Confessions of a TV Addict

Last week was TV Turn Off week. My daughter's school participated in the campaign this year, and she came home excited about the experiment. She reported the facts:

Americans watch an average of more than four hours of TV a day, or two full months of TV a year.

Two whole months.

I'm probably the average American in terms of media consumption. My recent complaint has been that I don't have time to do anything, but I wasn't really paying attention to where a good chunk of my time went. I admit I wasn't completely thrilled with the prospect of giving up any of my viewing time... I guess I felt like Calvin:

At the end of a stressful day, TV was my cold beer... TV was my cigarette. I've watched friends who smoke blow tension and stress right out of their bodies at the first puff of a cigarette. Some part of me must've thought I was getting the same release while watching television. On the other side of this experiment I realize how lethargic and just plain "blah" I feel after sitting in front of the set for long periods.

Now I can see why it has been a struggle to get everything done. I watch too much television.

I decided to limit myself to five hours last week. Monday and Tuesday nights, I didn't turn on the set at all. Wednesday is my favorite night of prime time... I really enjoy Lost, Alias and Eyes. Thursday, I watched the Apprentice and ER. Then I had a TV-free Friday. Saturday, I folded on the experiment. I think Saturday taught me the most... because I had created all this spaciousness without television, I could actually feel the shift when I started to add more television back into my life. It just didn't feel good.

So we will keep going. Today was a TV free day.

None of this is new to me... I've had periods before when I turned the TV off... But something about the first part of the year... the level of stress... the drama and turmoil... TV became a constant escape... It is no coincidence that as my TV watching increased, my practice decreased.

Comments

[Matt]

I've also been addicted to TV on and off. I would say that having a baby last summer helped a great deal. We didn't want to expose him to TV, so our consumption of TV went down to pretty much nothing, and now still a rather limited amount.

I find that after about 20 or 30 minutes of watching TV, my mood shifts dramatically downward. I become irritable, restless, anti-social, and just not much fun to be around. However, I also feel glued to the TV, and it's hard to pull myself away.

Thanks for your insight.

[chalip]

I hear you Matt... Limiting your child's contact with TV (and even other stuff... computers, video games, etc.) is IMHO a good thing. My daughter doesn't always like me when I tell her to turn off the TV or the GameBoy, but she honestly seems happier and more engaged when we are talking, playing board games, working on art projects, etc. Kids these days are just hard-wired into technology... I'm not afraid to pull the plug when enough is enough.

[Cindy]

Yes, I struggle with the TV as well. I go through periods of watching and not watching. The whole reality trend has helped me because I just don't enjoy reality tv.

Good luck to you.