants tv to be on and keep running. but now i think have lost interest in tv serials and i have almost stopped watching those but sometimes i would feel like watching a movie but i would feel that and enjoy watching movie only when my husband is accompanying me as i am useto to watch movies with him or else wtching alone is really not my cup of tea nd i would think that it is better i dont watch it without him.
@kafueenu (1073)
• Philippines
4 Nov 09
Personally I won't be able to survive, but I think I would if internet is always there haha. I am a certified television addict, and I hate quiet times, I need tv!
• India
4 Nov 09
If I watch less TV, I can read more. Come to think of it, I barely watch TV except for BBC World News in the mornings which I couple with my pranayama ritual. The rest of the day I'm on my PC usually. And then when I finish with work (I work through the net), it's back to the TV for a couple of hours at the most. So yes, I think I could do without TV for say a week. Strangely, I find the hum of the TV makes me sleepy at night and I wonder whether leaving it on will help me sleep more easily. It takes me about half an hour of tossing and turning, unless I'm dog tired.