Comments on: A Year With (Almost) No TV

By: Tanya

Tanya — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:53:16 +0000

Hey Amber,

Happy no TV Anniversary! I cut down my satellite bill by $45 a month just by asking for the ‘basic’ package. It’s amazing how little I miss those extra channels – they are such a waste of time. I am reading more, going to bed earlier and cooking more, not to mention saving myself $45 a month! When I called to cut back our satellite subscription, the representative tried for 10 mins to get me to try a different package and offer me more services – ugh – I ended up just telling her to stop trying to sell to me and cut back the package. As a result we are watching less TV – maybe 5 hours a week – and that’s ok with me.

By: Lady M

Lady M — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:31:38 +0000

We have a TV and I watch dance shows regularly – probably 3-4 hours per week after the kids are in bed. The kids don’t battle us about TV much, probably because by the time we’ve eaten dinner and such, there’s time to either watch 20-30 minutes of TV or play a game before bed. I expect it will probably get more difficult when they’re old and want to watch complete shows, rather than segments of the Wiggles.
Lady M´s last post ..Perspective, the Breakfast Edition

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:13:04 +0000

You really are missing out; when you watch Dora The Explorer on a wall-mounted plasma TV with surround sound it’s like you’re actually there! It’s like YOU are there!

By: Sarah Joseph

Sarah Joseph — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:12:05 +0000

Good for you! We have a TV but no cable (our computer is connected to our TV). I feel a bit out of the loop too but as you we still keep up with our fav shows by streaming/downloading. I like it this way, we watch only the shows we spend the time to find and without the advertising.

By: Lauren @ Hobo Mama

Lauren @ Hobo Mama — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:59:03 +0000

For a long time, we had TV but not cable, which was the same as having TV but no channels. This was before the digital switchover, but not even bunny ears would get us a watchable signal. One summer I wanted to watch the Olympics and I would spend a long time squinting at a fuzzy athlete before the announcer would tell me what sport I was watching.

Then we moved to a place with free cable, and I went a little gaga over it, watching endless makeover, true-crime, and home-improvement shows (they’re educational! ha ha!). But then hulu came along, and I stopped wanting TV on mindlessly in the background, particularly once I had a baby and didn’t want him exposed to so much screen time. My parents leave their TV on all.evening.long, even through dinner, and it’s so distracting! I think they just tune it out. It’s also on as they get ready in the morning, even if they’re not in the room with it.

So our TV is up in our office instead of our living room for when we really want it, but we watch most of our shows online and on DVDs on our laptops, sitting on the couch. We still watch plenty, so I definitely don’t think of us as TV-free, but I do find that I enjoy it more without all the obnoxious commercials and promotions. Hulu has enough as it is!
Lauren @ Hobo Mama´s last post ..Reasons to get behind elimination communication

By: Summer

Summer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:19:57 +0000

We made it 3 months then Michael broke down and bought a new one. I’d be perfectly happy with no set, but I’m out voted. Ugh, I hate the commercial induced whining!
Summer´s last post ..If Only I used My Powers For Good Instead of Evil

By: Tracey

Tracey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:57:07 +0000

We don’t technically own a tv. But that is only because hubbie has our telus tv box hooked into our computer system. So we can watch it either on the monitor or the projector.

Next time I wonder how you have time to blog everyday. I will remind myself that you watch a minimal amount of tv.
Tracey´s last post ..Toilet Training Update

By: Melodie

Melodie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:18:51 +0000

As you know I would love to turf our tvs. My kids defiantly turn it on when I say they can’t and will watch hours if I’m sick or sleeping in. Then ask for more later when they get bored of playing. Now that I’ve figured out how to watch Grey’s Anatomy on the computer I don’t need tv at all. But hubby is glued to sports. Especially hockey. And because of his tv addiction we unfortunately suffer the consequences. But what a waste of money to have tv only to watch a couple hours of hockey every other day!
Melodie´s last post ..Making Airlines Breastfeeding Friendly

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:19:28 +0000

Good for you. I do think not having a tv readily accessible is a good thing, and having to decide deliberately when and what to watch is a good thing. I don’t find we have really bad tv issues, even though we have televisions. Angus likes watching sports, and I actually really like that he and my husband can watch a game together. Eve self-limits pretty well, and even when the tv is on, she’s colouring or playing Barbies. I do my evening stuff and go up and read until I fall asleep, so evenings don’t fall into mindless watching. If I watch something with my husband, it’s taking up reading time, so it had better be something I really want to see.

Mindfulness about this type of media is definitely required. But much as I loved watching Glee in my pajamas with my girlfriend before bed on the laptop, I need a couch in front of a set every now and then.
Allison´s last post ..************Book Review: February, by Lisa Moore

By: *pol

*pol — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:29:58 +0000

A few times I have been TV-less in my life. And when I lived on my own I had no TV until my roomate brought one in (I wasn’t happy about it, but hey, they rent half the livingroom too). And there were long spells during my married life when we had no cable — just rabbit ears and a VCR — so the TV was only turned on once in a while since it didn’t lend itself to channel surfing with the one clear channel! We gave up the luxury at a time when we really needed to scrimp.
Being “out of the loop” was by far the hardest part. At the office, people looked at me like I had 3 heads during the coffee-break TV chatter. And, sadly, I tended to be a little meszmerized by all the current stuff and cable commercials when I went to other people’s houses for dinner (an amazing amount of people keep their TVs on for background noise!).
Presently we have one TV and it’s downstairs in the family room. I love having my TV off the main floor. We have to DECIDE to watch it, instead of reflexively just turn it on. I admit I do miss watching HGTV while making dinner though! As a family we watch a whole lot of Discovery Channel… so our brains could be worse off I suppose. But that’s just me justifying too much TV time.

Congrats on the No-TV Anniversary! I’m a bit jealous!
*pol´s last post ..This and That