Life change can be hard, really hard. There is a reason we make resolutions every January 1. We desire to grow and improve and live life to the fullest, but getting there takes discipline and work and effort. Too often, we fall short of the desired change we desire to embrace.
But there is one change available to us that is as significant and beneficial as any of the others. The decision and implementation are really not that difficult. In fact, almost everyone I have ever met that made the change recommends it.
Watch less television.
Consider the negative effects of television on our lives and the consequences of allowing too much screen time for kids.
It is bad for our health. Numerous studies draw direct parallels between excessive television watching, obesity, and poor eating habits. But we don’t need studies to tell us we eat less healthy when watching television. We already know that.
It distracts us from the real people in our lives. The characters on television are not real. They are thought up in an office building and given life on a piece of paper. In contrast, you are surrounded everyday by real people living real lives. They need you. And you need them.
It influences our spending habits. Corporations do not spend trillions of dollars in advertising hoping to influence you. They spend trillions of dollars because they know, eventually, they will gain some control over your spending.
It costs us money. We spend money to power our television sets. Add in the cost of cable/satellite bills, dvd’s, Internet channel subscriptions, movie subscriptions, peripherals … and we’re starting to talk about real money.
It, literally, causes us less satisfaction with life. According to the Journal of Economic Psychology, TV viewers report lower life satisfaction, higher material aspirations, and more anxiety.
It results in less intimacy with your spouse. Couples who keep a TV in the bedroom have sex half as often as those who don’t.
And those are only the ones we are aware of. When we consider how television influences our worldview, impacts our kids, changes our mood, and demands our mental energy, the downsides of too much television make an almost airtight case to watch less of it.
But statistics say we watch television nearly 40 hours per week. 40 hours! That is 2,000 hours we could have spent last year doing anything else, experiencing any other positive habit: learning, reading, growing, contributing, or pursuing a dream.
When I decided to watch less television years ago, I was immediately forced to fill my evenings with something else. We spent more time together as a family. We spent more time outdoors. I began to write more. I decided to visit the gym in the evening. I took more control over my life and my decisions. These are all good things—healthy habits—and cutting out television provided opportunity for me to accomplish them.
Not only are the negative effects of TV detrimental to our lives, the opportunity cost is great. There are just better, more life-fulfilling things we could be doing with our evenings and weekends.
If you agree, here are some helpful tips to reduce your personal television watching habits.
1. Begin with the decision. Most of the healthy habits that emerge in our lives are the result of an intentional decision. If you agree that your life may improve with this simple change, embrace it. If you don’t think it will improve your life, review the above list again.
2. Less can be different than none. Put down your defenses. I’m advocating less, not none. I realize some TV can be educational and entertainment is not necessarily an exercise in futility. We still have one TV in our house that I watch occasionally. But I do watch far less… and maybe you should too.
3. Limit the number of televisions in your home. One of our first steps in reducing clutter in our home was to take the TV out of the kitchen. As an unexpected result, I began to discover how much I enjoyed cooking. And removing the TV out of our bedroom reminded me how much I enjoyed…
4. Find a good season to start. While this habit could be incorporated at any time, nice weather outside (or a busy season) provides a natural opportunity to enact a change—especially if you have family to get onboard.
5. If necessary, go it alone. Speaking of family, just because you are personally feeling challenged in this area does not mean they are too. That’s okay. Make the change in your own life first. Become the change you would like to see in your family.
6. Be intentional about planning something else. Go for a walk. Find a book. Join a club. Or pick up a new hobby. Intentionally picking something else to do will keep the temptation to a minimum.
7. Try to eliminate specific shows. It may seem easier to make sweeping generalities such as, “I’ll stop watching TV on Thursday nights,” “I’ll turn off the TV at 10pm,” or “I’ll cut out all reality shows.” But for us, at first, it was easier to pick some specific shows that we could easily live without. When we started to experience the benefits of living life rather than watching it, it was suddenly easier to cut out even more.
8. Know it gets even easier over time. Television is a self-propagating habit. It promotes its own self-interests by boldly declaring the Best New Show, Most Watched Network, Can’t Miss Episode, or Game of the Year. They play on our fear of missing out. But as you commit to watching less, you are less persuaded by these claims because you see them less. Quickly you will realize you aren’t really missing that much anyway.
Life change can be hard. But some decisions have a greater beneficial impact than others. And watching less television just may be your quickest shortcut to better living right away—it only takes the decision to hit the Power-Off button.
Catherine says
When I was a child my family moved from in town on to a farm and, where we lived, there was no tv reception (our house was behind a hill – no internet then to stream!). We went a year before some new improvement made it possible but, oh, how I loved that year! I actually got to spend time with my parents! We played board games and cards and went to bed early, got up early and enjoyed our days. I have never forgotten that. We do have a tv but it is never on just for the sake of being on. However, we are huge internet users and that has just replaced the constant thrum of a tv. I am trying to get my family on board with reducing our ‘gadget’ time so I hope we make some strides in that direction in the coming months. I dream of a power surge burning out all our gadgets and us not replacing them though! Well, maybe not my Mac….. :)
cg shaq says
I consume a lot of Music, TV Shows, Movies and Video Games but I mostly restrict it to the ones that have a rating of 80 or higher on metacritic. All you need to do is consume good art and that should solve everything except for the money issue.
Melissa says
For me I’m picky on what I watch. There are maybe two shows in the last two years. I’m also very picky on movies, I can on most movie tell you what will happen with in minutes. I do watch doctor who with my son but we spend a lot of time together talking about the show. We are very mindfull of all the work that goes into it. Now video games is my son’s biggest problem, I known too many people that depend on them as if it were a drug. I’m modest in my ways but I’m still more grounded hen most I know.
Tyler says
So true. My wife and I have occasionally discontinued our Satellite service and it is mind blowing how much time you recover.
Chris says
For me personally, I would do so much better if the TV was out of the house. But, I have a housemate who does (and did) put her foot down on that one! Its like having potato chips in the house…If I know they are there, then I crave them. If they are not in the house then I don’t even think of them.
I have gotten myself to the point to where I don’t watch any mainstream TV except for one show and when that ends I will not get “hooked” on any others.
Yanic A. says
We did make the leap… We still have a TV, but no cable (or even local) service. We have a few dvds and we can stream from the internet when we need to or desire to, but we can’t just mindlessly turn on the TV which has made us question “why” every time we do! It’s a great exercise. I used to watch 10 shows. Well, this season, half of those got either cancelled or ended. Which would make some people upset. It made me really happy. Now we have a pledge to not watch any new shows! So next season, we’ll have the last 5… 2 of those, we are on the fence about because we are becoming bored… So really that would be 3. Which means 2.5 hours a week. Considering that 2 years ago, our average a week was about 20 hours, I’m pretty proud of us! :-)
Afolabi Omowunmi says
Spot on Joshua. We need to turn off our smartphones too!
Susan Rayment says
I got rid of my tv about 2 or 3 weeks ago and haven’t missed it at all! It’s easy how quickly you adapt and spend time on other quality things instead. Glad I’ve finally done it!
Sophie says
I’m on day 3 now, I have found it rather hard I must admit but the advantages of bringing out my creative side definitely outweighs any negatives, my greatest concern is now trying to get my son to do the same thing when he is basically a TV addict and totally my fault!
BrownVagabonder says
This is such an important point, especially for the newer generations, who spend hours on watching television on NetFlix a week. Sometimes when I find a show that I particularly like, I know that I spend a whole weekend catching up on that show. Do I feel better after that bout with the TV? Not at all. I feel crappy physically because I have been sitting for so long watching a screen. But I also feel crappy mentally, as I keep on comparing myself to the skinny, beautiful, smart, suave actresses, and I fall terribly, horribly short.
It would be better for all involved if they didn’t watch television at all. Starting now.
Dee says
I think the same can be said with computers, cell phones and especially Facebook.
jen says
Totally. I just naturally evolved to the point that I don’t really watch tv, but I’m still in major social media mode. Hope I evolve out of that soon, too.
joshua becker says
I think there is a healthy distinction to be made between consumption and creation in all areas that you mentioned. It has been a helpful thought-process for me.
Television, by its nature, fosters consumption. But computers and social media and cell phones do provide its users with the opportunity for creation (this blog post is good example of that). As instruments of mindless consumption, however, I totally agree with you.
Chuck Freeman says
Yes I agree, computers are interactive not only you can create with them but you also communicate with real people (social media, text msg).
Television brings you in this trance like dream world where you get influence by subtle and less subtle form of marketing. Its the perfect brain washing machine for mass control and it’s not used to make you a better person, the end goal is to transform you into the perfect consumer…
I stop television many years ago, and now It became very obvious when you talk with big television watcher. They have absolutely no real personal opinion; everything they say or think is a reformulation of what they saw on TV. Nothing original.
Ellen Scott Grable says
A few years ago I was at a Christmas party with some people from way back in high school who got together via Facebook. I heard a group of women talking animatedly about so and so and giggling and I inquired who were they talking about and when they said the name of television show (blank stare from me) and went on talking about this character and that and how they couldn’t believe this or that.
I said you do all realize this isn’t real right? They went back to the conversation and I went home. They had no critical thinking skills and thought fracking was “no big deal” and GMO was made up by organic farmers to charge more at another gathering. I no longer waste time on TV addicts who add no real value to interpersonal interactions. They just vomit up last night’s episode to rehash ll while planning their next trip to the mall.