No TV for me!

Has anyone else here just STOPPED watching TV? With the exception of the debates (which were basically a waste of time anyway) I haven't sat down & watched TV in almost 2 months. It wasn't really a conscious decision. I just got tired of all the crap being spewed at me. I just find it to be very overwhelming & pointless. I'd much rather read a book or go for a walk. What are your thoughts?

 

Right on
I've stopped shopping at Walmart,
but the TV has become a source of light on my house.

 

Books, walks, etc. are absolutely more positive activities than watching the tube. But, I was one of those kids whose parents used t.v. like a babysitter. I am wholly addicted to this day. It's my nightlight!

 

I haven't watched more than 15 minutes of tv at a time since I came to college....and not more than maybe 2 times a week.

Holly

 

When I moved into a house last year, my roommates and I never bothered to plug in the antenna. Never missed it. And I had so much more free time.

 

I can't watch T.V.. I haven't been able to since about 13 years old. I'm very cynical now and television or Hollywood in general is so contrived and fake. I can guarantee (well not really) that atleast 80% of the producers and actors of your favorite T.V. shows or movies would scoff at you if approached in the real world, especially if you talk about one of their past 'projects' (I.E. paychecks). I think it all died for me when I took a film class in college and watched a documentary called "Lights, Camera, Class Action". It portrays the disgustingly fake underworld of Hollywood. Basically they just get a whole bunch of scripts on different subjects, and wait until that type of story is popular, and then unleash them, harping on the idea (Say, motorcycles or spy movies) until the morons of America get tired of the idea. This is why I like most cult and indie films (Smith, Coen bros, Tarantino, Rodriguez, Kubrick etc). Their writer, director, producer (often the same person) really had some care for this film, and obviously wasn't constructing the story for the sole purpose of box office success.

I like some television channels though. I watch my room mate's cable a lot. I like the Game Show Network, Cartoon Network, Indie films, American Movie Channel, Turner Classic Movies, the History channel all that kind of stuff. I just stick to playing guitar, doing my evil drugs and listening to music. I'm not really in the mood to watch someone eat coagulated bull balls tonight!

 

I'm into nostaligia TV shows, mostly from the 60s and 70s. I haven't watched network TV in many years. It's too pathetic. And what's with all this 'people stuck on an island' thing? There used to be a time when a craze would last a year or two and then people would move on to new things. Now they last for about 20 years, like rap. Jeez.

 

Modern TV shows to me are like a garbage dump. One can always argue that there is some fresh food in the dump. Pop music today is much the same.

What's even more ironic is that we have all this great technology like high definition TV, DVDs, and CDs, yet most of the modern TV and pop music isn't worth listening to. It's like having a great car and not knowing how to drive it and not having any place to go.

 

Great analogy!

 

I never understand what you're talking about Blackie. I can control what I put in my fridge, I can't control what I put on the T.V.. I can control what I watch, but 90% of the shit on T.V. is just that, so it really doesn't mean much if I choose one or the other. T.V. = pretty much a waste of your eyes.

 

I havent watched TV in about 6 months. But thats cause i dont have one anymore. But when i do its glued to cartoons

 

I like TV when i watch it...especially with cable there are a fair amount of good documentaries and the occasional decent show. There is plenty of crap too, but i don't think there is enough damn the whole medium of television. I think its fine when used in moderation.

 

i dont really like tv, but when i watch it its with my mom to spend some time together when we get the chance to..weird way to spend time...but she likes it

 

yeah TV sucks
but i did watch the baseball playoffs. go red sox!

 

I don't like T.V. because almost anything on (including syndication) is terrible. Like I said, I can choose what I put in my refrigerator, I can't choose what bullshit is put on T.V. I don't like most of what's on , so I don't watch. You don't have to dumb down something that is already very stupid.

Remember, there's a difference between me being stupid/"Ignorant" and your discussion matter not making any sense at all.

 

I moved over 7 yrs. ago, and never hooked up cable. The cable company even hooked me up for free for a month, and then 3 yrs. later realized it was still hooked up. I had no idea, cuz I never plugged the tv in, and dont miss it. I see the odd show when I am over visiting others. I love Trailer Park Boys, funniest thing since Monty Python.
transcendental vegetation, maybe 1 % of tv has any value to me, so its not worth it.

I was raised on tv, and am glad to be rid of it.

 

thanks for your input blackguard

 

I hear you man. On top of the inane shows out there these days (the reality TV craze, for one), I can't take the advertizing. I find myself getting so angry because it just makes me think of the waste, greed, and sneaky ways of selling things (almost as bad as campaign ads).

There are a few things I still watch though. Comedy Central when they have stand up and the Daily Show, I like the History, Discovery, and National Geographic channels, and PBS because I like the documentaries they sometimes have on, and that new show "Lost" because it's a more or less unique theme. I guess I watch the news too, especially CNN, 60 Minutes, and the BBC world news on PBS. Never watch local news, it's all bullshit and sensationalism. All they report is bad news, fuck em.

Still, all in all, I probably don't watch more than 6 hours a week total (on average). And most of my news-watching is just me sitting with my mom or dad, and it's more of a conversation starter. We discuss what's being talked about, which I like.

 

A couple years ago I read some Abbie Hoffman and took what he said a little too seriously, which led to a midnight expedition to liberate myself some cable. It took some explaining to my mom for her to understand why we suddenly had a bunch of extra channels but eventually she calmed down. Turns out there is a little tiny bit of "screw the man" hippie left down there somewhere. Even with the full cable I was never a big TV watcher. Although I love south park and some of the stuff on TLC (back when it was about learning and not redecorating your neighbors house), discovery, and the history channel.

About six months ago a new cable company bought out the old one. In their process of rewiring the whole system (just to prove how new they actually were and to justify why the rates went up $10 a month) some worker stumbled across my "fix." He promptly un-fixed it and left me with like 10 channels. No charges or fines for that -- I was afraid there would be but apparently they didn't give a rat's bum what I had done to their competitor.

I have watched maybe two hours of TV since then. About half of that was Simpsons reruns. There have been many times I have given a passionate plea to my mother to just get rid of it completely. Those 10 channels are costing us like $17 a month. She won't do it because she "needs" her Christian station.

I could easily live without TV... I mean I practically do -- I just have one.

 

My dad once told me you dont need tv, radio, or newspapers, if its real important someone will tell you.