I don't watch or own a TV...am I the only one????

245

Replies

  • CarlyRobbinsGilbert
    CarlyRobbinsGilbert Posts: 64
    We have a TV but it doesn't do much because we don't have cable. Sometimes we watch movies, but we are so busy that it is a treat. My husband watches sports games on a website he uses on the computer, or he watches games at sports bars or with friends. Cable is so expensive, and our complex requires that we use a certain provider. Even though we don't have kids yet, I like the idea (because I largely lived without TV as a kid) of encouraging them to be active and use imagination. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out when my friends talk about catching up on this series or that, but I find that if I really want to see something, it's better for me to have to go out of my way to do so just because there are so many other better things for me to do with my time!
  • MagicandCastles
    MagicandCastles Posts: 40
    I watch a lot of tv but I watch sort of like I read. I like ongoing sci-fi and fantasy shows so for me it's like watching a book! I do read a lot well.
  • DzNuts11
    DzNuts11 Posts: 10
    There are two televisions in my house, but I rarely watch televeision. In fact, one of them hasn't been used in over a year and the other one I've only watched only Red Box movies, which I will rent about one a month, if that. When I lived on my own, I never had a television because I was always too busy working 2 jobs, working out, big social life, and the only thing I did at home was undress, dress, shower, sleep and clean. Thank goodness, I now have added in prepping food, home maintenance (bought a home 8 & 1/2 years ago), and spending time with my sister and her daughter who live with me. Recently (about 3 weeks now), we started to head over to another sister's home to watch the Bronco game and spend time with her husband and two boys.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I think I might die without television! I love it and am endlessly entertained and informed by it. My husband and I have three in the house, for just the two of us. :laugh:

    I still manage to work a full-time job, get an hour or so of workout a day in, take care of our three dogs, cook homemade meals, engage in my hobbies of hiking and photography, and do my housecleaning.
  • sma83
    sma83 Posts: 479 Member
    I own one, it's mostly for my daughter to watch cartoons on. I am a single Mom, work 45+ hours a week, go to school part time to work on getting my degree, and help transport a special needs child to and from school/daycare 3 times a week for my roommate. Add in cleaning, cooking, laundry and taking my daughter to ballet once a week and I don't have time to sit down and watch TV. What little bit I DO get to watch is usually whatever cartoon my daughter has on while I do school work or clean.
  • toomuchbootyindapants
    toomuchbootyindapants Posts: 811 Member
    I own four TVs but we don't have cable. Only time I watch one is for family movie night with Netflix...or when I'm playing video games. VIDEO GAMES FTW PEOPLE!!!!
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Oh no. Not alone. I despise TV . I could live very well without it .
    This is a misnomer.

    Considering you can find everything and ANYTHING on the Internet.

    Stop acting like you people are doing something high and noble. The Jakes is on you.
  • Jimaudit
    Jimaudit Posts: 275
    Actually my wife and I divey up the evening chores and get twice accomplished.....

    Once my daughter goes to bed, we sit down to relax and watch 1 show we have dvr'd.
  • Adina81
    Adina81 Posts: 252 Member
    I have 2 tvs.... I only ever turn on CP24.
    Its more of a comfort thing from my childhood then it is of me wanting to watch it.
    The background noise reminds me of my childhood because my father use to watch that channel all day.
  • NicoleisQuantized
    NicoleisQuantized Posts: 344 Member
    I do not own or watch TV either.
  • PNJB796
    PNJB796 Posts: 72 Member
    Only my humble opinion, but when you are older, feeble bodied and active of mind, living alone and without visitors (Just about every widow or widower), a TV is a lifeline to keep you aware of the world. Not for nothing is the TV licence free to the aged.. Count your blessings.
  • iAMaPhoenix
    iAMaPhoenix Posts: 1,038 Member
    Soooo....should I feel bad that I have 13 Televisions in my house. I don't usually watch them all, but I am a tech junkie and love electronics. And since both kids at home are straight A students, and the older 3 have graduated or will graduate college next year, I don't think it have impacted their lives negatively. Side Note...I only watch about 4-5 hours of Telly a week myself.
  • OllyReeves
    OllyReeves Posts: 579 Member
    So great to raise children without TV! Good choice!!! You are not alone : )

    Why is it so great? Have you ever seen Sky Arts? A lot of the Discovery Channels?

    Watching films, and comedy, and dram and documentaries just helps increase their knowledge and their imaginations. In my opinion.

    I don't understand this narrow minded obsession with tv being bad for children. I think any opportunity for kids to have their horizons broadened is a good opportunty.

    If they don't sit in front of cartoons all day, I don't see the problem.

    And just to be clear, if you watch tv or films or whatever on the interent, you lose the right to smugly tell people 'oh I don't own a telly' as you're still watching it, you're just in a different chair!
  • bleacheblonde
    bleacheblonde Posts: 333
    I own a TV but we really only watch DVDs or documentaries right before bed....sometimes we'll watch more on a Sunday. I haven't had cable for years now, and I don't really miss it that much. TV pretty much sucks nowadays; reality shows blow, I hate them. So that rules out most of TV programming! Plus then when you do get to go to someone's house or to a hotel to watch cable, it's more like a rare treat.
  • Bridget28152723
    Bridget28152723 Posts: 372 Member
    I know a few people who dont own one, they are busy people ( and TV is filled with immoral shows) sounds like its the men who watch the most TV :smokin: , while us women cook .. well My hubby works his butt off (in the gym and at his job)and he loves watching his movies, so thats fine with me. My kids watch cartoons, I ...dont have time...But I love watching spongebob with my girls and regular show-Im a sucker for comedy!No you are not weird, your a busy mom whos got lots on her plate...We all have "our thing"
  • bleacheblonde
    bleacheblonde Posts: 333
    So great to raise children without TV! Good choice!!! You are not alone : )

    Why is it so great? Have you ever seen Sky Arts? A lot of the Discovery Channels?

    Watching films, and comedy, and dram and documentaries just helps increase their knowledge and their imaginations. In my opinion.

    I don't understand this narrow minded obsession with tv being bad for children. I think any opportunity for kids to have their horizons broadened is a good opportunty.

    If they don't sit in front of cartoons all day, I don't see the problem.

    And just to be clear, if you watch tv or films or whatever on the interent, you lose the right to smugly tell people 'oh I don't own a telly' as you're still watching it, you're just in a different chair!

    That's actually a really good point. If I could somehow subscribe to only 3 cable channels: Discovery, History, and National Geographic...I would in a heartbeat. The problem is you get all the sh*tty channels along with the educational ones, so then I guess you just have to make sure that Mom & Dad are controlling the remote :)
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    So great to raise children without TV! Good choice!!! You are not alone : )

    Why is it so great? Have you ever seen Sky Arts? A lot of the Discovery Channels?

    Watching films, and comedy, and dram and documentaries just helps increase their knowledge and their imaginations. In my opinion.

    I don't understand this narrow minded obsession with tv being bad for children. I think any opportunity for kids to have their horizons broadened is a good opportunty.

    If they don't sit in front of cartoons all day, I don't see the problem.

    And just to be clear, if you watch tv or films or whatever on the interent, you lose the right to smugly tell people 'oh I don't own a telly' as you're still watching it, you're just in a different chair!
    Well said brother.
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
    I got rid of mine about two years ago when I went to college and LOVE the fact that I'm not longer tied to regular programming and keeping up to date with shows. I watch a movie a week because of my Lovefilm subscription (it's free with my bank account) and download Criminal Minds and Castle and that's it for me! BBC news 24 is on at the gym, so I like to watch that when working out.

    I do think it's more freeing and allows for you to be more creative, I know that wouldn't be the same for everyone, but I read so much more now and listen to music for pleasure as opposed to just background noise, I find that I go outside more... before I would spend about 4-5 hours a night just watching soaps and reality tv and then my weekly entertainment shows, I'd plan my social life around my shows. It also allows me to focus on my degree more as my only distractions are fitness! Oh, and it also means no TV license! Major plus as that thing is expensive!
  • belladonna786
    belladonna786 Posts: 1,165 Member
    So great to raise children without TV! Good choice!!! You are not alone : )

    Why is it so great? Have you ever seen Sky Arts? A lot of the Discovery Channels?

    Watching films, and comedy, and dram and documentaries just helps increase their knowledge and their imaginations. In my opinion.

    I don't understand this narrow minded obsession with tv being bad for children. I think any opportunity for kids to have their horizons broadened is a good opportunty.

    If they don't sit in front of cartoons all day, I don't see the problem.

    And just to be clear, if you watch tv or films or whatever on the interent, you lose the right to smugly tell people 'oh I don't own a telly' as you're still watching it, you're just in a different chair!



    THIS X 100000000! Stop looking down from your pedestal OP I am a very busy mom of 6 including 9 month old twins, with a clean house, all home cooked meals, work out and do all the things I need to and yup, you guessed it I watch tv and so do my kids. I monitor what they watch and make sure the majority is educational but pepper in the entertainment as well. You are no hero for being tv free and those that do watch tv don't have messy houses, servant or things of that nature, get over yourself.
  • nonstopper
    nonstopper Posts: 1,108 Member
    your not normal....... haha jk. You need a TV to do some P90x or insanity on those cold days. crayZ.
  • 4themoney
    4themoney Posts: 797 Member
    i have two TVs in my house. one is hooked up to a wii for netflix and the other is hooked up to a wii and a mac mini, for computer and netflix ( and the once every 6 mo wii game play).

    i do have a hulu account, and i will spend time catching up on things from time to time. but no cable and dish or antenna here. typically, i work out from home and so i lift weights and watch "tv."

    my kids are not allowed to watch anything until all of their stuff is done. i'm not opposed to TV, but what i like about netflix is that once that episode is over, there is nothing else to watch unless you click to watch another. it's not a steady stream of shows and commercials. it makes it easier to just say ONE and that's it.

    i don't have cable or dish mainly because there are only a very small handful of shows i watch, and there are only certain shows my kids are allowed to watch. so, it becomes a waste of money to have over 100 channels, LOL. not to mention, i have better things to do with my money :-)
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    We have several TV's but no cable or anything. Where we live we can't pick up any channels without subscribing and paying for some type of service. We got rid of cable about 11 years ago and have enjoyed the difference it's made for our family. The kids are definitely less materialistic without all those commercials bombarding them! We have DVD players and watch movies or the kids play video games. I like it for the ability to do workout DVD's and I like the workout games on the game consoles. It's also nice to put pictures up on the big TV to show family on occasion since most of them are digital. We Skyped with a family member in another state using the XBOX and the big screen was really nice for that too.

    We can (and do) waste more time than we should online but it's also a great resource, especially since we homeschool. When we met my husband wasn't much of a reader but over the last several years he's really developed a love for it. Now we'll all sit around reading our own books or I will read to the family. They all love that and look forward to it. So we're not anti screens but we definitely don't watch as much as some people. You find time for what's important to you. :)
  • AEFidgets
    AEFidgets Posts: 243
    We own a tv and a ton of DVDs but we don't have cable or internet anymore. I use my smartphone to log on here and FB.
  • tikafly
    tikafly Posts: 184 Member
    Living life without TV is more of a preference in how we choose to live our lives than it is to imply that others are wrong for having regular TV in their lives. I don't have time to care about what other people do, to be honest.

    TV is very limited in my house. The kids are very active in sports, so that keeps us ridiculously busy. Our family interacts with each other more without the TV on, and it's amazing how creative the kids get with their entertainment. My children's behavior changes when they watch too much TV, regardless of the content. My daughter struggles with ADHD, so the distraction from the television prevents her from focusing on daily tasks. We often read books and play board games when time allows. My children have also learned to become great playmates, and they are very close with each other regardless of being 3 years apart in age. They really aren't interested in TV when we do turn it on. Sometimes we go to the local dinner theater that has a buffet lunch and plays directed toward children. We try to visit the movie theater every other month. There are other ways to expose children to knowledge and the arts rather than through television.
  • AlayshaJ
    AlayshaJ Posts: 703 Member
    Da *kitten*? I love watching good tv. I have two tvs but I don't have cable, so I don't watch much tv.
  • nyams
    nyams Posts: 1
    am a nurse too and work fulltime. I have two kids under the age of 4. My four month old is already sitting unassisted and am teaching my 3yr old to read. I cook meals 6days a week, do all the laundry and wash dishes. My house is as clean as clean can be and i still have time to take a 2hr nap during the day and still watch tv.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    Just for the record, this is the internet, so there will always be someone answer to the question "am I the only one who [insert anything no matter how odd here] with "I do that too! And I thought I was weird until now".

    Not that I think not having a TV is weird or anything. Personally, we use Tivo in our house and only watch pre-recorded TV, skip all commercials, and try to keep the kids viewing down. Plus, with Tivo, it's easy to block out channels we don't watch or don't want.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    I OWN a TV. It is not hooked up to cable or sattelite or anything. I DO have Netflix, but I watch maybe one hour a day (at most). Some days I just read instead.

    For me it's my way of unwinding after work. It's either netflix for an hour, piano for an hour or book for an hour. :)

    That said, I lived with a lady who would watch TV for HOURS on end. She'd get home from work, make dinner and then sit and just... sit. She watched TV all night. Bed. Work. TV. Bed. Work. TV. That was her life. I tried getting her involved in things, like inviting her out to concerts and parties but we'd get out and within twenty minutes she was 'bored' and she would want to go home. :\

    So glad I don't live with her anymore.

    I understand not all TV watchers are like that but she certainly stained my view of hardcore TV addicts.
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