Y
ou may remember our TV-Free Tuesday post where we attempted to give it up one night per week to do more meaningful things, like learn Spanish and pursue hobbies.
Well, that didn’t work out so well. We began changing the dates of TV-free Tuesday to coincide with nights we already had plans out, so we weren’t really accomplishing anything. So we made the decision to go cold turkey (after the US Open, of course).
Since then I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much time we spend together. Sure, we spent a lot of time together before, but together as in “in the same room,” not actually interacting and talking.
I saw a post on Twitter that happy people watch less television, and a friend commented it is actually the reverse: watching less television actually makes people happier.
I’ll keep you posted on our cable-free existence and how it impacts our life and our relationship. We likely won’t have access to regular television on our big trip, and even when we do it will probably be in a language we don’t speak (well), so this is a practical exercise for us as much as it is a quality-of-life experiment.
How much time do you spend watching television every week? Do you find it hard to accomplish all the things you need/want to do?
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Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband.
About Betsy
I completely agree with the point that watching less TV makes people happier (and healthier)! My husband and I are both not big tv watchers – and so our son isn’t much interested either. We probably watch about an hour a week. Son watches even less.
Instead of TV – we fill up our time with family outings, puzzles and board games together, cooking together, and working out and playing together in the back yard.
Great post!
I wrote an article about how my husband and I gave up cable for a year and ended up doing without for four years. We hadn’t even watched that much tv, which was why we turned it off in the first place (too much $ to spend for a few hours a week), but I think we both got more than we expected from the experiment.
here’s the link (scroll down to the 2nd piece – Our year without Television) http://web.archive.org/web/20060526215159/www.visionmagazine.com/4_06/artofliving.htm
there are countless studies about how people who don’t watch tv are happier, healthier, better communicators, relate to their husband more, and even have more sex!!
Mina, I don’t know why I’m so surprised to find so many people living without cable! Your son is probably more creative and manages his playtime better than other kids who watch a lot of television.
Angela, I love your article. We have the same goals you did when giving up television – living a little bit more, not being passive observers to our entertainment. And hey, if less TV means more sex, I don’t know why everyone’s not doing it!
Welcome to the no-cable club. I haven’t paid for cable (or satellite, etc) since 1989. The good news is that I watch very little T.V. and I don’t think I’m missing much. The only downside is I’m a little ignorant about certain "news" or pop culture items. For example, I had to find out who Billy Mays was and why his death is so important to millions of Americans. This is all because I have never seen any of his "OxyClean" commercials. I’m saving my cable TV days for when I’m 105 years old and I can’t move as well as I can today.
Greg, you have really made a commitment to stick it out 20 years! What do you think you’ve gained in comparison to your peers during this time?
I’ve gotten a lot accomplished this past 2 weeks without cable and am feeling very confident about all I will gain over time without the distraction of TV. It is still tough, though. When I heard the Alaska governor had resigned I immediately clicked on the TV to see what kind of scandal was happening and the big black screen reminded me that I had no cable. So I just went to the internet – problem solved!
What does one gain without cable or a lot of T.V.? In short, a more active life. When I watch T.V., it’s a passive experience. Without lots of T.V., I seek a more active life. I think my life includes more reading (active imagination and learning), writing, and great conversations with neighbors and friends.
Hi Betsy,
I’d be curious to hear about your experience with regards to any increase or decrease of time on the computer. I had a friend who gave up TV, but just replaced the time she spent watching TV with surfing the web and "messing around" on the computer.
It sounds to me like you’re intending to replac the time with either productive accomplishment (getting to things you had not had time for previously), active recreation, or otherwise spending quality time with Mr. Betsy or others. I’d love to hear how it goes!
Debbie
Debbie, I am spending more time on the computer than before, but only an hour or so a day. This past week I helped a friend clean out her garage, hosted a party, went to a party, finished my ebook, shot and edited a short video with friends, and cleaned out the last 2 cluttered drawers in my bathroom. This in addition to my regular workweek and household chores. So yeah, it is going well. I’m going to keep track of this and check in every few weeks on the blog so you can see how I’m doing, good or bad.
I’ll provide the one pro-TV comment so far. I think there’s nothing wrong with watching a bit of TV, as long as it’s in moderation and balanced with other activities in your life. If you like TV there’s nothing wrong allowing yourself a few hours a week (granted it becomes much more expensive the less you watch it). Watching TV 3+ hours a night is excessive as is not watching TV at all, assuming you like TV. If TV’s not your thing at all, awesome. But if it’s something you enjoy, simply moderate it and use it as one of your personal rewards or guilty pleasures. It’s like ice cream or cookies: you shouldn’t eat them after every meal, but one or two a week won’t hurt you.
My $0.02 anyway, from someone that watches ~4-6 hours of TV/week. Unfortunately I’m addicted to those hours in HD so I’m paying way too much
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Alan, you make good points, and if I were a more balanced person this would work for me.
We actually tried limiting our television several months ago with "TV-free Tuesday" in an attempt to become more productive with the things we wanted to do: learn Spanish, socialize more, read more, pursue hobbies, etc. Unfortunately we do not have the willpower and TV-free Tuesday started to get arranged around nights we were already going to be out or ignored altogether.
We finally had to have it taken away from us like children. I’m not proud of it, and if people can moderate their TV usage that is definitely the better way to go. We just didn’t have that level of self-restraint on this issue and knew it was impacting us mentally, energetically, and financially. So, I guess what I’m saying is we were unbalanced and couldn’t fix it without a little outside intervention.