;)
in a post-television world
Posted by Erika in rad*living
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanderson/ / CC BY 2.0
It has been nearly a month since we shut off the cable, and thus the television. And I know that this will surprise many of you, but …..it’s made of AWESOME!
I have logged more hours reading, making botched attempts at knitting, baking more things with carbs to stave off the winter doldrums, and actually spending uninterrupted time having long conversations with my husband, than I would ever have imagined. That’s not to say that we don’t still have a tv, we use it for the Wii Fit (Christmas) and for movies. But it’s all directed and pre-chosen viewing.
There is only one program that we still watch, and that requires us huddling around the computer screen or loading the purchased show to the iPod. It’s true, I can’t live without Kenneth Ellen Parcell. And again, another bonus of watching 30 Rock on something other than regular television? I can watch the whole show in about 16 minutes.
I should mention that one of the biggest driving factors in losing the cable was the effect that seeing commercials was starting to have on the DOF. It was only in the last year or so that we had even begun to let her watch regular commercial programming….and I now wish we had never done it. Aside from the constant over-discussion of ALL the toys that are available, there were suddenly lots of questions about why we don’t have Doritos or cereals that turn the milk day-glo colors, or why on earth I was punishing her by not buying something called “Gushers”. I told her that if she wanted a fruit gusher, she should go get a juicy orange out of the kitchen.
The talks we were having had become a theater of the absurd. She would talk non-stop about the perils of not owning a Polly Pocket Wayward Home for Bad Girls or a pair of high heeled boots with glitter (and a pimp, I’m guessing) , while I was asking what book we should start reading next. I finally had enough (she’s ONLY 7!) and after a brief discussion…..boom, no more cable. Since then, I haven’t heard word one about cookies that make your mouth turn purple, or hair extensions for kindergartners.
It has been utter bliss.
Amen,,sista!!! Having a 6 year old who believes the only channel on TV is Noggin, we were shocked during the Christmas season with his reaction to the commercials during the beloved televised holiday specials. Example…”But Mom!! They said collect all 6 action figures and I only have one! I NEED the others!” This led to a lengthy discussion of the difference between a want and a need and the evils of marketing.
Hence the reason your technologically challenged parents never ‘fixed’ the vcr, and the other thing that worked great for us was to loosen the cable at the back of the TV -oops the cables out! Good for you
Yay! Good choice! We don’t even have kids, but I refuse to participate. We haven’t watched TV in over 4 years, almost 5. I just can’t imagine losing all that time–1/3 of every half hour–to paid advertisements, designed to eat away your independent thoughts!
I still watch some choice tv shows, but only on DVD or netflix streaming. No commercials for me.