I Can Proudly Say I Havn't Watched Television In 5 Years!!

As the title says i havnt watched television for just over five years now and i feel fantastic about it, has anyone else here switched off that hypnotizing box for a long period of time and have you also felt the benefits??

Now if say im sitting chatting with my parents and they are watching tv it makes me sick to see the blank expressions on there faces. Since switching it off for myself i have noticed i am more sociable, more literate, more able to connect with other human beings alot easier.

I was always an outgoing kid but now at 21 i am not in the slightest bit shy about striking up a conversation with the most random people i meet.

Ive tried to tell my friends and family that televeision isnt anything more than a brainwashing machine with the cogs working even after they stop watching for a day!

Ive seen alot of talk about ATS experiments here recently and i propose we try one along the lines of getting everyone you know to switch there televeision off for one whole week and also yourself if your a watcher off that horrible thing!

What do you guys think? Good idea?

It may elevate the collective conciousness of the human race, it may not, it may allow alot of people to feel that connection with nature again, it may not, it may just allow a few to open there eyes to whats going on in our world, it may not, but isnt it worth a try. Peace And Love To ALL xx

If though, on the other hand, instead of watching TV you spend most of your time on this or similar sites....well, it sort of defeats the point, dont you think?

What is your main reasoning in not wanting to watch TV? The news, the daft TV series?

You always have the power to look at them and anything else from a detached point of view - and actually watch those to make your own ideas....

TV can sometimes be informative you know....depends what and how you watch it.

Is the Internet that much different from Television? What would your response be if a friend told you that the Internet is nothing "more than a brainwashing machine"?

I will tell you last month I canceled my Cable because of money issues and I have not felt better in a very long time.

I spend my days sucking up knowledge from the internet and becoming more verse in the subjects I adore.

I believe it has been the best decision I have made in awhile.

reply to post by Sarahko


For the most part the internet is alot different from television. Giving that with the internet you can educate yourself in whatever you wish. And when i say that television is a brainwashing machine i am talking about such things as soaps, sitcoms, tv series, cooking programs, home improvement programs, all these serve to detach us from the real world, alot of people out there base there lives around what they see on television rather than going out and living there own lives and realising who they are and not what TPTB want them to be! I truly beleive that television was a majorly bad invention as no one can deny it has detached alot of people from the real world and helped them lose connection with nature, televeision for the most part is avertising, which then in turn makes people think they need to buy these things to improve there life, which then in turn makes them work harder for TPTB, which then in turn detaches them from living there life. This is just my opinion ofcourse and like i said after 5 years of no television i feel ten times better than when i watched it!

i am outdoors more often, i find myself deciding to go a walk into the countryside and take in the nature around me and it feels amazing to do so. this shocks alot of my friends and family as i am only 21 years old and have been doing this for the past five years, i feel connected to nature and i appreciate it alot more, i appreciate amazing views, i appreciate seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat, in fact it brings me joy, it makes me proud to b alive on this planet and to be part of this thing that is the circle of life! Peace and love xx

I stopped watching TV about 2 years ago, and I can say it was the best thing I ever did!! No more commercials, no more mindless wasting time... it's great!!

Same here, stopped with TV some 8 years ago.
I dont miss it at all.
Same apply for my wife, she gave up TV a little slower. Only 2 years for her.

Internet is the way to go.

S&F for you.

Screw TV and mass manipulation.

reply to post by Krpano


Well said my friend your right, i believe the internet is the way to go

The benefits of no television are many , more free time, exploration of the mind, self education, more sociable, a greater connection to nature. I love it

peace and love xx

TV is a fantastic media. I have learnt so many things about science and nature by watching TV as a kid. TV has opened up my mind a bit.
The problem is not the media. It is what you put in it and the companies contracted to conceive the dumbest programs like reality TV or propaganda news. TV is turning into a big entertaining brainwashing feeder hose. It is a major mind control tool. Careful use is required. Too many of us are hypnotized by it and diverted from life and the real issues.

reply to post by Free4Ever2


The Internet "detaches" just as many people (if not more people) from the real world. Most people are confident behind a keyboard and their Internet personas are in many cases very different from their real personalities. People who frequent chatrooms and/or forums and have extra-ordinary communication skills in these mediums may have no "real life" social skills.

The Internet provides an outlet where individuals can interact with other individuals behind the screen, without knowing the other individual’s appearance. Such an interaction consequently makes the addicts lose real life communication skills, and even become socially withdrawn. On the Internet, emotions can be expressed with symbols (e.g.?) and specific words designated to convey a feeling (e.g. LOL). Hence, it takes away the need for using visual communication skills of the face, body, and hands. Without exercising these skills, they can weaken and may end up becoming expressionless, using only text to convey their emotions to others when meeting face-to-face. In addition, as an Internet addict spends more and more time online, they can become used to only communicating with typed words, and finding it difficult to talk to people in real life.
Source

Are you certain your ability to educate yourself via the Internet is in your own hands? When you do a search on - say "outdoors" - you look at the search results and then selectively open pages depending on the first lines shown by the search engine, right? Who is in control of the results that are shown? Who is in control of the content of the page you opened up? Are you always certain that the content of the pages you visit is accurate? In other words your "self education" is dependable on the knowledge of the person that wrote the page, not so?

IMO the Internet is not that much different from Television...

hahahaha..

every single media device is corrupt, the internet, tv radio, etc..

to think the internet is free of manipulation, brainwashing and misinformation is pretty funny....

The internet and the TV are both bad, the only thing you will get out of it is misinformation and manipulation.

I do both, but i do have one rule . DON'T believe ANYTHING!

Internet, TV all man made, and in my mind all controlled by the same people.

reply to post by Gemwolf


i agree wth you to an extent that the internet can be a brainwashing tool also. in the sense that alot of people do lose real communication skills and such but as i have said since not watching television i have found myself to be more sociable and use more expression, i am only speaking ofcourse of my own experiences and cannot speak for anyone else

i still maintain i am proud to say no television for five years and i feel the benefits from this

Originally posted by Gemwolf
Is the Internet that much different from Television? What would your response be if a friend told you that the Internet is nothing "more than a brainwashing machine"?

With the internet you are in control, with the TV it controls you

My partner and I have been without the TV for over a year and a half now we have noticed such a change in ourselves its unbelievable. You don't realise how a small box in the corner of the room can effect your life in such a negative way.

Now my partner and I are always out and about and enjoying the fresh (scantly polluted) air. We even intend to get a dog soon as we have much more time than before now our lives aren't controlled by the endless repeats of sheer nonsense portayed as viewing pleasure.

Well done OP when I read your thread it sent shivers down my arms, I know and can relate entirely what you have said. Well done you * and I>





[edit on 27-5-2009 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by Next_Heap_With


i never said i beleived the internet is free from manipulation, far from it my friend, i know it is manipulated, but with site lke this and others like it people are allowed to express there opinions and learn things that television wud not allow them peace and love

You just need to define yourself in some way and you take pride in saying that you havent watched TV for 5 yrs....I mean, is it really such a big deal?

Especially when you are spending you time advertising this `abstinence` on this particular site - which more often than not pours out weirder ideas and arguments than you may find on TV.

Again - it`s all a question of how you get involved in either the internet, TV, what people say to you....Do you listen to everything you see and take and blend in with that? Or do you listen and see things, question them and form your own opionion?!

TV can be very good in many ways - lots of documentaries, lots of cultural information programmes - sometimes the soaps can be fun too....when you are so tired you just need something to take your mind off things. And the cartoons are fun too...Im almost 40 but I always love a Tom and Jerry...

Come on - as with anything else it`s BALANCE. With TV, YOU decide what programmes to watch...so then you decide how to react to them.

I feel that you just want to be `different` and are in fact advertising this to all, that you are so above everyone else cos you quit TV. Have you had T-shirts made out yet? With the same title as this post?

Really - no big deal I think...

yes, it feels good doesn't it? i am doing the same thing! i am up to 4 months without watching t.v.!!

should i watch todays UEFA champions league final in rome or not?

Originally posted by Interryanmilan
yes, it feels good doesn't it? i am doing the same thing! i am up to 4 months without watching t.v.!!

should i watch todays UEFA champions league final in rome or not?

You should!!!!
United are going to be annihilated!!!

Everything in moderation.

I watch very little TV.... but i like documentaries and wildlife shows.
Watch the news also....but check all stories from multiple sources online too.

But if you're watching TV for anything from 2-8 hours a day, then that's not good.... It stops you talking and interacting with one another... just stick the idiot box on and everything is fine....

Same as the internet....you don't want to be sat at your PC all day....not good.

Like when i go to a friends and the TV is just on for the sake of being on.... pisses me off.....just mindless drivel.
I have a particular friend who has the worst taste in TV/movies too... and he and his G/F just watch crap and have the TV on for no reason other than to have something to look at.



There is a world out there and plenty of real people too....books to read and things to learn and explore.

I hate what TV has done to people and has become.. a replacement for conversation..

I don't hate TV... can't blame it...i just choose not to watch it much myself... everyone has the same choice.

I don't particularly think it's worth it unless one has such little control over themselves that they only have the capacity to be a drooling tv zombie or an independent person.

I watch little tv, I'd say maybe an hour or two a week. The TV is entertainment ONLY, as there is almost nothing of any value that you can not find online or in a book, but is a little entertainment so bad?

I don't think so.

So, good for you, if that's what makes you happy. I just see it as a waste of time to annex one media form on what, "principle"?

reply to post by Sarahko


"You just need to define yourself in some way and you take pride in saying that you havent watched TV for 5 yrs....I mean, is it really such a big deal?"

It is a big deal for me yes and i am proud of it!!

"I feel that you just want to be `different` and are in fact advertising this to all, that you are so above everyone else cos you quit TV. Have you had T-shirts made out yet? With the same title as this post?

Really - no big deal I think.."

Why are you being so negative towards me? I do not think of myself as above anyone thank you very much and i resent that you would say that!!! I started this thread as to have a discussion with people and if you read the orignal post i propose an experiment! im not just declaring that i havnt watched television, im giving an account of my experience of not watching television, im glad you gave me your opinion but please dont belittle me, it is uncalled for!!

"Really - no big deal I think."

Exactly!!! YOU think! i appreciate your opinion but dont drag mine down just because you disagree, thank you!!!