Unless you've made the move to a wall-mounted flat screen, we're willing to bet that the television could be one of the biggest recreational appliances in your home (or maybe you're rocking an air hockey table). We felt somewhat proud for living without ours for so long, but we've come to realize that TV-less homes seem to be becoming the norm. If you want to go without yours, here are some tips and tricks that have helped us.
1. Our first tip for living without a TV is to change your watching habits. When we first got rid of ours, we had to break the habit of coming home to turn on the TV. Now, we spend more time exercising, talking to each other, cooking, reading, and even cleaning. We increased our direct "family time" dramatically when we dropped the TV. Weekends are no longer spent whiling away in front of PBS; instead, we're out exploring our community together. Not bad!
2. Friends who know we don't have a TV often say that we're awfully well-informed despite our TV-less lifestyle. It's true, and here's why: we watch everything on the Internet. Thanks to sites like Hulu.com and Netflix, we're able to keep up with current shows and movies, which are normally posted online a day after they air. In essence, our computer now pulls double-duty.
3. And finally, look to your friends for help. We turned to a couple of our buddies to watch sporting events (big games really aren't that exciting a day later), and soon got into a fun potluck routine. This worked out great: it's like carpooling, but with a television. We got to spend quality time with our friends, watch something we could all enjoy, and eat good food together.
What are your tips for letting go of the TV?
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We've been living without one for 2 years now. It was less of a big deal for me, as I spent several portions of my childhood sans TV, but my husband did have to get used to it. Netflix and Hulu have allowed us to select only what we want to watch, which is great.
I think you have to distinguish between living without TV and living without a cable package. We opted a year ago to get rid of our cable to change our lifestyle and save money (more than $50/mo depending on the package). It was an adjustment at first, if you're hooked on flipping channels and watching whatever was on, but now, I can't imagine having it.
We too watch all our shows on hulu or through download, and other than that, we just don't watch TV and really don't miss it. In retrospect, I can't believe how much time I wasted watching shows that I really wasn't all that interested in. It's removed a lot of negativity from our lives, as we used to watch cable news to get our information, and terrible reality shows. Our house is cleaner, we read more, and spend a lot more time outdoors. Most of all, the money we save has been better spent on vacations, trips and hobbies we've taken up since cancelling our subscription.
We have a TV but we cut off the cable a little more than a month ago and we don't live in an area with much over the air programming. Now we have a computer hooked to the TV so we can still put on cartoons now and then for my son, NCIS for me and hockey games for my husband. I could not be happier with our reduction in expenses and wasted TV time. None of us feel like we are missing out on anything. It is great not being a couch potato anymore.
I am a huge proponent of living without a television! I grew up in a household that had one in EVERY room. There was no escaping the white noise.
All my auditory and visual entertainment is on my laptop.
I LOVE Pandora for music... the mix is endless.
News can be found on any homepage website...
Netflix has a large selection of movies that can be watched instantly...
And, my favorite websites hold my interest...
Still though, the internet has become my "boob tube". I have been known to waste many hours here....
I guess even without technology, I'd still find something to idle my time away.
I haven't had a TV for 5 years now, though I do watch a few shows on Hulu or Netflix. Odd thing is, I don't feel like I've really "missed out" on the shows I didn't watch over the past 5 years. I feel like I got a lot done and saved a lot of money though.
My boyfriend wants to get a TV now to play video games, but we probably still won't get cable. After you haven't watched commercials for a long time, it's really jarring to see a bunch of them again.
We have a wall mounted flat screen, but no TV service. We only use it to occasionally watch a movie or play games. We've been living this way for almost five years now. It was an adjustment at first, but now I wouldn't have it any other way. TV is such a major time suck!
I havent had a tv since i moved out of my parents house nearly 10 years ago. I also didn't have internet until fairly recently... though after my roommate leaves we may cancel that too. I like to watch movies, so our plan is to get a projector for one room in the house. If we decide to keep the internet, we can get a mac mini and store movies and music on that, and hook it up to the projector. That way we don't have a huge ugly television in our home, being the center of attention.
We just canceled our cable service and bought an HD antenna to watch broadcast channels like ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX for free. We'd get rid of the TV altogether but movie nights at home have replaced going out to the theater so I think it's here to stay.
Television went out of my life right about the time I began remembering the things I used to love to do with my time. When television didn't offer too much distraction to fill the hours of my days I loved to draw so once again I began to draw. And I began to learn to paint because I'd discovered that I had plenty of time and nothing to lose.
I do have a completely embarrassing TV dedication--I watch "Gossip Girl" on the CW site and revel in my enjoyment of that one series. Other than that audiobooks entertain me when my eyes are busy with painting or knitting. I've actually enjoyed books I dodged reading when I was a student and keep up with my friends in discussions of current bestsellers, too.
My mom--who has far more free time than I do--said that she couldn't understand how I get so much done. I believe it's just because I don't give my time to television.
ellcee, I find your comment really interesting. When I didn't have a TV, I spent a lot more time in creative pursuits (writing, painting, etc.). Now I come home from work and the default "activity" is watching TV.
I don't know if I would get rid of the TV entirely, but I might try restricting my viewing to just one or two nights a week.
We ditched cable and Tivo a couple of years ago. It's been a huge improvement! However, I'm with ecarter85 on movie nights. Every other Saturday we cuddle up with the kids and popcorn. One other reason not to ditch the TV -- tornadoes. I have to be able to see the weatherman and the radar when severe weather is coming.
I have a related question: I've been wanting to get rid of my tv for a while now, but I like to play video games once in a while. Does anyone know if systems like the Wii can be hooked up to computer monitors, or if there are any other small-space, high-efficiency options? Thanks!
I added up my cable/phone/internet bill for a year and it made me sick to my stomach - now I'm on a mission to reduce those expenses to the absolute bare minimum. Before, when I've disconnected cable, I've spent more time in my art/sewing studio making things (and while making at or sewing listening to music - listening to books on CD - or - just listening to the birds outside the window). I still take one weekend a month with no tech stuff at all. I've been pretty amazed by what I can accomplish when I turn off the TV but, for me, it's about making it completely inaccessible. For now, with my schedule, when I'm watching TV I watch only on-demand or a short list of shows (hardly worth that ma$$ive cable bill).
"We turned to a couple of our buddies to watch sporting events ... and soon got into a fun potluck routine. "
Are you sure your friends also find this setup fun? Because I'm on the hosting side of the same situation and find it incredibly moochy and irritating.
Just go, cold turkey. Right now even though I don't have a tv, I do have hulu and netflix. But years ago I went six months with no tv at all, no hulu...just cold turkey. And it was probably one of the most enligthening times of my life. I read more. I had deeper conversations. It was just a different experience. I'm thinking now of limiting my hulu and netflix intake even.
To help the transition take on a different hobby or class or bake a cake from scratch. Just do something difference.
At first you will miss the tv and then you'll get to a point where you just don't even care anymore.
My husband and I cancelled our cable.... Oh TV....The 'Time Vampire'