This is a repost of a post I did on my old blog that got some good comments. Enjoy!
Here are 13 reasons why I don’t watch television:
13. Really….what is there good to watch anyway? Think about it. Most of the time when I watch the chatter on twitter or forums about watching tv it’s a lot of how bad the shows are. I’m sure there’s some good programming on but honestly I don’t have the energy to wade through the muck to find a leeeeetle bitty bit of fresh water.
12. It’s another screen! I spend about 70-80% of my waking hours in front of the computer screen. Why in the world would I want to put my eyes through another hour or two of screen torture?
11. My hips. Need I say more??? That time could be spent taking a walk or using one of my exercise machines. (Could be – didn’t say it IS).
10. It’s expensive. I don’t know about you but not having to pay a cable bill every month helps us to go out for a nice dinner together as a family once a month. Now I know that these days you can roll your internet, long distance and cable into one bill but for us it still saves us a good chunk of change not to have cable. (plus who needs 563 channels).
9. I see very little of my husband anyway. Why would I want to spend time that I could be chatting and snuggling with him watching some goofy sitcom. That’s not to say we don’t watch movies on our “big screen” occasionally. Actually we have our family Pizza Movie night every Friday night.
8. Think of all the things that one can get done with the hour of time that one usually spends watching a TV program. Even if you have one of those Tivo things – you’re still just sitting there.
7. I can’t stand the commercials. Except for the occasional giggle generator (I do like the beer commercial where the men go to the opera the first time – but hey, I found that one on youtube so I didn’t even need TV to get the giggle) commercials stink.
6. The television news is biased – that could be a Thursday Thirteen in itself. And if you think they’re not, you’ve been watching too much TV!
5. Modesty – let’s face it. Shows after the family hours are full of things I don’t want my kids’ minds dwelling on – or me for that matter. Even the shows during the prime time hours when my kids are awake are filled with kids and teens that are immodest and disrespectful to their parents. My kids can see enough of that just going to the local mall or the grocery store. I don’t need it either.
4. Creativity – I have very little time to spend on crafting (I love stamping and scrapbooking) and so rather than put on the box, I’d rather be doing those types of creative outlets to release from the day.
3. It’s Mind-Numbing: I don’t want my mind to go numb and honestly when I’ve been “in” the tv in the past it has been. I found this quote on the web: “…in the early 1980’s, researchers in Australia found that the left-brain ‘sort of went to sleep’ once TV was switched on, but the right brain was busy ‘storing information in its memory bank.’ What these studies show is that the right side of the brain may be dutifully absorbing all the images from your television screen, but the left side is lulled into a stupor by the television’s flicker. This makes analysis of the images difficult. It also makes it difficult to remember exactly what you have been watching. Furthermore, the research suggests that the left side of the brain may remain in a stupor even after you turn the TV off.” (from this site). Who knows if that’s true but it sure makes sense to me and I know I do go numb after about the first 15 minutes if the tv program or movie isn’t somewhat engaging.
2. I’d rather pick up a good book anyway. One of my new favorite old quotes is by Groucho Marx “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book”. Yep. That’s me for the most part.
1. It’s not plugged in!
And the comments from way back when when I posted this originally:
12 Comments
WOW I love this thread!!! Those are all GREAT reasons to not watch TV!
Comment by Aurelia Williams
Good reasons to NOT watch TV. However, I’m still going to watch. LOL. I watch more movies than TV. My TV watching is generally done on Thursday and Sunday nights with a movie or two thrown in during the week. I turn it on the weather channel to fall asleep almost every night. I don’t watch any TV during the day.
And, if you wanted to you could watch TV episodes on your computer for FREE.
Comment by Amanda
I admire your dedication to living tv-free! Those are great reasons not to watch tv and kudos to you for finding what works for your family.
Comment by Christina
I did my TT about my favorite tv shows. We always have the tv on in our house. A bad habit, I know. Happy TT!
Comment by jenn
I admire your way of living free of TV. I don’t watch so much, but I need it. it’s important for me.
Altho it’s not opened 24/7 
Comment by No Nonsense girl
I don’t watch much, but I wouldn’t want it gone completely. I do not pay for cable, though! I don’t need to fight the kids any more than I have to.
Comment by Qtpies7
Wow, I think this is one of the best lists I’ve read today! #5 and #2 especially made me go “YES!!”
Comment by Hestial —
I very rarely watch TV. I do have about 3 shows that I may or may not watch each week. I am not one of those people that if I miss an episode, I have a coronary. Heck, half the time I end up missing them any way since I am doing other things.
Great list!
Comment by Wakela Runen
Hey..very interesting list..I seldom get to watch TV now b’cos my girl takes up most of my time..
Comment by Wolfie
I don’t watch much tv anymore, but I do enjoy the escapism at times.
Comment by Robin
Great post! I agree with every point you made here. In fact I have that Groucho Marx quote on a site all about the subject.
http://www.InsteadofTv.com
Comment by Carrie at NaturalMomsTalkRadio