Could you turn off/not watch your teevee for 40 days?

[Mind_your_head]

Yeah, this is kind of a 'lenten' idea....but still. Could you? Would you? Are you "addicted" to your teevee? (you don't have to answer to 'me'.....just entering a 'self-examination' question to consider.

Peace,
M_Y_H

[onetwo]

1. That's nothing. The real question is...

...can you stay offline for 40 days? I honestly don't think I could.

[Mind_your_head]

4. good point.

HOWEVER, there's a whole lotta people who just get their opionions STRAIGHT from MSM teevee. At least, people (the 'upper 10%) who get their info from the internet get to 'self-choose' what they read/who they listen too, right? :-)

[Delphinus]

15. TV - no problem.

Internet - no way.

[Hippo_Tron]

46. Same here

[DearAbby]

33. HELL NO!

Dont take my "tubes"!!!111

[Bluerthanblue]

79. agreed, both

are healthy challenges.

TV's easy- computer much harder, but just maybe a more life altering change. I've done it in much smaller increments- days, to as much as a week. The thing I've noticed the most was that finding facts- information is much more of an effort offline. Search engines give us access to such ...instant information satisfaction. For manic minds, that is sometimes a dangerous thing-

peace~

[newmajority]

2. Well, now that the primaries are over

and the few good TV shows that still exist are done for the season, my TV isn't on that much.

If the sun would ever actually show up around here, it would be on even less.

I doubt there's anything I "have" to watch on TV until the last week of August.

[shireen]

20. "few good TV shows that still exist are done for the season" -- not anymore

if you have non-premium cable, there's been a new trend of summer programming. And the shows are excellent, even better than most network. Look out for Burn Notice on USA, a really fun spy series. I think some of the full episodes from season 1 are available free for viewing on the USA website. Monk will be in it's 4th season, I think, on USA this summer. On TNT, The Closer with Kyra Sedgewick and Saving Grace with Holly Hunter are pretty good too. And check out "Army Wives" on Lifetime -- i've become quite fond of that series, just started the 2nd season last Sunday but you can catch up on what happened by reading about the 1st season online.

[rebel with a cause]

66. Obama had a statement before the "Army Wives" show

tonight. I don't watch the show, to be truthful, but I caught the beginning by accident. He talked about what the show was about and told people to go to a web site where they could find out how to help the real Army wives and families left behind by service men who were serving over seas, probably the Middle East. It blew me away. That was a lot better than a political add. WOW!

there is a new show, "In Plain Sight" that isn't too bad either about the Marshall service that takes care of people in witness protection. Like the other shoes, it is funny, sad and cop show genre. I can't turn off my tv, that is my connection to the outside world. Some connection, I don't watch news, except for my liberal media. :rofl:

[Honeycombe8]

3. Well, I COULD. But I'd be mighty grumpy. Why would I want to do that? nt

[barbtries]

5. my tv was turned off on 9-29-07

actually it was left behind when i moved to NC from CA then. we got a new box in time for my son to watch the super bowl, but no cable.
so i'd have to say yes, i could.
don't ask me to turn off my computer though! internet's where i been getting my news for years anyway. i never watched survivor or american idol. we do okay without tv.

[readmoreoften]

6. I only use it for watching movies and documentaries on DVD, does that count?

It's not hooked up as to be able to get TV. Could I go without watching a movie for 40 days? Sure. I have.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

11. Same here, but I also watch the local news in the morning too. n/t

[napi21]

7. I have to join the polks who could live without TV, but NOt the internet!

Although I have the TV on in the background almost all the time, usually tuned to CNN or MSNBC, I spend most of my time on the net. I can't drive anymore, so most of my connections to people are you folks on DU and a number of others I've met in other groups all over the world. Without my computer, I'd be completely LOST!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

17. I have to have internet to do my job,

so going without internet is out of the question. TV I could probably do without. I only use it to watch the local news and dvds. We usually watch dvds at home instead of going out to the movies, because it is much cheaper. But you know what? I'm not getting rid of our TV because I enjoy watching movies with my family after work, there's nothing wrong with that. I think the most important thing is to try to have balance, meaning have other activities on your plate besides just watching TV.

[TomInTib]

8. Done

No teevee here...

Gone with Gonzales' bullshit.

Little pencil-dick bastard.

[cali]

9. I turned it off for a couple of decades. Just got cable last week

so I could watch this election play out. I did that in 2004. I'll discontinue it after the election. I really dislike TV.

[taterguy]

10. I could but I wouldn't

[habitual]

12. haven't had a television in 8 years I think.

don't need one now with the internets. So, like others, easy to no TV, but more difficult without the internets.

[timtom]

13. I'm already there

for years.

[shireen]

14. no way! Burn Notice is coming back to USA! nt

[rucky]

25. LOL

[sarge43]

16. Two years TV free

I don't miss it at all.

[bean fidhleir]

18. I don't even own one. (nt)

[H2O Man]

19. We went without tv

for about the first six years we lived in this house. There are advantages. But I love to watch boxing, and like the news sometimes.

[parasim]

21. easily.

Of course, i'd miss the "c-span on in the background" throughout the day (work at home), so would have to tune in their radio station.

other than that, everything else i watch i can get on the web or iTunes. for instance, I can catch all of the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert on comedy central's website, and i can watch Lost (the only drama I watch) on the web... if I want a hirez version of that, i can download it from iTunes.

[PDJane]

22. Easy..........

don't own one. Could I give up the computer for that long? Yes, and I have (mine ended up seriously contaminated with a virus. Hoever, that would be a very much more difficult thing.

[hlthe2b]

23. >2 years without cable now....

I watch maybe one or two shows a week on a tiny portable tv with an aerial if there is something on network or PBS I want to see, but I could go 40 days, easily.

I do rent DVDs though... Does this count?

[newfie11]

24. You bet. I hardly watch the thing

Now going off line, well that's another story.

[hlthe2b]

26. Admittedly, I probably couldn't go 40 min. without internet access

if awake....LOL

[KG]

27. TV-less for 10+ years

[LWolf]

28. Sure.

I don't watch it much, anyway; it's generally playing old movies or reruns as background while I'm reading a book.

[greendog]

29. I've been "turned off" since 1975.

I go without the internets for extended periods as well.

[CODemocrat]

30. No

tried it...TV won?

[Jack Rabbit]

31. It's easy. Trust me on that one.

TurnOffYourTV.com

[DearAbby]

32. Could you do it for over 4 yrs?

I have, it now sits in the living room unplugged and dusty in a corner...soon I may just take it out and store it in the shed. The small TV in the bedroom just plays VHS tapes and DVDs at night just before bed.

[Patchuli]

34. Our tv goes on but rarely

so, not a problem!

[BlooInBloo]

35. It would have to be after the nba playoffs, when there's nothing but baseball on.

[Rosemary2205]

36. The REAL test would be no TeeeVeee plus no internet tubes !!!

Add the Mp3 and the Cell to that list and folk are gonna go noodles. :)

[hisownpetard]

37. Couldn't do without Keith.

[rucky]

43. All his best stuff ends up on the 'net that same day.

just sayin - in case of emergency

[hisownpetard]

58. That's a good reminder. Thanks!

:hi:

[fishwax]

38. I'm sure I could, but I'm not sure why I'd want to

Ditto with the Internet.

[logosoco]

39. That would be easy...

but I could not go without the internet for that long!
I've commented to my husband that it seems like "back in the day" when we only had a few free network channels we watched TV a lot, but now that we have over 100 channels that we pay for, we hardly watch it at all!

[akwapez]

40. As long as it is not during the season for LOST n/t

[Dukkha]

41. Easily

After 40 days you'd realize you weren't missing anything. Nothing bust simplistic crap. Network TV especially has never been dumber. Plus a great many TV shows are actually advertisements disguised as entertainment loaded with more ads over it. The amount of banner ads, scroll ads, and watermark ads over shows has reached ludicrous levels. Even quality shows are subjected to this ADD inducing frenzy.

However I could not live without the Internet because of the broad changes to the brick & mortar retail world. I need to buy my niche items that aren't available locally like physical media music (vinyl & CDs).

[blindpig]

42. The question is not could but would.

That would eliminate the cheap talk.

Speaking of 'eliminate':


TV is alternative reality, I'll stick with the real thing.

[CrispyQ]

44. Nope. Not this time of year.

Burn Notice & Eureka start in a few weeks.

[dawgman]

45. Well....during summer yes I could. During spring (after the NCAA Bball tourney)

yes I could. During fall and winter when football and College Bball are going full steam I might die of sports starvation.

[BuelahWitch]

47. TV no. Internets yes.

I turned off my cable months ago. Don't miss it (except for an occasional Turner Classic Movies special). I get a few channels in and they look pretty bad, so I don't watch.
I would horribly miss my internet were it to go poof. My cat would be dancing for joy, but I would be very unhappy.

[dixiegrrrrl]

48. Lemme put it this way

tv is becoming obsolete
and repetitous.
not to mention those damn commercials...
very little worth watching other than Bill Maher, Jon Daily, Colbert,
Olbermann...and most of their stuff I can find online.

Haven't had the tv on more than 4 hours a week for years..
will watch local weather during hurricane season..


Internet..different story ..
real news, wide selection of it,
online books...
movies on and off line
and interactive places like....here !!!.
and shopping...look, Ma...no car !!!

You will have to pry that mouse from my cold dead fingers...}(

Husband is muttering something about an intervention, tho I have no idea why he complains.
I gave him a can opener, for god's sake./

[bigwillq]

49. I couldn't.

It helps put me to bed.

Plus, I do enjoy a few shows here and there. I also like it for background noise.

[Terran]

50. Easily

Now the computer, THAT would be hard.

[L. Coyote]

51. NoTV for 17 years once! Then, when you start watching again

it seemed like all propaganda and behavior programming, because it is soooo unlike reality.

And, it takes a little while for the brain to add the third dimension and complete the illusion. :rofl:

I lived in a part of the Amazon without newspapers (and no T-Vs).
When I came out once and saw a headline "War ends, 10,000 dead."
Damned if I didn't buy the paper to find out where the war was.

War sells news!!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

52. I turn it on only for the following purposes:

1. Favorite programs on PBS, such as Nova, Frontline, and POV, and maybe Masterpiece, depending on what they're showing

2. Watching DVDs or VHSs.

I canceled cable when I was in a financial crunch and realized that I didn't turn the tube on for days at a time.

[lumberjack_jeff]

53. What is this "teevee" of which you speak? n/t

[LeftyMom]

54. I didn't have one for years.

I do now, for my documentary habit and my son's video games, but we could easily do without.

[latebloomer]

55. I rarely watch it

and could probably do fine getting rid of cable and just renting movies from Netflix.

Day after day I look at the listings and there's absolutely NOTHING I'm interested in. Maybe a movie- though we have HBO and MAX and there's still rarely anything I want to watch. Occasionally there's something on TCM. Used to watch Olbermann some, but got sick of all the blather.

On the other hand, my husband and kids watch a fair amount, and my mother-in-law, the current bane of my existence, has moved in with us and has the TV on in MY living room EVERY WAKING MINUTE!! :banghead:

[dixiegrrrrl]

61. Be a real shame if that tv got "broken" in some way..

had same problem with a tv addicted stepdaughter.
I bought her a tv for her room.
She stayed pretty invisible for many years.

win-win

[latebloomer]

72. Yup- my m-i-l HAS a TV in her room

but she prefers to be in the living room, in the big ugly-ass recliner that she brought with her, watching the flat-screen TV and going out to the porch to smoke every 15 minutes. :mad:

Nice lady but sharing a house with her is REAL different from visiting with her.

Wouldn't want anything to happen to that TV, tho- we paid a lot for it and my huz and kids would miss it.

I'm glad it worked out with your stepdaughter.

[Greyhound]

56. WARNING! Anyone thinking of doing this should consider that eliminating their daily dose

of propaganda and thought-killing pablum will find their levels of outrage and discontent will significantly increase.

Obedient acceptance of American atrocities and hypocrisy will become more and more difficult, eventually progressing to the point of being unbearable. You will lose the ability to engage in mind-numbing conversations with your co-workers about that which occupies their lives outside of slave-time.

You will no longer understand the cryptic references to such media icons as Hannah Montana or her talentless father.

In short, the longer you reject the Soma, the less Amerikan you will be, it is the defining commonality of our culture.

[Mind_your_head]

59. Hannah who?

Seriously, my kids talk about the kids they babysit .....and how THOSE kids just mentally buy into Hannah Montana, et al.....I just go "uh-huh"

NONE of us really understand the deep, grave impact/grip that advertising has had UPON US ALL.

[conflictgirl]

62. Unfortunately that's not true

I don't watch my TV - I only use it for watching DVDs - but unfortunately I still know who Hannah Montana and her talentless father are because their exposure is certainly NOT limited to TV just because that's where their show airs. There's crap about them pretty much everywhere.

[Mind_your_head]

64. I haven't watched TV in 7 + (?) years or so......

I couldn't pick out Hannah Montana in a line-up if my life depended upon it.

Teevee cluelessly,
M_Y_H

edit: grammar (for those of us who still 'care' about things such as 'grammar')

[Greyhound]

74. That's funny, I stopped watching altogether less that a year ago, and I

only learned of the existence of her (them?) about a week ago because of a DU thread. Of course I haven't bred, so there's a whole world of shit that I've been spared.

Still, hardly a day goes buy that I don't overhear some conversation that I don't get at all, not until I can discern that they're talking about TV.

[Lilith Velkor]

75. That doesn't bother me much

What does bother me is how offended some people get when you tell them you don't watch TV.

I stopped watching in the mid-90s because the "shaky-cam" style was popular at the time, and it gave me headaches.

[Greyhound]

76. Almost like you suggested that their "God" doesn't actually exist.

I think you would find the interview with Aldous Huxley from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3454854&mesg_id=3454854">this link fascinating. He described our regime in frighteningly accurate terms in 1957.
:kick:

[azmouse]

57. I watch movies and ballgames.

I'd miss them for those 40 days but I could do it.

[Dastard Stepchild]

60. I need something to do when breastfeeding, so no.

But ask me in about 6 months. Then I think I could.

[MedleyMisty]

63. Do you count watching DVDs?

Because that's all ours is used for.

But yeah, I could easily do without watching DVDs for 40 days.

The real question is - could I live without the internet for 40 days?

I haven't watched any actual programming in years - and when I do see it in restaurants and stuff it's jarring and annoying and awful.

[seabeyond]

65. i have had mine off a couple years. started reading and am obsessed with books

kids seldom watches. huby turns on and amazes me how much shit is on and why watch the shit anyway.... garbage

[uppityperson]

67. TV? Done. Computer? Difficult but it depends.

[nadinbrzezinski]

68. Yes, I have done that in the past

in fact, every time we turn it back on it is like... this is why we don't watch...

Over the last ten years there have been literally ONE program that has been worth watching

BattlteStar Galactica

Myth-busters is fun but not addicting, though useful if you are trying to explain physics.

And the food network for background

After that... not really... it is crap

[FloridaJudy]

69. Already done it

My TV hasn't been turned on in years. No reason to, since I don't have cable and only get two really fuzzy channels. I can get Olberman on the 'net, and watch DVD's on my computer, so it's no loss.

Now the computer...that's another thing entirely. I'd undoubtedly start jonesing if I had to give that up!

[lightningandsnow]

70. Done it!

I go away to camp for 5 weeks every summer.

[DFW]

71. Sure. I do that every year.

I spend a month and a half straight in the USA, and when I'm back Stateside,
I watch other people's TVs.

[Bluzmann57]

73. No.

Ok, so call me weak or whatever, I don't care. I love the Cubs and try and watch as many games as possible on TV. And I like to watch local news as well. So I'm being honest here. I cannot turn off my tv for any length of time.
I have, however, gone a few days without looking at the internet. Just sitting and reading or puttering around the house or working. Lots of things to do and sometimes there is no time for either internet or tv.

[DemReadingDU]

77. TV - not so important. Internet - No Way could I live without my computer

:)

[Fumesucker]

78. Been there, done that

Wore out the teeshirt long ago.

The intertubez on the other hand.. :evilgrin: