Has anyone who has watched all their life given up TV?

I have been watching Tv all my life, no not 24/7, but over 4 hours a day, for decades. Has anyone who may have had a past like me, given it up entirely?

While I do find lots of stuff interesting, I am not getting enough entertainment value. I have already cut the cord years ago an just use OTA and A'zon with an occasional Netflix show.

Any tips to success?

 

I recently went for a couple of years virtually without TV. In my case I was just too busy doing other stuff to bother...competing in sport at a high level requires an amount of obsession that doesn't leave you with much free time. I considered getting rid of the TV as it was just gathering dust. I've got more time these days though but I'd rather listen to music or play a computer game than watch TV. Having said that, I hear it's something of a golden age for TV series at the moment so I'm sure it's easy to spend a lot of time watching.

So I guess my tip for success would be...find something else you love doing instead. Bonus points if it takes you out of the house & physically away from the TV.

 

Woodworking.

I cut the cord, got bored with Netflix, the web, and brainless entertainment in general. I picked up a chisel and hand plane and never looked back.

Going to make a Padauk headphone stand for my Eikon soon. It's better than watching Seinfeld, that's for damn sure.

 

Have not even owned a TV for a couple of years.

I actually gave up all but occasional watching around 15 years ago, except... I didn't really give it up so much as find that I was no longer doing it. Same thing happened with me and alcohol. Tobacco, though that was different. And god forbid that I ever get told by a doc that I have to give up sugar.

Anyway. TV. Internet took its place. Information, news, entertainment, social life... all on one screen. Just, it's a different screen.

 

Our neighborhood went from analogue to digital TV a couple years ago and we didn't buy the box, so no more regular broadcasts for us. There's a lot more interesting things on the internet than watching tv anyway.

 

I didn't own a TV when I was a bachelor but I'm into sports and it was pretty expensive to go out every time a game was on. I had a lot of fun though.

Our cable bill got out of control about 8 years ago and we tried but basically failed after six months. We ended up mounting an antenna on the roof to get all the local networks and subchannels and not waste all our money on cable.

 

I haven't had a TV for 12 years now. I miss it, like, not at all. When I stay at a motel and thumb through the 200 or so stations, it reminds me again why I don't have one. Like any bad habit you break, you will pine for it for awhile, and then the pining will subside and a new freedom will emerge. What can you do with 4 hours per day? I got to know my wife. Found out she was a neat lady. I had always suspected that.

 

What do you mean by "no TV" exactly? It seems Netflix and YouTube are still options... So are you more specifically asking about no cable or satellite TV?

 

If you are asking me, "no TV", means not watching television shows regardless of network or source. I have not liked the experience of watching a show on a computer, phone or tablet, and won't it is just personal preference. I will search youtube for clips or full songs of artists that I might like. Or a video of something audio related.

I have a plan of sorts and it includes a weaning off period where I will only watch a few shows, some with my teenage son. But I am not going to be sitting down and flicking through channels or trying to find some new series to watch. Already making progress. I will finish a few series as they come back on in the fall like Vikings and the Americans but when they are done they are done.

I will miss some of my fave cooking shows that I use for inspiration, but hey that is what recipe searches on the internet is for, right.

 

I only watch about an hour a day, only while on the elliptical.

 

In college we only had two stations. And the T.V. was black and white, and there was only one in the dorm. Basically gave it up for 3 years. Found I spent a lot more time doing things with friends. Just getting out into nature and enjoying the moment. Didn't really miss it. Except for SNL which we all watched in the T.V. room together. Good luck. You may find life is sweeter without it.

 

Only shows I ever get to see on our TV are the shows we let the kids put on occasionally, most of which are inane tripe. A few good kids' shows have been produced in the past (Phineas and Ferb is my personal favorite) that I can stomach for more than a minute or two. Only things I watch with any regularity are GOT (was a book fan before the HBO show) and recently have picked up Westworld (only due to having HBO temporarily for GOT this season). Once we move to our new house and have internet via something other than cable I don't think we'll renew the TV subscription. Can't believe how much we pay for cable...

 

YouTube is definitely an option. It is only recently, though, that I have got into regularly watching anything other than music on Youtube. And yes, I do. But I'm guessing that I won't find anything like ThisOldTony on the TV, and nor would I find a lot of the stuff that has helped me finjd my way around my new camera, which they didn't bother to supply a decent manual for. So Youtube... Yes, it's like TV, in a way, but... different.

It is probably more like a TV to my wife: she watches movies.

 

Exactly why I stopped in 2005, I was fed up with settling on the least shit thing, or else looking for that least shit thing.

Now I watch shit on youtube, but it's shit I have at least a passing interest in, and isn't fronted by deadhead 'he says, she says' presenter pairings.

 

Since 2009. TV was going down hill and there was better content on the internet.

I mean when Cartoon Network loses its edge and Discovery and National Geographic Channel go "reality TV" I say bye bye and prefer Newgrounds. That was my state of mind.

I love good entertainment and good documentaries but when TV content becomes uninteresting I get my favourite DVDs and go to the internet for content.

 

We buy DVD/BluRay. We have no subscription services whatsoever, and don't download or file share. That forces us to go to a store and pay using a physical action as opposed to have some service quietly ding a card. It makes us choosier and less impulse driven with regards to what we watch. It's been about 4 years now and we have found a natural dropoff to maybe 3 hours/week of watching from at least 3 hours a day.

Internet is another thing, though. But for me that's news, forums, research and not really youtube shitsurfing. Still amounts to equal screen time, but less mindlessness, or so I tell myself .

 

Check out these YouTube channels:
The Great War (so much research, so much passion!)
Extra Credits
The Art Of Photography (Ted Forbes is awesome!)
Kai Wong (from Digitalrev!)
Vice (international or ".com", no region censorship!)
Cinemasins (the art of snark is a joy!)
Todd In The Shadows (music reviews)
The Needledrop (music reviews)
Crash Course (helped me so many times to get inspired to study again!)

There is some good, even excellent content there.

 

Thanks!

Just as an aside, I was not trying to imply all youtube content is shit, just that it's perilously easy to piss time away on the shit that is there.

 

Read a good novel or find a topic that interests you and do proper research with academic methods. Keep training that mind of yours...

 

I saw a YouTube clip about this "reading" thing. Might have to check it out sometime...