My Television Consumption

Last November 3rd I mentioned that, "...it's time to eliminate the [television] from my daily life as much as possible." If you're following along at home, you might want to hear how it's going. I'm down to an average of one hour a day. I get almost all of my news online, so I don't feel any less informed. Now I'm not even watching "good" progams I used to love like News Hour, Frontline, and Nova. (My one hour/day is mostly The Daily Show, South Park, and some McLaughlin Group on the weekend.) sk and I recently removed the television from our bedroom—which was tough because we were both used to falling asleep with some background noise. But that has drastically cut down the remaining daily TV time.

I may be compensating in other ways, though, because I picked up a nasty PlayStation 2 habit in the last couple of months. ;) Ahh well, at least the experiment in cutting out television programming has been a smashing success. It may even be time to go completely off the tv grid and cut the cable cord. At least that idea doesn't seem impossible now.

Feb 16^th, 2005, 4:35 pm

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yay! hang in there! I gave up cable tv in September and now only turn the set on to watch DVDs. It's doable. If I can, then you can too.

I have to admit, though, that I do miss The Daily Show...

by adams on Feb 16th, 2005 at 5:05 pm

The McLaughlin Group? I thought you were on the leftie side.

Hope

by Hope on Feb 16th, 2005 at 8:21 pm

Yeah, I do tend to agree with Lawrence O'Donnell and Eleanor Clift more than Pat Buchanan and the other guy. I find the show pretty insightful for a pundit kind of show, and I think John McLaughlin is funny in an entertaining way.

by pb on Feb 16th, 2005 at 9:12 pm

Speaking as a conservative, I find him a great embarrassment. Shouting at the top of your lungs doesnââât convince anyone of the rightness of your position.

Hope

by Hope on Feb 17th, 2005 at 3:43 am

Good move. Though I can consider myself lucky if I can watch TV an hour per week. I even still have some DVDs bought last Christmas that have yet to be watched.

I need to slow down.

by beto on Feb 17th, 2005 at 7:56 am

Thanks for the support, yeah I feel pretty lucky that I even have time for an hour a day.

Hope, I've found that if there's one thing TV can't be, it's subtle. I don't think you can expect complexity or nuance out of the box. That's one of the main reasons I'm tuning out.

by pb on Feb 17th, 2005 at 8:46 am

"because I picked up a nasty PlayStation 2 habit"

If you ever decide to quit cold-turkey, send that thing over to me!

by lia on Feb 17th, 2005 at 9:44 am

Lia, What's your address? ;)

I hate that thing.

by sk (wife of pb) on Feb 17th, 2005 at 10:38 am

I threw out my TV (literally) nearly two years ago, and the improvement in my life for my family has been astounding.

I urge everyone to "just do it". TV spews lies and you can get better ones on the Net ;-)

Joking aside, I find a far greater range of news sources online. Current favs are:

http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.worldpress.org

Here's some really fun toys to automatically turn off TVs in bars, stores and friends houses:

http://www.tv-b-gone.com

And a great anti-TV site:
http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_front.asp

Bye...

Rob

by Rob on Feb 17th, 2005 at 11:23 pm

Paul: We are not living in the age of subtlety. But you knew that, no doubt.

Rob: Is it ethical to turn out the devices of other people in public places?

The BBC is a great resource but very mcuh biased against the US.

Hope

by Hope on Feb 20th, 2005 at 6:55 am

Hope, we'll just have to do our best to bring some subtlety to our age then. ;)

I like the BBC too, but I don't find that it has an anti-American bias. The BBC offers some alternative perspectives to our current administration, but I don't think that could be considered anti-American.

by pb on Feb 20th, 2005 at 12:02 pm

Paul-- Here is W.S. Gilbert on subtlety:

If you wish in the world to advance, Your merits you're bound to enhance, You must stir it and stump it,
And blow your own trumpet,
Or, trust me, you haven't a chance!

Well, you arenââât listening to the BBC with conservative ears and attitudes.

Hope

by Hope on Feb 20th, 2005 at 7:41 pm

And with that, I believe we've covered my television consumption changes and beyond.

by pb on Feb 20th, 2005 at 8:17 pm

Hi! You're reading a single post on a weblog by Paul Bausch where I share recommended links, my photos, and occasional thoughts.

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My Television Consumption

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