I’m just wrapping up my first month without television. Am I feeling deprived? Not in the least.
I’ll admit, the first week was a little tough. Before I go to work, I usually try and catch about 30 minutes of the Today Show. On the weekends, I’d enjoy a bit of Fox and Friends. Then there was an occasional college football or Orioles game. And I’d have to throw Top Chef in there. No more.
Plopping ourselves down in front of the tv and mindlessly flipping through the channels looking for something to grab our attention has become engrained into our daily lives. For some, it becomes addictive.
You might be thinking that my life has become boring. Nope, not at all. I can quickly see what’s going on in the news right from my computer. As for the sporting events, the radio provides me with the action. Top Chef? Well, I’ll just have to wait till it comes out on dvd, but bravo tv’s website has clips of the various episodes, so I don’t feel like I’m missing everything.
Life without television has been good, and now, after thirty days, I really don’t miss it at all. Some friends recently joined me and cancelled their cable too. They were worried if their kids would go into rebellion. It didn’t happen. They are content with their extensive dvd collection, or even better, playing outside in the backyard.
Even if you’re not ready for the big step of totally eliminating television from your life, how about making a couple of days each week t.v. free? Summer is here and there’s plenty to do outside. Stop by the library and get a good book. How about something on personal development, or a great mystery from a new author? Endless choices.
