One Year Without TV

I was all ready for the digital change. I had conversion boxes for my TVs and I was ready to go.

I never bothered to hook them up. So I have been without TV since June 12, 2009. Now, I had already made a decision to forgo cable/satellite for the TV a long time ago. I find the services too pricey. I only had cable when I really needed it, because I couldn't get some channels. So the jolt was not as bad as if I had cable, with the bazillion channels. There would be more to miss.

And I do miss some things. I was a fan of all the CSIs, although I definitely missed William Peterson in the original. I miss seeing sporting events on a regular basis. I miss Cops, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and America's Funniest Videos. My junk TV admissions. There are a few shows that have been canceled that I enjoyed: Numbers, The Unit, Cold Case.

I don't miss the "if it bleeds, it leads" local news. I don't miss most reality programming such as American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, Hell's Kitchen and so on. I was never a regular viewer of things such as The Bachelor, America's Next Top Model, or Amazing Race. I'm not up instantly on all the latest pop culture people and themes. When I saw an article on line about someone named "Snooki" being arrested, I had to look up this person to find out who she is. (She's on some cable show called Jersey Shore.)

Now, I'm not trying to set myself up as being holier than thou; God knows I get enough stuff through other media: on line, the radio, and in print. I've watched episodic TV on services such as Hulu. (I just had to know what happened with CSI: New York at the beginning of the '09-'10 season!) I have listened to most of the sports games I have wanted to keep up on, and I have gone to sports bars and restaurants for the really big or important games. I have also watched game action on line. I get my news on line, and watch video reports, although I don't watch every single one. I get local news from blogs too.

But the one thing I have more of since I stopped watching TV: Time. I have much more time. I have time to work around my house, visit with friends, play games, exercise and work on line. I would highly recommend the TV fast. Maybe you don't give up TV, but you fast from it. You decide that there are better things to do in an evenings' time. Summer's a perfect time, with reruns and football not having started yet.

Going without TV completely may not be everyone's cup of tea, but to cut back or have a time of abstaining will help you put TV in its rightful place in the life of your family, faith and community.