reply to post by downtown436
I once considered the TV an addictive substance, and elected to not have it on unless I consciously chose to watch a particular program/movie. That
worked well, until we got zapped by a hurricane last year and were without conventional power for four months. No TV during that time, and
curiously, it wasn't really a problem. I DID jones over no internet though. Man, that was rough, wondering what freakazoid things were happening
out there in the world, without me to fret about them.
A foilhead friend of mine in Florida would send items to my wife's Blackberry (which still worked because of the relay towers), and imagine my
surprise when I logged back into ATS in April to find that EVERYTHING WAS STILL THE SAME!!! No impending doom, just more of the gradually-creeping
kind that I've been noting for 30 years.
So, when we got power back and I hooked up the Sat. dish, I immersed myself in TV for about a week. Then, reality set it. Since then, I don't
watch news anymore. News doesn't exist anymore anyway, just hype and disingenuous words strung together to garner market shares, plus thinly-veiled
political parroting posing as news. That disgusts me.
These days, I'll watch a movie, or South Park, or FUSE (music), or the Alternative Rock on SIRUS, or the History Channel. I read a book during
commercials, and I don't think the boob tube has the power to infuse into my brain anymore (although I DO wear a frightening grin sometimes like the
erectile disfunction guy, whatever that commercial is......... you know...... BOB).
Sometimes throughout life, I've found it useful to take a self-imposed timeout from various things. If I choose to QUIT something, then I by-God
wanta really quit it. I stopped smoking. I stopped abusing myself with drugs. I stopped abusing myself with alcohol. I started drinking again
nine years ago, and use it sensibly. You'll probably return to watching TV someday, but you'll be armed with a new awareness as to how you can make
yourself feel when you use the TV for a crutch, rather than the mindless entertainment it was meant to be.
I salute you, taking a bold step to change yourself into the person you want to be.