Save money by killing your TV
Posted
Apr 21 2008, 12:33 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Just kidding! Wow, you TV people are scary when you're mad.
I don't really think you should kill your television. But how about turning it off? Say, for most of the time.
Today is the first day of TV Turnoff Week, that annual experiment in entertainment withdrawal. Between now and April 27, you're supposed to unplug the tube and plug back into your life. Read a book, take a walk, have a conversation with your spouse, play Chutes and Ladders with your kids -- the sorts of things that tend to go by the wayside when the plug-in drug is sucking out your brains and replacing them with the desire to shop, eat pizza and travel to theme parks.
Television itself is not inherently evil. If you know where to look, you can find quality programming. Personally, I enjoy true-crime shows like "Forensic Files" and goofy stuff like "MythBusters" and "Dirty Jobs," and I admire the writing on programs like "Monk" and "The Closer."
That is, when I see these shows, which is maybe two or three times a year -- and at other people's houses. I don't have a television.
Why so much watching?
Since its 1995 inception, TV Turnoff Week has encouraged millions of people to kick the habit, at least temporarily. According to the Center for Screen-Time Awareness, the sponsoring organization, children in the U.S. spend more time each year watching TV than they do attending school: 1,023 hours vs. 900 hours. Forty percent of us "frequently or always" watch TV during dinner. And if you want your hair to stand on end, check out CSTA's "Screens and Young Children" fact sheet.
Television's health effects on kids are fairly well documented. So why do we keep parking kids in front of the TV?
Some parents are exhausted and stressed and figure a couple of hours a night won't hurt their kids. Other parents probably don't want to be bothered with actually raising their children; it's easier to keep the TV on all day.
Finally, it's my impression that some parents believe that channels like Discovery and Animal Planet are "educational" and therefore shouldn't be limited. But why should even educational television be one of a child's top activities? Reading, drawing, make-believe, board games, sandboxes, jungle gyms, rope jumping, bicycling and running around outdoors (without a soccer team!) are much more important than knowing that there is a species of kangaroo that climbs trees. The kid should be out climbing them!
Steady TV viewing is cited as a major reason for rising obesity rates. And what is advertised during kiddie shows? Junk food! Oh, and toys. Lots of toys. Children have no defenses against advertising. No wonder they melt down in shopping malls and cereal aisles.
Turn off, tune out, save big
Over on the Queercents blog, writer Mike Bode notes that shedding the TV has had an economic impact on his life. Because of less exposure to advertising, he buys less. "I don't consider myself easily swayed," he writes, "but the absence of influencing factors really made us aware of the messages that were being put out in advertisements when we did see them."
I've lived without a TV for more than three years, so I'm immune to the latest must-haves. Recently I realized that I can't remember the last time I went to the movies, even though I'm a film fan. Because I'm not exposed to movie trailers, I don't feel the urge to attend.
According to the CSTA, 90% of the parents surveyed after Turn-Off Week report that they have reduced their family's viewing. That's "reduced," not "eliminated." You don't really have to kill your television. You just have to show it who's boss.
Advertising is insidious. Companies hire psychologists to figure out the best way to get us to want things. The less you're exposed to ads, the less likely you are to buy tons of stuff.
Strike a deal with your children, your significant other or yourself: Television will be limited to programming that brings real value to your life. Otherwise, far too many of your precious free hours will be spent on the couch with a bag of chips, as mediocre sitcoms unspool in front of your unseeing eyes.
Life is so much more than that. Or could be, if you turn off the television.
