For almost two years now, I have lived without a TV hooked up to an antennae or cable hookup. And the truth be told, I don't miss it. I still watch DVDs and may casually watching a sporting event at the local drinking repository (i.e., bar), but I have no plans to change this habit anytime soon. I did a little research online for people like me who are without TV and they usually fall into two camps 1) radical religious fundamentalists and 2) countercultural artistic types. I am not really the poster child for either umbrella. Something eyeopening to consider: more households in the US have TVs than indoor plumbing.
Why did I go without you ask? The principle reason is that I had bought a condo in 2009, and in the stressful rush to get everything done in time, I neglected to order cable service. I had said to myself "Well, I'm up to my neck in stuff to do around the new place, I'll get around to it eventually." But about 3 weeks later, I realized televisions stranglehold was free. I no longer cared who was eliminated from the popular reality TV show. Favorite TV shows became inconsequential. And I had oodles of free time.
A secondary reason, is that my dad loved TV a little too much, and it drove me nuts. He honestly thought that the bunch of us sitting around watching TV was quality time. The TV would be on immediately when he came home, and he would sit on his lazy fat ass up until the Jay Leno monologue around 10:45. He also had a couple VCRs going so as not to miss a single nanosecond of his favorite shows. In the 90s for a while, he used to highlight his favorite shows in the TV guide, so as not to miss any. That stopped immediately after John Walsh on "America's Most Wanted" profiled a guy who did the exact same thing. And Walsh said something to the effect of: "I hope we get this dirtbag off the streets, so he can highlight his TV guide in prison." Which reduced my mom and I into fits on uncontrollable laughter. In fairness he has since changed, for reasons I'll share at another time.
There are though, a couple downsides for life without TV, the first is that I have to monitor the weather a bit more carefully, lest I wear a white tee shirt when its expected to rain. Also, I have fallen hopelessly behind when it comes to popular culture. I rarely know what movies are out, I don't know a lot of the details of what actors and actresses are doing, and I have to fake it around the watercooler when people ask me about the great game that was on TV.
Another unexpected consequence, is that my TV, which was of an ok size 7 years ago when I bought it, is now laughably small and "unflat". I had a dinner party last month, and a recurring comment was "Wow, you're TV is so small." Rest assured it is inversely proportional to my magnificent dong.
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