Out There: People Who Live Without TV

[alienlovechild 75]

For many Americans the thought of life without TV is akin to forgoing food, shelter or, God forbid, the Internet. But about 1 to 2 percent of Americans do abstain from the ####### tube, and they might seem like strange bedfellows.

A recent study of those who live without found that about two-thirds fall into either the "crunchy granola set" or the "religious right, ultraconservative" camp, said researcher Marina Krcmar, a professor of communication at North Carolina's Wake Forest University. Krcmar interviewed 120 people from 62 different households who do not watch television, as well as 92 people from 35 households with TV, and described her findings in a new book, "Living Without the Screen" (Routledge, 2008).

Aversion to television, it turns out, is a common ground for the very liberal and the very conservative.

"I interviewed one guy who was 31, single, an artist living in Boston, who saw himself as countercultural," Krcmar told LiveScience. "The next day I had an interview with a religious woman with ten children who lived in the Midwest. These people seem like they would disagree about almost everything, but if you ask them about television the things that came out of their mouths were almost identical."

Krcmar herself lives on the dark side, having given up television about 13 years ago.

"It's just something I don't want in the home — it's a perpetual annoyance, like a gnat," she said.

The motivations for most people who abandon TV fall into three categories, Krcmar found.

Some give it up to avoid exposing their families to the excessive sex, violence, and consumerism they feel are promoted onscreen. Others object to the medium itself, claiming television intrudes too much into their lives, interferes with conversation and takes time away from the family. Finally, some people have a beef with the power and values of the television industry and don't want its influence in their homes.

In contrast to the average American adult, who watches three hours of television a day, non-watchers fill their time with a plethora of activities.

"Non-viewers had a greater variety of things that they did with their free time than viewers did," Krcmar said. "It's not just that they were reading instead of watching TV. They were hiking and biking, and going to community meetings and visiting with friends. Overall, they tend to do more of everything."

"The research tends to show that increased exposure to television and violence results in greater aggression in children," Krcmar said. "That's a pretty consistent finding."

Though not all children become more violent, and everyone reacts uniquely, it's fair to say that what we watch affects us.

When parents did cut television out of their homes, they reported that their kids didn't bug them as much for junk food and toys advertised on TV. They also said giving up television made their children easier to manage.

"It's sort of counter-intuitive, because people think their kids would drive them nuts without TV," Krcmar said. "But parents found that kids became very good at entertaining themselves and didn't need to be entertained all the time by something that was lively and active. They didn’t complain about being bored."

People who had relinquished television didn't report too many downsides. Most felt satisfied getting their news from newspapers and radio, and while some people said they felt less connected to pop culture, "many adults noted that as a point of pride," Krcmar said.

Even most kids in non-watching households seemed to agree with their parents that they were better off without the reviled medium, though a number of kids around ages 10 to 13 said they resented feeling left out when other kids talk about shows and actors on television. By the time they reached later adolescence around age 14 and 15, though, most had come full circle and said they didn't really like TV and didn't mind doing without.

For those who want to experience some of the benefits of life without the tube, but don't feel ready to go cold turkey, Krcmar said she thinks good things can come just by setting limits.

"I think you can have the benefits just by having kids watch less television," she said. "Be selective about content. You don’t go to a restaurant and let them eat anything on the menu. Instead you say choose something that's healthy that you would enjoy."

http://www.livescience.com/culture/080904-no-tv.html

[Ali G. 37]

There is a lot of garbage on. Have you seen the ####### those aging from tweens to young adults watch on VH1 to MTV. Utter garbage.

[*JG* 2]

I watch 24 religiously. Otherwise, I rarely turn on my tv. I can't sit still that long.

[SMR 368]

I don't own a TV and don't plan to. If there is something good, I can get it on Youtube a couple days later without the commercials.

[Dan J 277]

I went for a long time without owning a tv, Now that I have one, I rarely watch it. I do watch a few TV shows, but almost always online at hulu or other sites.

[justashooter 430]

i don't have any TV service, but watch movies and TV series on disc occasionally.

from what i see when visiting people who do have cable or satelite, i'm not missing much.

[Ali G. 37]

i don't have any TV service, but watch movies and TV series on disc occasionally.

from what i see when visiting people who do have cable or satelite, i'm not missing much.

Just watch a few hours of Vh1 or MTV and the 12 gauge would be out to ensure neither the TV or cable box turns on again.

[natty bumppo 297]

Just watch a few hours of Vh1 or MTV and the 12 gauge would be out to ensure neither the TV or cable box turns on again.

why waste a perfectly good round of ammo on a tv?

a sledgehammer works very nicely ...

[DEDixon 39]

i don't have any TV service, but watch movies and TV series on disc occasionally.

from what i see when visiting people who do have cable or satelite, i'm not missing much.

same here

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Just because you have a cupboard and refrigerator full of food doesn't mean you have indulge yourself. That's the real problem with any device...overindulgence, not availability. Cutting off your TV service is like hiding the bottle from the alcoholic.

same here

Do you get the newspaper?

[Laveau 67]

I have "a" tv. A very nice one. But I don't have cable or a converter box, or whatever is needed to catch channels. I use my tv to watch movies on video and to play video games. Also, I watch ####### online.

I really love watching cable tv but I'm just too cheap and lazy to get cable. I've done fine without it for so many years now that it doesn't bother me. Nor does it bother my 14 year old son. He's become accustomed, too.

[Ali G. 37]

The channels I predominately watch are the news, Discovery, travel, sci, history, movie channels, PBS, the foreign digital channels (Euro, France24, Russia Today, Al Jazeera to listen to their bias etc) and the local channels.

Edited January 29, 2010 by Booyah

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

There has not been a TV in this house for almost 6 years, haven't missed it yet. Also no land line telephone since then either. I gave both uop when I went to Ukraine, never had a need for them there and decided I could live without. We get all the news we need from radio and internet and watch films online or rent DVDs. There really isn't any live TV worth watching.

I was hospitalized in early December and had a TV on the room. First time I had looked at TV in 6 years and immediately I was was reminded why I did not have it anymore. 150 channels and nothing on!

I DO rent or buy some TV series DVDs, "Mythbusters" and some "histroy Channel" shows.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

The channels I predominately watch are the news, Discovery, travel, sci, history, movie channels, PBS, the foreign digital channels (Euro, France24, Russia Today, Al Jazeera to listen to their bias etc) and the local channels.

include some trutv in that above.

[Revenesque 2]

Who needs TV when you got internet?