What is Digg?287 Comments
- mayhemt, on 10/12/2007, -4/+114Contrary to usual belief, its not that difficult to live without TV or cellphone- I am living without both (internet is a must for me though)
2yrs & I am still counting on.... - gummih, on 10/12/2007, -1/+58I've been going 2 years without TV and it is brilliant. We have no TV in the house but we have a projector to watch DVDs which I enjoy very much. What I hated was those evenings where I would spend maybe 5 hours in front of the box and then when I finally got to bed I would think "what a fricking waste of life, I watched nothing of quality or importance tonight"
I am now reading more, meeting more people, my computer use is up though, and I think that I am actually watching more hours of QUALITY content per month than I used to do. The quality of the evenings with my wife has also improved. - Paktu, on 10/12/2007, -3/+55I agree. When I was a child, I watched a ton of TV. Now I'd say I watch less than five hours a week, and I could probably give it up cold turkey if I was truly motivated.
But there is no chance in hell I could give up the Internet now. - sinfree, on 10/12/2007, -8/+53It's been 22 years without a TV for me... yes I'm 22 years old :). My parents wisely raised me with no TV in the house, thus spurring me to do interesting things, like learning to program when I was 9.
- marnaq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+40A full afteroon of American Chopper does not increase your IQ.
- ohnnyj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29@ kristin364
You "never" watch TV but you watch TV? - Tiabin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29Getting rid of TV makes sense to me... and I've done that myself... but getting rid of my cell phone? Why on earth would I do that? I guess that sounds unreasonable to me, because I have no house phone in the first place... like many people, I use my cell phone as my normal phone.
- CBTF, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Nobody NEEDS any of it.. we just like these things.
- redivider, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28"10 years no TV, no cable, just internet, and the occasional movie. There isn't anything worth watching on television period."
I'm not sure you're qualified to make such a statement there, chief. You haven't had a TV in 10 years, yet you're the authority on the quality of everything that's on TV? I'm not arguing that everything on TV is great, and you're probably better off without it, but you certainly can't have any idea if it's worth watching if you're not watching it yourself. - kakapu4u, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24Yeah. He also didn't mention how broke he is, spending money on shows and gas instead of watching TV.
- SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20It really is better without TV. I lived in an apartment for 12 months with some other guys and for the first six months we couldn't afford TV so we did other things. The last six months when we did have TV we didn't go outside as much, didn't go out to do things, there were more fights among us and it was just generally a less enjoyable place to live.
I think TV is the number one thing that contributed to us not living together for another year. Sadly none of us realized it until after we'd all moved on. Now we all agree that TV is a fairly negative influence in the home, none of us watch TV much or at all anymore. - lukas88, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20Chalk me up as another self-important TV boycotter. At least I was until I realized that everybody needs an escape from reality, some more than others. It is just the method that is different. Now I am a more humble TV boycotter :)
- PayneX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Due to behavioural conditioning from many years on the internet i closed the website after seeing the words "30-day trial" as a hyperlink.
- jsd8cc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16We haven't had cable in the house for a year now. It's interesting when I happen upon a TV now, I turn into a caveman..."Oooo, flashing lights and pretty pictures!"
Overall, it's nice to have a lot more time to read, make music, or even (gasp!) converse with the people around me. - DAlighieri, on 10/12/2007, -12/+26I love it when people boycott an entire medium (albeit inconsistently... TV is out but DVDs are OK?) as if "television" were somehow a "problem". Just like with most other "problems" out there, the problem is with the PEOPLE, not the INANIMATE OBJECT(S). If YOU have a problem with television, YOU have the problem, not the TV. Leave the television out of it.
- skotski, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Without tv, I'm a much more productive member of my virtual community...
- tgilber, on 10/12/2007, -7/+20Thanks, lukas88, for calling it what it usually is: "self-important." I'm all for folks wanting to give up TV and doing it and enjoying it, but it's gets really old hearing all of the self-important, hollier-than-thou attitude that comes along with it.
Giving up TV is not some herculean achievment of enlightenment, and watching TV is not some robotic monotonous time sink. Of course, if either of those truly are the case for a given individual, then they have bigger issues to deal with than the TV. - dshPls, on 10/12/2007, -15/+27Ok, you know you're all going to watch the new season of LOST.
- evilTak, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15I translate it as: "Now that I've quit eating McDonald's Happy Meals, I enjoy five-course dinners more often."
- Universal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Try giving up the internet for 30-days...
- whisperedlie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14God, I hate this guy's blogs. My counter-observations:
1) People watch TV during mealtimes? In my family, my parents would never ever allow that. Maybe if you and your family were less self-absorbed this wouldn't have been an issue.
2) I'd rather have my eyes glued to the TV screen while jogging on the treadmill than watch the fat beast in front of me on the razor's edge of tumbling into a cardiac arrest.
3) Must be nice, going home for lunch. I eat at work. But, hey hey hey... I don't watch TV while I'm eating so we're on the same page!!1!
4) Yay... less talk about last night's reality TV show or American Idol, more dreadful talk about the weather or the horribly boring reaccount of someone's last vacation. I'm not sure which is worse. Outside of that, thanks Steve for the update on your booming social agenda.
5) Again: must be nice... living in freaking Vegas. I live in Cleveland. While I love my town, it isn't exactly what I would call the hub of entertainment and culture. "Going out on the town" around here is mostly involves getting wrecked in a local dive on cheap booze with a bunch of down-to-earth, regular joes like myself... something which I probably shouldn't indulge in anymore than I already do.
6) I'm feeling more ambitious about cutting out Internet time after reading this blog.
7) Good, go, stop using the Internet. I don't care; no one does.
8) You didn't kick a heroin habit, stop gambling, quit smoking, or (for god's sake) stop masturbating in the men's room at work. You didn't cure cancer. You switched off the TV. And then the clouds parted, the sun radiated warmth and renewed life into the hearts of all men, your farts started smelling like roses, big breasted women clung to your mighty penis, and the world fell into a deep, lasting peace. - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11"..how many other people in the gym would watch TV. Many of those people literally looked hypnotized."
That's kind of the point. You try to concentrate on the TV, or music, to keep your mind off of how much your body is hurting. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I will only give up my internet, when you can pry the tube from my cold, dead hands!!!
- tastypastry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I rarely watch TV myself. When I do watch TV its usually History Channel, Animal Planet or Adult Swim.
- friend18, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I don't watch any tv as well but I don't think of it as a real acomplishment though since I spend so much time on the internet. I would rather use the internet than watch tv. Tv hs mandatory pop-up adds you have to watch and is limited in content.
- tidu, on 10/12/2007, -8/+16Ah, he didn't mention the 10 IQ point increase he obtained after quitting TV...
- ClassicJBC, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Television, like any medium, can be used for generally good OR wasteful purposes. Don't forget that most people not only watch "crap" TV but also read crap books, watch crap movies, listen to crap music, etc. There is nothing innately superior or inferior to the medium. Who says reading a book is more noble than watching a TV show? It depends on what book and show to which you're referring. So just as there are quality books, films, and musicians, there is quality television. I'm still making it through the unfortunately canceled West Wing on DVD, and it's almost as educational as it is entertaining. There are plenty of non-canceled shows that are educational as well.
- rushoffailure, on 10/12/2007, -10/+18Finally, a digg story where people can sniff their own farts.
- olego, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10"no regular programming or cable shows or tape anything with my DVR"
Does downloading The Daily Show or watching clips of it on YouTube count as watching TV? If not, then I've been TV-free for a while. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9It's all internet for me. I disconnected my cable over two years ago, never thought twice about it.
Internet is my new TV. I honestly dont even understand how people can choose TV over the Internet, I really can't. - maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I would miss a lot of PBS. The majority of their programing is excellent, educational and entertaining. Pertaining to "regular" tv though- god, even WITH a tv I dont watch that *****. My girlfreind does, and it gives me a gigantic headache. Normal TV is so idiotic.
- Athyrius, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Cut the Cable in 1998.
Like other commentators I have kids who can program, build websites, paint, and draw beautifully and use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator like pro's. One of them is currently writing a 7 part novel, the other is learning Japanese- self taught and self motivated. They are both Honor students who are in the top 1% of U.S. students in testing and won the Presidential Education Certificate. The only complaint about that was the signature on the bottom- as I said, they are bright. They have little concern about what others think of them and they are also both non-racist and non-sexist.
I am not saying their achievements and attitudes are due to 'no tv' but I would say that lack of it frees the time and frees the mind to focus on more interesting things. - Dayz, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13i also just have the tv on for background noise.
- Athyrius, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7LOL@ ooh flashing lights! I can completely sympathize. I just said to my husband the other night. "I wonder what TV is like now?" His reply? "What an absolutely horrifying thought."
- velocipenguin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6She's still avoiding the ads. TV advertising is, in my opinion, one of mankind's most obnoxious inventions.
- madchemst, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I like that idea. A cellphone becomes a leish faster than I care to admit. I used to say: "but I can just turn it off". Yeah right...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I did that once and almost went crazy..
then I actually paid the comcast bill and all was right with the world again :P - inmatarian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6My usual TV viewing habits:
Monday, 7PM: Simpsons
Tuesday, 7PM: Simpsons
Wednesday, 7PM: Simpsons
Thursday, 7PM: Simpsons
Friday, 7PM: Simpsons
Saturday, 7PM: Simpsons
Sunday, 8PM: Simpsons
Seriously though, the less TV the better. I got sick of all of the Car and Prescription Medicine commercials. - Universal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Reminds me, http://www.itsawonderfulinternet.com/
A very funny animated story about a dude who decides to stop using the internet. - Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -10/+16Do sports count? That's really the only reason people should have a TV. News can be found online and quality TV shows can be bought on DVD. I just don't know that I could live without sports at home. Bars get expensive, you know?
- saska, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Nice gooooooooooogle ads for televisions at the top.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I gave up TV for 60 days once and made good use of all the extra time it afforded me. I sat down in front of a different screen and typed an article that was really just a diary entry disguised as a "study." I broke my rambling opinions into eight pieces in order to give it the feel of an experiment's results. Within the article I patted myself on the back and bragged about all the people i wound up talking to. People who earlier in the article I called mindless zombies. Then I got up from the computer screen and went to a self-help meeting. Because try as I may to make myself better than those around me I remain sad and unfulfilled.
- toastgodsupreme, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11TV is actually easy to get into, and easy to get out of.
My TV died in Sept of last year because of a storm. Due to laziness, I just never got a new one (that and my free cable had been taken away recently). I can't say much changed for me really. I usually just flipped the TV on when I got home because it's nice background noise for when I'm working on my computer (I can't honestly remember a time when I just flopped on the couch and watched tv and did nothing else). - toastgodsupreme, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7For a while my computer use did increase after I lost my tv (simply because there were certain shows like scrubs, lost, greys, etc that I was torrenting at the time). But I've backed off quite a bit, maybe that's due to the summer months though.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13I have no phone and although there's tv here it's mostly in Spanish (I'm in Costa Rica). I don't miss either. I have a 250gb USB drive full of crap I can watch, skype, msn etc.
- cbiz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5We get more than enough TV related stuff without even having a TV.
- cbiz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I grew up in a house without TV and I agree this is a good topic. I think both adults and children who has never been without a TV should try this experiment for at least a year.
- BobOrleans, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I tried giving up tv but within 72 hours I felt emotionally detached, experienced dry mouth, ran a high fever, and felt fatigue.
- shoover, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I disagree (with the OP), the problem with TV is choice. If you have leisure time then you turn it on and you're stuck to the schedule THEY provide. If you try to match the TV to your schedule then you may or may not get anything you want, or feel adds value to your life. If you match YOUR schedule to TV, then it becomes a disruptive influence on your life.
If you pop a DVD in, then it becomes entertainment/information of YOUR choice, that fits completely into YOUR schedule.
Things like TIVO and web programming are letting people recapture their free time and make better decisions, which I think adds to quality of life. Being 'glued to the set' probably detracts from it. - cbiz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I think 50"-100" TVs are killing TV. Giant images of Dell, KFC, Pepsi, Pills etc. wants to make me puke. Add the noise from 7.1 sound and these adds will send you to the funny farm. Now movies or long form shows with no ads is great on the big screen.
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