You Got Rid of What?
Only a few years ago, I would have believed that getting rid of network television constituted child abuse, or at a bare minimum mommy abuse. About the same time I started homeschooling my oldest child, I called the cable company and informed them that I was no longer interested in their services. This was actually the second step in my television recovery program. And yes, there should be a 12 step program out there. I was hooked. I was completely addicted to the craziness of “reality TV” and in the process was missing out on some of my own reality. The day before I shut down the cable I binge watched my favorite shows. I had that DVR filled with the latest craziness from talk shows to housewives of every conceivable county. It was my last fix, and then I went cold turkey.
This personal decision was met with shock and awe by friends and strangers alike.
Me: I would like to discontinue my subscription to network television.
Cable Guy: Um, we have other packages you could check out.
Me: No thanks. Just go ahead and shut down my account entirely.
Cable Guy: Are you dissatisfied with our services?
Me: No, you are pumping craziness into my house very efficiently.
Cable Guy: So would you be interested in a different package?
Me: Can I talk to your supervisor?
It was like the cable guy could not comprehend the possibility of anyone having the audacity to consider actually turning off the TV. My friends were even less understanding than Mr. Cable Guy.
Friend: Are you watching Breaking Bad?
Me: Breaking bad what?
Friend: Breaking Bad, the show.
Me: Oh, we don’t have television anymore.
Friend: Oh my gosh! What happened?
And this is where I realized that most people took this as me not being able to afford to pay for the services of the local cable company.
Me: I had them turn it off.
Friend: So you have absolutely no television?
Me: Well, we have one television and a DVD player for the kids’ movies, but no network stuff.
Friend: How do you know what is going on in the world?
Me: I read.
Friend: “BLANK STARE”
Friend: So, you are homeschooling and you got rid of TV… how are your kids going to know anything about the world?
Me: “BLANK STARE”
Yes, I realize that getting rid of network television can be seen as radical. However, I get reactions that would lead one to believe I moved my children into a cave and tried to recreate the Stone Age. It is a bit worrisome to see how unsettled friends and strangers are when they find out that I have no clue who the latest celebrities are, and what “said” celebrities are up to in their personal lives. I seriously used to think that this kind of stuff was news, but I have come to find that it is in fact not at all pertinent to my daily life. Which, to be honest, was serious news to me.
I understand that most people can have TV in their homes and not feel like it is eating up way too much time. I was not one of those people. I just needed a break, and I am finding the break to be much more enjoyable than I dreamed it would be. I have so much more time, and when I sit down to relax I am plugged into conversations with my family. With some of that extra time I finally got around to writing the books I had been meaning to write. I’d like to challenge Americans to turn off the TV for one week. Just unplug that sucker and see what you are able to get done. I would love to hear what you are able to do in a week without TV.
We have rabbit ears but most of the time even local stations don’t come in. So we watch Netflix, DVD’s or nothing. Been doing it for years. 🙂
My kids are not homeschooled and I personally don’t turn the tv on that much, but when it is on it’s usually Fox News that becomes white noise whole I do my projects housework etc…
If I put on music I want to dance and utter quiet makes me not stay on task . My children are computer kids that don’t care too much about what’s in or not , so I am very grateful that they are not hovered in front of the television all day . They certainly find out enough news and other info on what is going on in the world through othermeans of technology or us as parents . Seriously though I have to laugh at the people who would think you know nothing of what’s going on in the world just because of television . Bottom line it’s still a privilege to have . Proud you took the stand against mass media hoopla . Knowledge is power not reality shows !!
HD Thoreau wrote, unforgettably, about the TV of his day: the newspaper:
“I do not know but it is too much to read one newspaper a week. I have tried it recently, and for so long it seems to me that I have not dwelt in my native region. The sun, the clouds, the snow, the trees say not so much to me. You cannot serve two masters. It requires more than a day’s devotion to know and to possess the wealth of a day.”
We lopped off our cable / dish crudline in a similar “customer service” conversation in ~2004. We consume less mass-media every year and that’s an increasingly beautiful thing. As Mark Twain said, “Better to be uninformed than ill-informed.”
What’s most fascinating is how turning off the drivel has left me with time and energy to create and do more of what really brings satisfaction.