This came up awhile ago on another thread, and I thought it would be interesting to see how many of us are living without a television.

So, if you are a fellow TV-free type, what are your reasons for not having one? If it comes up in conversation, what kinds of reactions do you get?

You won't believe this, but I JUST got cable yesterday after having nothing (totally TV-free) for two years. I told myself once I finished school, I could get it again, so I did. I have to say, having internet makes you miss TV a LOT less. I think if you have a major goal you want to accomplish, cutting out TV totally is an excellent idea.

Not sure if this counts or not....we have a TV that is used for watching DVDs from Netflix. We only occasionally watch the news or Antiques Roadshow, I guesstimate maybe 5-6 hours total a month. We just aren't TV fans.

I don't have a tv and don't miss it at all. When I had tv years ago I enjoyed the nature programming, some of the specials. Other than that, nothing really interested me.

The downside: I am totally out of the loop on pop culture which can make conversations difficult. Generally, of course, I just smile and say, "I didn't see it." But if pressed, I will admit, reluctantly, that I don't even have a tv. I guess the reluctance is that it is hard to do that without sounding "holier than thou," which is certainly not my intention. I have no problem with others watching tv as much as they want, and anything they want to see. But it just doesn't interest me. Still I feel I always come across as someone who is either judgmental, or someone who must have the personality and interest in life of one of the lower plants. I know the first isn't true, and hope the second isn't!

On the other hand, it is a sort of weirdness to me when people begin talking with enthusiasm about tv. They say we all live in private worlds of our own making, which I think is true to a large degree, and mine just doesn't include tv; it's like it doesn't exist at all on the planet I inhabit, so I am always sort of suprised when I encounter it. I really more or less forget it's out there. The only time I ever see it is when I am a captive audience in a medical or car repair waiting room. There I can become well, ok, a little judgmental, but I think that's because I can't escape it and as the minutes pass is feels more and more like an assault on the senses, until it becomes almost intolerable.

As for how people react to this oddity about me, it's hard to say, because no one ever expresses an opinion. There was one guy I used to work with who seemed to live for television -- he would sit up all night watching reruns of the old sitcoms; I thought he was as bizarre as he probably thought I was. But he enjoyed it, I don't. Simple as that. It's not crusading zeal that makes me reject tv.

One really wonderful thing about it is that between no tv and listening exclusively to public radio, I am also a non-person to the advertising folks. I rarely hear commercials of any sort, or don't even see many print ads. There are, I'm sure, thousands of things out there I don't know exist. Some I would probably find genuinely useful, like the crockpot liners I first heard about on this site. Love 'em. But I have lived like this for so long, I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have my space invaded by advertisement, coming at me from all sides. That is a lovely thing about my personal planet -- I am left alone!

I agree that perhaps the internet provides some of that connection to the world; I use the internet for e-mail, to research specific things, to shop at need, and, of couse, to ramble on like this at Frugal Village. But I was tv-less for years before I had the internet, and never felt like I was missing anything then either.

There, is that long and cranky enough?

We don't have a t.v., but we do have a DVD player mostly for the kids videos. Dh & I watch a movie maybe once a month.

We've always been too busy for a t.v. and pretty much feel it's a waste of time. I can get the news off the internet (and a broader spectrum) than I would get on t.v.

I've been without a t.v. for about 8 years now, ever since I've been out on my own. And I don't miss it at all.:)

Wannabe here. Sort of. I'd be happy without any cable/tv signal but could never let go movies. DH won't agree to a tvless life so to cut back enormously on watching tv we got tivo. Now we only watch the shows/movies/documentaries we want to see and don' spend a second of the day just browsing the channels, an activity that used to take a big chunk out of our time. Another positive thing, we can just skip the commercials alltogether which will be nice when DS grows up. But yeah, in my ideal, perfect little world there would be no tv. :)

We live up in the mountains where there is very poor radio reception. so in order to get any entertainment at all we rely on cable. There are just a couple of channels that we watch. Discovery, Science, History, and LMN. Nothing else is worth it but I am here alone the majority of the time so the tv does keep me company. My dh works from 3pm-1am sometimes until 2:30 so it makes for very long days without it. Our son is married and lives in Philly so there is no one here but us. Freya my rotty is not much of a conversationalist.

Wannabe. I like to read so I could do without tv for amusement. I know I would get more done if it weren't for the computer and the tv.

~I'm a wannabe!We only have 2 tv's. The kids watch about 20 hours of educational videos a week and I watch less than 2 hours of tv a day when the shows are new. We've never had cable. DH just adjusts the rabbit ears to get FOX on Tuesday and NBC the other nights. If the kids are having trouble falling asleep I'll sit up and watch Law & Order. I choose sleep or crafting over tv! DH is a mess though. 4 hours of race coverage every Sunday(if it's on FOX or NBC!), and football and hockey whenever it's on. So he watches as much as I do and about 10 hours more weekly. I'm also glued to my computer screen for 10 hours a week. He averages about 15 hours a week. I try not to think about how much time I'm wasting because I try to multi-task when I watch shows. I get something done while sitting or during commercial breaks. In the summer the tv is almost never on; it's GREAT! Dh is always pestering me for cable. Besides the $80 a month pricetag, there's the issue of my sanity. I'm not sure I could ever pull myself away from all that History and Educational programing(and old movies of course!). Does anyone know what the average amount of tv viewing is? I'm curious.~

We don't have a TV either. We haven't had one at all for the last two years in Japan and in the States we just used it to watch DVDs we owned over and over. When we want to watch something, we just watch it on the computer. We can even watch old TV shows on the website alloftv.net. It's great! You can watch one show and then just shut it off. The best part is that we don't have to deal with commercials! :blind:

We have one, we never watch it. We occasionally use it for movies and video games, but the reception on it is pretty poor and we only get three craptacular channels.

I find I have become less desensitized to television anymore. I used to love watching law dramas, (CSIs, L&Os, etc.) but now when I watch them, I have really scary nightmares that force me to wake :smooch: up to calm myself down.

I'm a wannabe. DH is addicted to his monitor though. Not only do we have TV we have DirecTV. I watch probably what amounts to an hour a day but is mostly watched in one or two evenings without the commercials. I would probably miss the few shows I watch for about a hot second. As it is now I would forget to watch them except DH reminds me we have them taped and am I going to watch them with him. TV and video games are a couple of the largest areas of non-compatability DH and I have. Give me a good book or a project anyday. That said I'm not a harpy that thinks its evil anymore than anything else we are exposed to. I simply think there are better things to do. Moderation not obssession.

I'm a wannabe, but I don't think I'll ever go without tv lol! I've put my foot down regarding how much tv the kids get, and I'm weaning myself off all the junk I watch just to kill time. My husband, on the other hand, has to have the tv on even if he's not watching it. Grrr!

I'd love to say "we don't watch any tv", and I'd love even more to ditch the dish/cable bill. I can't really see it happening, though, because there are shows I do enjoy watching.

My dh and I are in the process of selling our VCR/DVD player...and the TV will quickly follow (have to have something to 'prove' that the player works before we can sell the TV...hehe). We're going to just watch DVDs on our laptops when we would enjoy it - Little House, Waltons, Movies, etc... News can come off the radio or internet.

What bugs me is even if you're chosing something wholesome to watch on TV (or at least not filled with total garbage) the commercials are AWFUL!!! I don't want to see ads about men's personal issues, lingere ads, lots of skin to sell anything, etc. :yikes:

And the frugal side of me keeps saying...think of all the electricity we'll save! :mdance:

You guys are inspirational. I really want to be tv free, right now we dont have cable which is good but still have basic tv. I worry most about my kids. The days they dont watch tv, they come up with really creative ways to entertain themselves. But then I give in when I want some quiet time or to cook dinner so I put in a dvd or pbs. But I definitely see the down side of tv because some days they will watch dvds all day.

Unfortunately my husband is not giving it up. If we ever get any extra money I may just buy a entertainment center that locks and keep it locked most of the time.

Wannabe here- sort of, I guess. I want to just have the channels to watch the Nascar races all year long. I could really do without everything else. Come to think of it, I could probalby order that to watch online, and could download the few reality shows that I like to watch onto my ipod and watch them way cheaper than dishtv.

I lived without tv for almost 3 yrs and didn't miss it. My Mom taped cooking shows for me to watch and I had books. My spouse is an uber tech so we now have cable, satelite, surround sound, dvd players, and a TiVo. I have to admit the TiVo changed my viewing habits. It records the shows I enjoy mostly from BBCA and the Science/Discovery channels and he gets the DIY shows recorded. We watch them when we want to. We bypass the commercials. And it has become a more enlightening feature to our evenings instead of a brain zapper.

My girlfriend gave 2 tokens along with her childrens allowance. Each token was worth 30 minutes of tv. If they wanted more tv time they had to earn it with either chores or activities that promoted skills. Since they decided how to spend their tokens, she noticed that they actively watched the programs, not just using them as a background noise. It worked out very well for them over the summer when their time was less scheduled.

We've been without a television set for about two and a half years. We sold it when we moved across the country figuring that we'd buy one of those new LCD flat panel plasma whatever ones, but we were broke after we moved and after we could afford one, we were just amazed at how much happier we were without one so we just left it at that. We are huge tech junkies (well, DH is) so we do spend a fair amount of time surfing the net and wasting time on the computer - which I guess does take the place of some TV watching. We have popped a DVD in on occasion, and DH got a tuner card so he can use his computer as a TiVO and get "24".

For the most part, I try and walk a fine line between being preachy and being quiet. I don't go around announcing that we are tv-free, but if someone asks if I have seen a certain show, I usually respond that I don't have a television set. We want to start a growing anti-consumerism movement, so this is a small start. I hope I don't come across as preachy. The last time it came up in conversation and I said that we didn't have a TV the response I got was "What do you do then? Drink?" - usually people respond that they'd like watch less or give it up, or are quick to mention that they only watch movies, or whatever. I get the sense that they're uncomfortable about it - almost the same way if I pointed out that they only ate fast food or were up to their eyeballs in debt. People seem to act like it is a "bad" thing to watch tv, but that it's ok because "everyone else does it"

Like many others, I enjoy not being a huge advertising target. It helps me keep my life simple and not cluttered with "wants" and "stuff" I listen to commercial radio which keeps me somewhat informed on pop culture so I don't feel totally uncomfortable if someone brings up a popular tv show.

As of yesterday we no longer have Cable, I am not missing it at the moment because I have a complete stockpile of DVD's, even DD has some Bratz movies or fun movies for her to watch. I am glad that I will be savings $50 a month, that's the best part! :)

we have a television, but it is used for viewing dvd's of our choice and video games. My husband has started watching 24...but that is all.
I have to laugh....seeing that our family is very large, we always hear that same stupid line..."don't you have a t.v. in your house?"...Wellll...If we were to watch the garbage that is on t.v. nowadays, we would probably have had more children by now:)lol.

The tv is the center of controversy in our house. I was happy when all we could get was PBS and Fox (educational and news) other than that, I can do without the tv at all. I do like CSI, but if I wanted to watch it that badly, I could get the dvd (or *gasp* get a forensic book at the library)

DD went through a phase (which I stomped out quickly) when she wouldn't have her second eye open, or foot in the door after school and she would ask if she can watch tv.

I made a house rule that I will have the news on in the morning while making breakfast (mostly to watch for school delays) DD can't ask to watch cartoons. IF she eats, dresses, brushes teeth and hair, has her snack packed and her shoes and jacket are near the door AND there is a few minutes before we have to leave, I will let her watch a cartoon.

If she asks if she can... the answer is automatically NO... tv is a priv. NOT a right.

I will let her watch a cartoon called The Avatar. She loves that show, but only if her homework is finished.

DF on the other hand would have that tv on all day long, even if HE isn't even watching it.

Part of me wants to just cancel the cable all together, but unfortunately, I live in a black hole and won't even get PBS without basic cable. I did draw the line... ALL we have is basic so we CAN get reception. I will not have digital cable or extended services.

I make sure DD sees me reading as much as possible. I want to set an example and show her that life goes on without the television. She is still in her slow reading stage, but working on it... she read 9 pages of red fish, blue fish in about 10 minutes and then asked for the book to bring to bed.

Wannabe here too, but I don't know if I could do it. I didn't have cable for a long time, and only watched a couple of channels that came in well with a booster, but I don't know if I could do without t.v. completely.

I'd miss watching the Today show with my morning coffee. I must admit, though, that not having cable (actually DirecTV) did cut back on my t.v. time, because when reruns were on, or reception was poor because of weather, I just didn't watch t.v. at all.

I had to respond to this thread. We have had cable TV and the Internet from Comcast for a few years, now. They have upgraded/changed/whathaveyou their system, and there was a lot of days when nothing worked. Finally, 6 weeks ago, my husband and I shut it all down. I went up to the library once a week to clear my email and look up anything I wanted to look up. I did not miss TV and neither did my husband. We both missed the Internet, though. So, last THursday, he cracked and went back to Comcast and got the whole deluxe/HD/younameit of everything. Well, it's one week later and we are both disgusted with the hassle of trying to get the HD/Cable TV to work properly. I also find that I am stalling getting things done to sit here. I've thrown out every single munchie because I was stuffing my face while I was at this monitor. Now, I have a big glass of ice water. Don't know if this helps, but I kind of liked it without the TV. :)

Sort of. I have a TV but get such bad reception that I don't even attempt to watch anything except DVDs or VHSs - and my DVD player broke and I'm tired of my old VHS movies, so I pretty much quit. It does open up the time for other things! :-O

We have a tv. But when my family isn't here it's not on. I would rather read or do some type of craft.

I need to be cleaning some more, but that is not one of my strong areas:ponder:

I'm more of a wannabe than TV-free, but I don't really want to be completely TV free.

We have one 13" set in the living room. Daughter watches PBS kids in the mornings before school, and we all watch Nova on Tuesday evenings. Occasionally, we watch something else, but I can't remember the last time we watched something other than PBS.

When the prices come down and we have the cash, we plan to get a larger HDTV cause we use the TV mostly for DVDs, and Lord of the Rings is painful on a 13" screen. :lol:

At work I have trouble relating sometimes cause I have no idea what anyone is talking about. However, I have learned people's interests and I can start conversations. :)

I get most of my news from NPR. I have a half hour commute each way. I am sort of a nothing to the advertisers!

I also have a couple message boards I post at and there always links to news sites for the current events people are talking about. I don't feel I'm completely out of the loop.

Oh! I do remember the last time we watched something other than PBS. Every year the three of us buy all sorts of snacky junk food and have a "Superbowl Party." We run to the kitchen during the game, and watch the commercials. :crackup:

TV-Free - waste of time and brain power

People are always surprised...they are usually trying to tell us about some commercial they saw...

The only thing we (the adults) watched on a daily basis was the news...but it is always so depressing....

And the only thing we truly miss is college football.....

We'll probably only buy it again when we only have to pay for exactly what we want or it puts my kids at some disadvantage in school - do you think that can happen? I wonder....

Had to reply, again. I'm finding that the new fifty gazillion channels on the TV do not interest me at all. I also find that I am spending more time outside or crafting or walking with the dogs or working in the yard. It's also nice to take a needlework project or a book out to the swing in the back yard. The Internet is handy for odds and ends and looking things up. I had been going to the library before we got it back. But now, with the price of gasoline, it's actually cheaper to have the Internet at home. I don't miss TV at all. Seems like most of the programming is sensationalistic, negative, or incredibly stupid. Just my opinion, but I'm sticking by it. :)

Dh and I are TV free as of about a month ago. Before that the only TV that I watched was Life Today and Enjoying Everyday Life. Both religious shows. I found it more difficult to fit these in my schedule and would stress over watching all of the shows, so I gave it up. Dh does not watch any TV. We do keep cable on for our other relative who we live with because they watch lots of TV.

Just don't ask me to give up the computer. hee, hee!

I am spending more time reading, decluttering, cleaning and organizing now that I am totally TV free.

auntie

Well, I can join this one now, after cancelling my Directv. I'm t.v. free now, and have enjoyed not only the quiet, but the talk radio and reading a LOT! Don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago. I can't wait to see how much I save on my electric bill.

We're semi-tv free here. We have channels 2-13, which is the networks, cspan and pbs. I like it because dd can watch Sesame Street (she's a huge elmo fan) and I can watch Smallville when the season starts again. Dh and I will usually watch CSI or Law and Order reruns on weekend nights together (law and order is on bravo - channel 78).. Once in a while I'll watch the news at night but I try not to because I end up watching reruns on the CW afterwards - Sex and the City, Nanny, Mad About YOu.
We have a lot of dvds and vids and the kids watch those sometimes - dd (whose 1) loves Shrek! My 9 year old has a habit of turning it on too much. He'll just watch it and space out. Many times I just turn it off.
If I want background noise sometimes I'll turn the stereo on and listen to a radio station. dd likes that.
The only thing DH misses is the Mets station we don't get. I wish we could add that to our channels. We have cable internet and those channels for less than $55 a month with fees and all.
I definitely spend too much time on here (i think i'm addicted.. lol) but I've gotten better and much of what I use it for is budgeting and bills... or learning something new.
Lisette

I haven't had cable or antenna for over 4 years. I did have a tv and video / dvd player to watch films. It took me about a year to get out of the habit of watching and I even had my parents tape the shows I liked watching. This gradually became less important. If anyone started talking to me about something they'd watched, I'd say bluntly that I did not have a tv. They would usually only ask about whether I missed watching the news. Which I did not.

Now, I have a live-in fiance and he 'needs' cable. So we watch every evening. I enjoyed this for the first 3 months, it was cosy lying in his arms on the sofa, but I am starting to really hate that telly. I am growing fat from lack of exercise, I do not craft or bake anymore, my homework does not get done and I am not reading anything anymore. It is time for some action!

BTW: Did you know that watching telly 'just one hour a day' equals nine fulltime working weeks per year? (365 hours)

Wanna be here. But alas, my husband would perish off the face of the earth without a TV. He is gone a lot thru the week and I don't even turn the tv on but when he is home it is going all the time. I prefer to read a book or go for a walk. It's ok..I can live with it or without is...Blessings..kathy

I use to be a real big TV junkie. I was really into it when I had DISH Network with a Digital Video Recorder. I'd always record my favorite programs and then watch them and skip all the commercials. That's the only way I could watch TV today. I hate commercials.

Sometime around the end of 2001 one I chucked my Dish because it was two expensive. It was hard at first and then after awhile I it got easier and easier.

I probably haven't watched an hour of regular television in the last 3 years.

I instead borrow movies and documentaries from the public library.

I only watched three channels back when I did watch TV, they were TVLand, TMC, and AMC. I couldn't see spending $39.95 a month to watch 3 channels.

I still borrow movies from the library but I mostly just watch videos online. I'm a bit of a news video junk. I've found links to hundreds of news video sites from all around the country. I'm never bored, because the Internet has so much. I try to boycott sites that show advertisements in their videos.

I hate advertisements. I won't buy anything I see in an advertisement. I figure if they have to advertise, it's crap. The best things don't need to be advertised, I find out about them through forums, friends, family, or the grape vine.

4 months TV free here :-) No antenna and no cable= no TV. We were paying $50 a month to Comcast for Basic and Extended basic.....74 channels of nothing to watch. Got mad at hubby one night while he was flipping thru the channels complaining there was nothing to watch. I told him I'd really give him nothing to watch! LOL! Cable TV was gone the next day! and amazingly we are loving it! If the TV is on, it is for watching a movie, something we specifically want to see, not just on to be on.

and it is amazing how annoying TV is once you stop watching it. My massage therapist wanted to show off his Direct TV to me, and I asked him to turn it off in his waiting room... just too noisy and annoying!

and the best part....$50 extra going to the mortgage each month :-)

We used to pay $50 a month for basic cable( 75 channels) then I realized we were paying that much for maybe a handful of shows. So I cancelled the cable, got a netflix subscription ($17 a month), then realized that we could watch our favorite shows ( greys anatomy and the office) online.

We've been cable/sat free for more than a year. Had a big fight with the sat company, they charged my cc $300 for receiver that they refused delivery on...
We'd been considering it for a while anyway, that was just the push to do it.
Now we can't figure when we had time to watch.. we are so busy! The biggest advantage is that we go to bed when we are tired instead of "when this is over." I am amazed to go to my in-laws and see the stuff that's on tv now--the skin, the language! And they don't even notice it, I have to go over and turn the channel or turn it off myself.
The kids watch a few select educational movies from the library and some bible story videos we own. DH and I also get movies from the library occassionally, but most of the time he watches them and I read a book!

I own a television only because I recieved it as a gift. I use it to play my excercise videos which I picked up at the thrift store. I do not have cable. I do not watch regular television programming although my reception is good and I get seven channels. I do not watch movies. I just do not have the patience to sit and watch a full movie and I hate to waste all of that time. I just have no desire to watch television and have not done so for the last 15 years.
At work many of my collegues are loyal television watchers and I just say matter of fact "I don't watch television" and they change the subject and we discuss something else. I think sometimes that they attempt to live within their television programs/world.
I find that I am tempted to buy less as I do not watch commercials.
I do enjoy Christian radio and surfing the internet. :knit:

Wanna be here. Can't stand the thing, tolerate it for movies. The hubby would die, I think, without it.

But I am seeing progress. Right now there are 4 tv's in this house. With the move we'll be getting rid of the biggest one, yay!! Also, dh said if we were able to do this move we could cut cable down to basic. I'm thinking I might convince him to try an antennae first, just to see if we can pick up anything, to eliminate cable all together.

I love my internet, though, and get my news from here. The hubby loves it, as well. We research, read, and keep up with family in another state on the net. I'd consider downgrading to dialup if he is happy with the antennae set up as compromise.

All tv's have their own player of some sort, and we get netflix. I'd be happy without tv all together, but the occasional movie I do enjoy.

I would LOVE to be TV free but dh wouldn't have it.
Him miss football or DIY, not going to happen.
When he's not home I don't even turn it on.

Luv2Bfrugal, I couldn’t agree more. That’s the problem in a nutshell. You can be watching Andy Griffith and the next scene is some vulgar commercial.

I truly admire the TV-free. My brother and sister-in-law have a television, but only watch DVD’s on it and have no cable. They have home-schooled their sons and they are turning out to be incredibly creative and constructive young men.

We have no children and live way out in the woods, so I would be especially lonely without it. Now that I am at home full-time, we gave up our satellite package and went to the most basic one, so I lost A & E, BBCA, History, and HGTV, which had been some of my favorite channels. A & E has stopped making the period dramas I liked so much and fallen into making “reality TV “ anyway. DH has absolutely no interest in sports – YES! – and also misses the military channel, but the cost just wasn’t worth it.

We watch mostly videos rented from Netflix, old British television, etc.

I have to say that since I’ve been home I am listening to more music and spending more time on the internet. If I had to choose between the two and it came down to it, I’d give up the tv for the internet. As far as the network sitcoms and the most popular programs like American Idol, the survival shows, dance competition shows, Desperate Housewives, Nip & Truck, I’ve never watched that stuff and never will.

We have only one TV: tiny, and it is in the basement. I hate having TV in a living room/family room where it hogs the conversation. I watch about an hour a day, and sometimes not even that much.

I have 2 tv's but no cable. I have an antenna on the tv in the front room so I can watch 3 local channels, but mostly it's just Netflix or one of the many vhs or dvd's I aquired during my "spendthrift" days. I have even turned off the local channels because I was getting too agitated over all the political ads! Last week I watched my "Best of Friends" dvd's all week. Didn't miss "regular" tv at all.

We have two tvs.....and I could easily live without one. I rarely watch it, but my boyfriend could never in a million years do without it. He is a huge sports nut.

The only thing that I really like to watch is Dr. Phil and I could live without out.

gotta have my tv

Wow! I'm amazed at how many of you are at least considering going without television. We got rid of our TV about four years ago, when our oldest was starting kindergarten. I won't deny it: the first few days were rough, but by the second week, a peace descended upon our household that I wouldn't trade for anything. My kids still watch a bit when playing at their friends' houses and when visiting the grandparents. Otherwise, they ride bikes, kick around a ball, create artwork, read, or just relax. Every once in awhile, my husband and I will talk about reintroducing the TV, but it's usually a short-lived conversation. I'm not sure we'll ever own one again.

I'm one of those people that uses the TV as a monitor. I had cable for a while, but turned it off when I realized I felt bad for wasting money on it every month, and felt bad for wasting my time on it when I did watch.

Come feb 2009 many people will be unable to watch regular tv. My Mom and best friend will be 2 of them since they don't have tv antennas on their roof and without that, even a digital converter box likely will not pick up a signal for more than 1 or 2 stations, if that. I tried the converter box here on a tv with rabbit ears and it only pulled in 2 channels!

DH and I haven't subscribed to cable TV since 1998, and we don't have an antenna. We do belong to Netflix and I watch a few shows online, but other than that, we're completely isolated from TV and advertising.

We first stopped subscribing to cable to save money and now we don't miss it at all. I can't imagine where I'd find the time to make the monthly fee worth it.

People usually ask a lot of questions about why I don't watch TV. I don't think a lot of people can fathom it. I don't even watch it when I'm away for business, I'd much rather read or listen to NPR.

i guess i'm somewhere in between.

i RARELY watch tv (usually if the computer isnt on, and i wanna know the weather or news).

there's no tv shows i like to watch. most anything i can get from the computer or the telephone (news/weather).

but it's the boys who love their tv.

i end up in the same room when they're watching, but i'm usually doing a craft or something.

i just dont really enjoy it. i find i get a LOT more done if there's no tv to distract me. :)

love my tv's. have 3. hubby won one in a contest. grandsons room have one for their movies. no excuses love tv programs.

I used to watch hours and hours of tv weekly. I was an addict. One semester in school I was unable to watch so eventually I didn't miss it. Since I graduated I have started watching more and more. I want to be tv free but my dd and fiance would not have it. So, beginning in May - tomorrow, we are going tv free for one night per week - Thursdays! They fussed a little bit and I will probably have to unplug the televisions tonight so that tomorrows instinct will not be to grab the remote and hit the power button. I am soooo looking forward to it. We will be able to spend more quality time together, play games, work on puzzle, read, clean, etc... I am giddy with excitement. Wish me luck.

I am glad to hear of the many people that have given up on TV. It has been about 10 years now since I have watched a TV in my home. I also don't listen to the radio.

The rationale is the same for all media - it takes up too much time, the information value is limited, and it is largely entertainment wrapped around a solid core of commercial advertising designed to make our lives seem less satisfying.

If you notice, most news programs are now called "news and information" and a neologism that I think defines TV quite well is "info-tainment".

Nevertheless, there are some excellent programs on TV that are worthwhile, so there is nothing wrong with television. We are adults and we have control over what and whether we watch.

In addition to the cable bill savings, foregoing TV also provides you with more time. My sweetheart and I find there is no down time at all in our lives, so we don't have time for TV anyway.

Without TV, you'll also find that opinions you have are of your own making, not something from a talking head. Lastly, you'll have greater peace in your life because you won't be aware of all the things that you should be afraid of.

Studies have shown that our satisfaction drops in relationship to the number of hours of TV we watch. Studies have also shown that the most successful and happy people have TV located the farthest away from the front door of their home (the central living area).

Both of these study results make perfect sense to me.

We have a tv...but with the recorder box (Canadian equivilent to TiVo I think) we watch what we want, when we want. Myu favorite things are BBC, Coronation Street (it's a family tradition) Jon & Kate +8 and the digital music Spa channel. If I could just have those and the local news, I'd be fine ;) DH on the other hand watches the hunting channel, weather and sports...that's IT. So, realistically, if we got a good computer (ours is a free hand-me-down) we could do everything online, but for now it doesn't work so great. I don't think we'll ever be tv free, but we're definitly not addicted.

We only have 1 tv with no cable,channels or netflix anymore. We just watch movies we already have bought. ( and don't buy more)

We no longer have a tv and I don't find myself missing it at all. What few shows I did watch I can find online and watch them commercial free on the laptop.

I'm sure eventually I will break down and let hubby get one but for now we just enjoy each others company and we even eat together every night at the table when he isn't out of town instead of in front of the tv

We have a VCR TV combo in the kitchen hanging from the wall just for dvd or something while I'm cooking or baking. We have a HUGE flat screen in the living room. Hub channel checks and admits he's bored, but can't seem to get past that one last hurdle to cancel cable. I would not miss it. About the only thing I watch, briefly is the weather channel for updated info. But, even that is all hyped up now with "programs". Just waiting for Hub to finally click in. I think our bill is due pretty soon and that would be a perfect time to end the cable. I used to spend and hour or so, off and on, on the internet, but have found that it really isn't as interesting as a good book, music, taking a walk with my dogs, or just sitting on the patio and watching the birds. :wave:

We have 3 t.v's. Dh and kids watch more than me. DH grew up in a household where on Sundays there was NO t.v allowed to be turned on. We have recently started that ourselves. It has been nice. We really don't miss it.

We have TVs and basic cable, but my DS (18) is probably the only one who watches it. My husband occasionally watches the news or the weather in the morning before work. At night we never turn it on. We are so far removed from popular culture that it is sad. I never know what to say to people when they ask if I watch "Lost" or some such. I don't want to come off as "holier than thou" but I just really don't have time or the inclination to watch TV anymore.
Of course, I grew up without TV. My dad announced when I was about 10 or so that we wouldn't have TV anymore. At first it was really hard, but then we all started playing outside with friends or playing board games with each other inside, reading, traveling, stuff like that, and I never really missed TV. So maybe I am used to doing without. Anyway, watching TV seems so lame next to having a real life!:lame:

We have two TVs. One in the front room, and one in DS's room.

I'd like to go without, but my family wouldn't go for it. DS loves it, and OH is an absolute addict. He will watch anything.

For the last two mornings I didn't put the TV on before OH went to work, and we spoke the whole time. This morning he put the TV on before I got in the room, and we hardly said a word to each other. :(

*joins the kith*
I'll write more once I have a chance to read the replies here :D