The subject of our television unit (and tv consumption) has now become a regular topic of conversation for two reasons:
1. The tv's current home is the guest room, but with a home office, future baby room, extra bed for guest all competing for space, we are not quite sure where to move our tv to next. We don't want it in the living room, and we don't want it in our bedroom.
2. The digital conversion that for some unknown reason Congress has made a priority (over seemingly less-important issues like cancer research, poverty eradication, and literacy) has brought up the issue of either buying a new tv (although ours works just fine) or converting it to digital.
We are not big tv watchers, especially since we don't have cable/satellite. We mostly watch tv to kill time, either to put off going to bed or to watch something totally mind-numbing. The news we get online, and life is too busy to make time for shows when they come on. We've taken to watching tv and movies online, so it's on our schedule and where we are comfortable.
So why not just get rid of the tv? That way, I don't have to worry about where to place the set in the house. If there is no set for me to just turn on, I won't have the temptation of getting sucked in to some show. I won't have to worry about converting it to digital! One less thing to do (and to clean - those things attract dust!).
But television is so wrapped up in our culture it's almost difficult to imagine a life without it. The set is there right now, but I hardly use it, but I know it's there for those rare times when I do want to use it. What will happen to me/us when there is no tv but the desire to turn it on and go through the (five) channels? Will I feel lost? Will I feel a big void in my life? Will our children grow up deprived? (no, they won't. I know plenty of people who have terrific kids but don't have a tv and their kids seem to live just fine)
What say ye?
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I have a serious tv addiction that I wish I could shake, or at least reduce somewhat. If you really think that you and Dave can do without the tv, I say go for it. Get rid of it. One of my friends from high school decided to stop watching tv some time while we were in college (primarily for religious reasons). She said suddenly she had so much more free time in her life for other things, like reading, getting together with friends, working out, etc. Why? Because she wasn't bound to the tv - to the time a specific show was on, to finding out about tv shows she might have wanted to watch, to talking about tv shows with other people after she had seen them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the tv does provide the opportunity to watch certain things that are just not the same online. If you or Dave are really into watching sporting events (Olympics notwithstanding - this summer NBC streamed so much stuff online) and need to see things as they happen (which I did for some of the swimming and gymnastics events), then don't get rid of it. Or mooch off of friends/family for that.
Either way, I really think you can't go wrong. If having the tv will cause more stress than not having it (and vice versa), well, there is your answer.