TV.... Im gonna stop watching it.

In the last 15yrs I have only had a t.v. briefly for a few months. When I tell people I have no t.v. they look at me like people must have looked at heretics in the Middle Ages, I keep on expecting them to turn up at my door round midnight with the burning torches and the pitchforks.
On a more serious note the times I visit people and it is switched on I find it disturbingly distracting and almost mesmeric, in fact I oft refer to it as the Mesmerist's Jewel. It is of course always switched on, people get up on a morning, or on re-entering the home and just switch it on straight away, talk about condition reflex. Doesn't matter what is on as long as they can watch the pretty lights flicker.
I find it all disturbing on every level however the one thing that should truly worry parents I feel is the hysteria of childrens t.v.. The hyperactivity displayed is bad enough but the adverts of extremely short duration and frequency is truly disturbing. I saw it just before Christmas when visiting my grandchildren.
A few things came to mind. Destroy attention spans. Make them hyperactive to have the excuse to give them Ritalin. Also pave the way for even more insidious subliminal advertising in the future.
It has been likened to a drug before, well the addicts are totally destroying their minds their lives and the lives around them with it's use. Time for legislation?

Thank you for all the support. My lady who i told this to this morning is supporting me. When I got home today there were 2 tickets to The Rise of the planet of the Apes im very excited about it. I didnt turn the TV on this morning although i had to really think about it. I dont feel any different yet. I was on base all day and at the hospitol there was a tv in the waiting room i turned my back to it. I know i can do this. I do realize though that it is impossible to avoid all TVs they are everywhere.

I'd almost give up tv but I don't think I could live without it.

I generally tend to watch TNA Impact Wrestling once a week, the majority of time the tv is on Sky News when it's just me watching because there's nothing else on and I like background noise while I'm online or if there's a movie on that I like or haven't seen, I'll watch that.

Otherwise, nothing I personally watch. It's just that TNA show that honestly keeps me tuned in.

reply to post by curious7


Im curious why that specific show. I watch alot of discovery channel and the history channel. I think i can find the shows that i do see merit on on the internet I just havent figured out how to. I just came from the theater watched Rise of the planet of the apes (excellent movie premise it makes sense and it to me was completeley plausible. Im all for entertainment its the damn commercials. I waited outside while they bombarded the audience with coke commercials and the like. Commercials especially make me sick. I think that i am not going to buy anything that is advertised. from now on If i see a commercial for a product I will not b uy it. I will only buy unadvertised products if that is at all possible. Thank you for the support and opinion.

We still look at the TV.
We just changed the content ourselves.
Streaming and DVD's
That's it.

I know Netflix has gotten a bad rap for raising prices...But there a lot of documentaries available. It's 8 bucks.
We were pleased to see they dumped a lot of fresh streamable content into their selections last night. They claimed that was the plan...More streaming, less DVD exchanges...Hopefully they till be adding more new things soon..Just watched a show about the deep ocean....5000 feet or deeper....Which I had no idea was SIXTY percent of the Earth's habitable area.

reply to post by spacedoubt


I think that is where im going with it. I have an extensive collection of DVDs. I am going to upgrade to the blueray player with a DVD attached. Funny just remembered when my neighbor bought a betamax! In the end though i think im going all digital. I tried Netflix awhile back but the family didnt like what was on there. Its hard to sift through the garbage. I can say this though I have not activly watched a single minute of TV today. I was not exposed to a ridiculous amount of advertising (a little at the theater but i literally ran out when i realised what was happening. The whole ads in movie theaters bugs me. Its one thing for the movie house to advertise snacks. But when you are seeing the same exact commercials at the theater that you do at home thats just completely ridiculous...

reply to post by semperkill


I got a real cheap Vizio blu-ray player with built-in wireless. It has a netflix app....But I do most of the sifting on the computer, and throw it in the instant queue...then it's easy to find on the Vizio's app.
the player cost about 130 dollars, I've seen it on sale for less. Make sure the wireless is built-in, and not "enabled" or you'll have to buy an extra piece of hardware.
It's also got, Pandora, Facebook, Vudu, Blockbuster (as of last week)..and a couple of other apps.
We only use Pandora, and Netflix...Then we cut off DIrecTV....they were just thrilled when I told them why.
Of course, that might be why I am quite satisfied...telling DirecTV to stuff it.

I don't like watching shows on television. I usually watch only DVDs.

reply to post by semperkill


Why that specific show? It's the only mainstream wrestling show I can watch (screw WWE and it's laughable attempts at both wrestling and entertainment).

Otherwise, I only ever watch shows if there's anything on that I actually like (US version of The Office, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, whichever).

As I've grown older, the amount of shows I enjoy and watch regularly has gone way down to just a handful. TNA's Impact Wrestling show just happens to be the only one which is on every week with no breaks.

What makes me laugh is when people ask me "What's on channel xxx tonight".

I ALWAYS respond "reality shows". They ask me, how come you know, do you have a tv guide in your head?

And I respond "No. It doesn't matter what channel you watch. What's on tonight is 'reality shows'. "

It used to be that we had three channels (I grew up in England) and there was always some good documentary, comedy, excellent drama, non biased news show, or something else on to watch, and two of the three channels were commercial free, all the time. We had one 13 inch television, in the living room. We were allowed three hours of tv watching a WEEK. This was mid 1980's.

Now we have a TV universe full of over 300 channels, most families own at least four televisions, and there is NOTHING ON I WANT TO WATCH.

I don't have a TV. It makes me laugh as well when people come to work talking about what happened on Big Brother, Survivor, American Idol, Jersey Shore, Entourage, or other aimless shows as if they mattered.

Originally posted by curious7
I'd almost give up tv but I don't think I could live without it.

I generally tend to watch TNA Impact Wrestling once a week, the majority of time the tv is on Sky News when it's just me watching because there's nothing else on and I like background noise while I'm online or if there's a movie on that I like or haven't seen, I'll watch that.

Otherwise, nothing I personally watch. It's just that TNA show that honestly keeps me tuned in.

I don't know which has more made up scripting - TNA Wrestling or Sky News. I pity you, my friend, if you can't give either of these up.

Don't think you could live without it? Try it for a month. You'd be surprised. Pack up the televisions in your home and put them in the garage, or temporarily give them to a family member you don't live with. You'd be surprised how much time you'll find for other things. I used to think the same about tv, until I gave it up. I then used to think the same about sugar, until I gave it up for two weeks. Now I live a sugar free, tv life, and have had a happier year in the last year than in my previous 41.

Originally posted by semperkill
reply to post by curious7

 

Im curious why that specific show. I watch alot of discovery channel and the history channel. I think i can find the shows that i do see merit on on the internet I just havent figured out how to. I just came from the theater watched Rise of the planet of the apes (excellent movie premise it makes sense and it to me was completeley plausible. Im all for entertainment its the damn commercials. I waited outside while they bombarded the audience with coke commercials and the like. Commercials especially make me sick. I think that i am not going to buy anything that is advertised. from now on If i see a commercial for a product I will not b uy it. I will only buy unadvertised products if that is at all possible. Thank you for the support and opinion.

If you see a commercial for a product you won't buy it? Then you'll starve in about a week.

You get advertised to constantly, every day of your life, and don't even know it. You're advertised to when you listen to the radio, watch a bus go by, use the internet, just about every aspect of your daily life revolves around advertising.

Only want to eat food that hasn't been advertised? You'd better start an organic vegetable patch in your back yard. Of course, you won't be able to buy the seeds or garden tools from ANY chain store though.... You're using a computer that you were advertised to about to post on this bulletin board. You don't want to be advertised to? Live in a cabin in the woods. Better hope a plane with a logo on it doesn't fly over.

As far as Planet of The Apes being an excellent movie premise, it's a 50 year old idea, a remake. Very few movies out of Hollywood have any new ideas in them these days at all. If you think it's a "new premise" you're a moron.

Originally posted by semperkill
reply to post by spacedoubt

 

I think that is where im going with it. I have an extensive collection of DVDs. I am going to upgrade to the blueray player with a DVD attached. Funny just remembered when my neighbor bought a betamax! In the end though i think im going all digital. I tried Netflix awhile back but the family didnt like what was on there. Its hard to sift through the garbage. I can say this though I have not activly watched a single minute of TV today. I was not exposed to a ridiculous amount of advertising (a little at the theater but i literally ran out when i realised what was happening. The whole ads in movie theaters bugs me. Its one thing for the movie house to advertise snacks. But when you are seeing the same exact commercials at the theater that you do at home thats just completely ridiculous...

edit on 5-8-2011 by semperkill because: grammar

If you're watching a movie, you're being advertised to even if you skip the commercials.

You don't think they just went to that McDonald's restaurant by chance, do you?

You don't think James Bond drives an Aston Martin because it looks good?

Just about every single thing you see in any movie these days has been bought and paid for by the corporation in order to be featured in that movie. You're being advertised to throughout the movie with "product placement" and you don't even know it.

If you don't believe me, watch Morgan Spurlock's "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold". This has been a well known fact in Hollywood, YEARS before this movie was ever made.

reply to post by semperkill


Its a great start, but I'm betting you'll eventually lose the news and the Discovery channel too.

My folks took my TV away when I was about 8 years old; that was the best move they ever made. I didn't have one until after I left home, and then after 911 I shut it down for good.

Save it for watching movies, but for the love of sanity, turn off the TV broadcasts.. .there's a reason they call it "programming"...my two cents.

reply to post by babybunnies



Spurlock is a bit of an exaggerator, His Supersize Me has come under fire for him not ever supplying his food diaries to anyone. There is another documentary called Fat Head, the exposes some of Spurlock's inconsistencies.

However, I do agree with you that product placement is still advertising.
I still don't own an Aston Martin...

It has been almost a week since i have actively watched TV. I have accomplished so much. My head is clearer and I see things a bit diffrerent thanks to how I am getting my news. The web is a greater place than i ever thought. Thank you all.