Have You "Quit TV"?

My family love their TV but I very rarely watch it because it says nothing to me and says it too loudly. If I have to be in the same room as it when it is blaring out its inane rubbish then I have been known to place earplugs into my ears and just think while looking up at the ceiling ar at a wall. Other times and much more common is I just listen to some liquid mind on my IPod while writing or reading.

TV is no longer the thing it used to be, Sir David Attenborough no longer makes his documentaries and those documentaries that are out there are just repeats I have watched already.

Still, I do love movies so TV is good for that at least.

MAN I love sedona. Never turned the TV on in the hotel room while I was there, mainly because I didnt stay in the hotel room that much what with the vortexes and natural beauty.

I dont pay for Cable, I get one channel over the air, and it is the TV station I work at. I have to keep it on to make sure we are on air, but I always keep the volume off.

I do watch alot of DVDs, mostly of TV shows like arrested development. I am a cinematographer, technical director, writer and producer so shows like Arrested Development I consider to be much like a Masters-Course. Truly one of the Few worthy shows of the new millennium. The amount of running gags, sight gags and forward planning in that show set the bar to an all new level, and thus makes most every show seem like utter garbage in comparison.

I rarely if ever watch network TV these days, unless there's a good movie on and haven't for at least 2 years now. I avoid the news like the plague, because it just infuriates me when I see through the BS they feed the sheeple.

I think it was when most of the programming turned towards Big Brother/X Factor/Britains got talent etc and all the other innane crap they broadcast these days, not to mention repeats of shows that were on only days ago, if not yesterday. You also start to think "I've got over 100 channels and there's nothing on! What's the point?"

I generally download or stream any TV that I do watch these days from the internet. I gotta get my Sci-fi fix in somehow I'm currently also enjoying the new series of The Big Bang Theory and The IT Crowd, but again, I stream them from 4oD.

I'll also admit to the guilty pleasures of Family Guy and The Discovery Channel.

There is some quality TV out there, just don't bother with the networks to provide it.

ETA: Also, here in the UK, there's the TV licence to consider. Just to OWN a TV, I've gotta have a licence, so I figure if I'm paying £145 a year, I may as well have the bloody TV too!

[edit on 14-7-2010 by nik1halo]

Originally posted by Byrd

I also do NOT watch Youtube videos.

[edit on 14-7-2010 by Byrd]

Byrd, you surprise me!!

Not watch youtube???

It's the best place to go for unbiased reviews!!

Peace out,

Korg.

I cut way back on TV, although, I never really watched much anyway. I don't watch mainstream news/entertainment, and regular shows just make me feel like an idiot wasting time in front of them. Superficial garbage... I like the Discovery and History channels, sometimes HGTV and PBS, and some of the Foodie shows. Learning things... and the occasional paranormal and sci-fi indulgences.

In my other place when I couldn't get out much safely, I had the TV on for "company," but that grew tiring very quickly.

I didn't swap the TV for a computer monitor, either. Many I know are on the computer all night instead of watching TV. I think there's a healthy balance there somewhere...

I heard a very wise man explaining to someone who watched TV regularly as follows, " The programming on television is akin to sewage, would you go outside and run a sewage line through your window, right into your living room?"
I quit TV for the most part, it is an abhorrent waste of precious life, and especially after the "digital/HD" conversion a while back. I've heard from reliable sources that certain naughty fellows have been able to significantly ramp up ELF transmissions through TV sets as well as encode far greater mindf*#$ into all those innocent looking flashes you may notice in commercials and music videos.

its called television programming- whats it programming? the viewer.
whose brain wave levels go lower than sleep while absorbing the propaganda.
it's called and idiot box for a reason.
but- the same could be said of books.
or music selection.
i got interested in books via comic books..Tarzan.
tv can spark interest in worthwhile endeavors.
but as with say food- there's piles of junk food-
and only a few nutritious meals..
i was about 4 when tv hit the block.
and there was soon one in our house.
there were only 2 or 3 channels-ha.
now i fear what a matrix forming mass control mechanism it is
in the hands of rupert murdoch. out foxed. its seems to be the case.
i now longer worship at the glass faced altar..
i've seen enough.

[edit on 14-7-2010 by p51mustang]

I quit TV about 5 years ago as well. Everyone i know is always trying to tell me how dumb i am for not watching TV, and that i have no idea whats going on in the world...Boy were they shocked when i schooled them on what was "really" going on in the world.

By the way, my girlfriend get REALLY pissed off when i don't watch TV with her. I tell her its all junk and they only show you what they want to, and I've proven to her on several occasions but she still sucks it all in...anyone else got this?

[edit on 14-7-2010 by Juggernutty]

Originally posted by SPACEYstranger
Would you rather be entertained and stupid, or living in constant fear, or both?

How about neither. This morning, I removed all the political forums from myATS. I'm finished with the political "show". It's all a huge distraction IMO. And I won't be involving myself in the fear-based stuff. With the Internet, it's a lot easier for me to pick and choose what I let into my brain.

Personally i think its wrong to give up tv and claim to be in a better place, then turn around and post daily on ATS.

I AM in a better place. A better place that I was before. And I plan to spend a lot more time in THIS forum, which I have found quite interesting lately.

Thanks for all the great responses. I'm kind of surprised so many have given it up, but I guess I should have expected as much from my fellow ATS members.


[edit on 7/14/2010 by Benevolent Heretic]

I haven't paid for television service since 2003... Best thing I've ever done for myself. Frees up 60+ bucks a month for things I actually need.

Sometimes I'll download a select television series and watch some before I go to bed, but during the day I like to actually get things done and take care of my responsibilities.

Time and money aside, there are so few good shows on anymore that are really worth paying the ridiculous subscription fees for. Too much reality shovel-ware type programming these days.

For me, I quit watching regular programmes, Late night shows etc. The only thing I watch is Sports and nothing else!

Everything else news wise, I get it from ATS or the vast information found on the internet. So, no I haven't given up the entire tv programming due to my love for sports. But I can assure you, I am not being brainwashed by the media.

Thanks for this thread!

I've flirted with the idea of getting rid of my tv for a long time, but i have resisted so far.

My reasons being, my kids love documentaries, they learn a lot from them and i like the fact that they can experience a subject that i would not be able to teach them myself.

I watch a lot of news, granted much of the news is filtered for our viewing so who knows how much truth we are watching, but i like that fact that i can get up to date info on specific subjects.

The thing that gets me though, i know a few people who have gotten rid of thier telly, i mean totaly thrown the thing out, and they talk about it as though they've made this life changing action for thier family.

However thier family now spends even more time online, watching nothing more than a smaller screen containing probably more rubbish than they had on the telly.

I like to keep a balance here, the tv is there for when we need it, but it's not a must watch 24/7.

CX.



[edit on 14/7/10 by CX]

Originally posted by awakentired
I still watch maybe 3 hours a week. Love the scifi channel.

The wife is a boob tube head still. Hoping pot laws changes so I can grow some and just put her to sleep rather than feed on the crap that the tube offers. I'll even learn to bake brownies to assist the effort.

Urgh! You should try watching SyFy in the UK, it's absolute crap! You'd think they would play the same shows as in the states, but alas, no, it's all 3rd rate, low budget rubbish. I just had a look (first time I've looked at a TV guide for ages) There's some movie on tonight called "Transmorphers" I can only presume it's some low budget version of transformers

My wife is also a big TV watcher, she loves her soaps. If I'm forced to watch Eastenders again, I may have to kill someone! Also, my daughter loves the kid's channels, so unfortunately, i'm stuck paying £45 a month for cable.

[edit on 14-7-2010 by nik1halo]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

i always have tv on, besides my pc. i am so used to it, i probably would have a withdrawal of the 3rd kind, if its gone.

I really don't look at that much TV. I stopped watching the news over a year ago and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I may watch some movies or some funny shows at time. A bit of sports and that's about it.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


We have four kids and we quit, except for the networks. But without the science type programming I tended to watch (too much), I don't watch it at all and the kids don't either so we are going to pull the full TV plug.

All are reading much more and you can't put a price on that.

However, movies...that's another thing. I love my Blue Ray resolution, big plasma and surround. Might seem incongruent, but we don't much go to theaters and we pop only real popcorn on the stove.

There is a TV in my home yes but i rarely watch it. maybe the occasinal wildlife documentary, at mist once every month.

Anyway,

I wanted to talk about what happened at my friends house. I hadnt seen him in a while so decided to visit. I arrived at around 8pm, on a friday night. said hi to everyone (7 people in all, 8 including myself) had a few short conversations, then after around five minutes everyone was silent, fixated by the boring friday night crap being trasmitted into the room.

I felt sick, i rarely watch TV anyway, but on a friday night, with that many people the silence was haunting. ZOMBIE ALERT! I NEED TO GET OUTTA HERE. i thought. but instead i smoked something to calm myself down and defiantly read my book, hoping things would liven up by the end of the programme. Turns out that didn't happen, everyone just carried on watching till the early hours. So i slept, then woke up to find that the yet again, the TV had been swtiched on!! with everyone absorbed into the non-reality of the screen.

So i washed my face and left, disgusted by how technology is increasingly disrupting normal social interactions, and makes everyone forget they are in a group with OTHER PEOPLE, who should be more entertaining than some stupid television programme. Why must we compete with this horrible invention, for the attention of those closest to us.

TV in my opinion sucks, your mind. Then your mind sucks, everyone elses joy from them, in the exact same way that television does. Possibly the worst invention our race has ever created.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic


Last night, we didn't even turn it on and we sat in the living room, talking about stuff instead as the sun went down and the room became dark. It was one of the best evenings we've had and I feel like the HABIT of TV watching is an attachment that I really just don't want anymore.

Oh, good Lord!

I think it's really sweet that you and your husband spent time connecting in such a nice way.

The down side of cutting out the television in my house, is that I'd actually have to listen to my husband!

LOL, I turn it on, for the background noise, so I can tune him out!

In all seriousness, he's addicted to his cell phone, and I hate having to hear his phone conversations, so I turn the t.v. on! He's worse than a 15 year old teenage girl, when it comes to the phone!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
So I'm curious:

Have you quit TV? (All broadcast TV)

Why did you do it?

Have you found it to be a positive or negative change and why?

What have you noticed in your life since you quit?

I have through a slow, yet unplanned, process of simply losing interest.

First it was the sitcoms, series and even movies... I just stopped watching them. My only consumption was cable news. But sometime during the last presidential election, I stopped watching even that.

Now, I can't even remember the specific moment when I last watched TV.

I don't miss it.

And clearly, I don't need it.

Youtube tends to cover the highlights of anything important, entertaining or special.


[edit on 14-7-2010 by loam]

I live alone and rarely watch.
I look at the online listings and see nothing worth watching 90% of the time.
I webbrowse topics that interest me and download free ebooks.

Silence is wonderful - sad that many people never experience it.