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Boob Tube: Could You Live Without TV?

Monday, April 14, 2008

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By Shawn McKee
eDiets Staff Writer

How much time do you spend watching television? Seriously, think about it. Got a number in mind? An hour per day? Two hours? More?

I inadvertently didn't watch a single minute of TV over this past weekend because I was moving and: A) didn't time to watch; B) didn't have a place to sit and C) didn't have a TV to tune in to. It was the single most productive weekend I've ever had.

But it took this perfect storm of circumstances to keep me away from my regularly scheduled programming. It got me thinking about how much time I waste in front of the tube.

If you answered that you watch 2 hours of TV a day, you're well under the national average. The average American watches more than 4 hours of television a day, according to the global marketing firm AC Nielson.

That adds up to 28 hours per week. Over the course of a year we're talking about 2 full months spent watching the boob tube. By the time you turn 65, you've spent 9 years of your life channel surfing on the couch.

The numbers are staggering. If you're like me, you feel like there's never enough time in the day to get things done, but who knew TV's to blame? I watch a couple of hours at the end of my day, probably 2-3 hours. It's my unwinding time, my turn off my brain time -- decompression time.

But not watching TV for an entire weekend and seeing how it affected my productivity levels was a real wake-up call. Do you think you could give up TV for 48 hours? I dare you to try it.

What would you do with an extra 10, 20 or 30 hours per week? Would you have time to workout? Could you do those home repairs you've been planning? Finish reading the book you started last year? There are a million things on your "to do" list; here's the time to do some of them.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this emergency movement message. Turn off your TV, get off the couch and go do something fun!

How are you going to spend your extra hours? Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Shawn McKee graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism and has written for The Broward and Miami New Times. He misses TV and his couch dearly, but thinks they will understand.

Labels: lifestyle

8 Comments - Diet & Fitness Blog: Boob Tube: Could You Live Without TV?

Comment by jenny said... - Tuesday, April 15, 2008 5:22:00 AM

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Comment by meredith said... - Tuesday, April 15, 2008 9:48:00 AM

I didn't think about how much tv i watched until i read this article. i plan on taking a two hour break from tv. I plan to ride my bike around the neighbor hood. Maybe I'll catch a ball game and watch that.

Comment by Anonymous said... - Wednesday, April 16, 2008 8:51:00 AM

I've lived without TV since 1994. It's no big deal. It's also a big factor in why I'm 60 years old and weight 120 lbs without having to do intense exercise.
Recently, our students wanted TV, so we got it (about a month now). I had no idea how much TV programming had depreciated over the years! What garbage!

Comment by Anonymous said... - Wednesday, April 16, 2008 10:14:00 AM

I have given up tv for a week or 2 at a time before, just to readjust and get motivated to do other things. Now, I make it a promise that I will watch only 1 hour per day on weekdays (if even that) and can watch some more on weekends as long as all my other work is done. You know, homework before playtime.

Comment by Anonymous said... - Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:34:00 PM

My husband and I have been without television for about 4 years now. We learned to live without it while we were in Belgium and now we can't understand how people can pay so much money for it. We do buy the TV shows that we like on DVD, and we watch movies all the time. We enjoy not having television, although, our friends think we are odd.

Comment by Anonymous said... - Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:49:00 PM

We don't watch much tv, we decreased our cable services to only have basic cable. We like to watch the news, but other than that we are outside working in the garden, enjoying a bbq, or just doing things around the house. Most weekends we are at our lake house, and there is no tv there, it's nice just to enjoy the outdoors and the peaceful atmosphere. I do like to watch a good movie now and then, but if I can't I don't feel I've really missed anything. We mainly have the stereo on, it is more relaxing. TV shows aren't what they used to be. jpw

Comment by Anonymous said... - Thursday, April 17, 2008 11:29:00 AM

Our family has participated in National TV turn-off week since our kids were small. The first time we did it we couldn't get over the change in our kids. The first couple days were rough as the TV makes such a good babysitter for mom, but after that the kids found things to do on their own. Their imaginations soared and all the arguments and bickering stopped. We then went to one day a week of no TV. Now my kids are active, athletic teenagers who for the most part find better things to do with their time. (Except when football or basketball playoffs are on)

Comment by Anonymous said... - Monday, March 02, 2009 5:33:00 AM

My husband and I have lived without television for 4 years now (we are in our fifties). Instead of spending time in front of the tv we talk with each other, play with our dogs (they really appreciate the attention). attend a class one night per week, tackle chores. On the weekends we do outdoor activities or socialize with friends or family. We spend downtime reading and listening to music, and we get our news from the newspaper or from the computer. Our lives are so busy, we wonder how we would ever get anything accomplished if we spent time watching tv! We don't miss it at all.

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