I’m currently reading this book. It’s nothing new — it was written in the late 1970’s. But it needs to be resurrected and brought into the public awareness again. When I was a kid, my parents knew some people who didn’t have a TV. My friends and I always thought they were SO. WEIRD. I mean, the thought of living your life without television as a kid is unfathomable. However, I spent the bulk of my twenties, not without a television, but without television channels. I was living in the mountains and didn’t have cable and couldn’t get anything with rabbit ears. I watched plenty of movies but saw no TV shows (and more importantly no commercials) for many years. I think it’s one of the most beneficial things I’ve ever done for myself. I do have cable now, but I find that I rarely watch TV at all, and when I do it’s with a much more discerning eye and critical approach. I still love movies and stay pretty caught up on that side of the entertainment industry. Since I got out of the habit of watching TV, I haven’t seen anything that’s been entertaining enough to reel me back in except for Lost, and that is the one show I do watch. I am more likely to be reading, visiting with neighbors, catching up with friends over the phone. I think one of the best things anyone could do would be to give it up for a year, and then see if you actually missed it. I never did, and I learned a lot about myself and about our TV-obsessed culture during that time. I would be hard-pressed to give up my internet connection or my DVD player, but this book is making me seriously consider getting rid of cable again.
