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Mrs. Brigham got me thinking– she does this often. She and Mary have had posts on the television, and I commend just how far they go to free up time for the more important things in life.
Her post, entitled Unplugging the Tube, talks about how her life is different after unplugging the television:
Our lives had been full and interesting before, but became even more so after the television was completely gone. Even when you are not a TV fan, it still can be easy to fall into the trap of passive entertainment when you find yourself bored and all out of ideas. Once the screen is gone, you must search and find better ways to spend your time. Thanks to our dislike for television, we have tried many hobbies and interests we may not have otherwise. We have visited museums, local historical sites & parks, tried geocaching, went on hikes, visited farms & zoos, planted a garden, read many books, and done countless other things that have filled our days much more than television ever has.
They originally turned it off because of the cost of high definition cable. We also turned off cable to get out of debt. However, we have a collection of DVDs (mostly VeggieTales!) and we don’t have a problem watching a movie now and then when we control the time.
I once used the argument that you couldn’t see the State of the Union address or other important announcements (there’s currently a water shortage in our area, and I wouldn’t have known it except for the radio), but the Internet can get you that information.
So, I’m not ready to go without it totally, though I am glad that we’ve significantly cut back and our lives do not revolve around “what’s on tonight.”
I’ve probably told you before that we got rid of our TV when the ladies were just learning to read. The difference between having a TV and not having one is that you don’t have to answer the “can I watch …” question over and over. I know many families have other ways of getting around that. I totally agree with the above quote.
Now that they are 16 and 18, life and technology have changed. The computer has become a different but similar distraction. We can play DVDs on our laptop, so it is sometimes a temptation to stay up too late watching a movie.
Another thing I find interesting is that, while it’s been over 10 years since we had a TV, somehow our mental clock is still on a TV schedule. What I mean is, 11 o’clock seems like a normal bedtime, even though I’d really prefer to go to bed much earlier. I’m sure if I had grown up in mountain time it would be 10.