Television Boycott

For the last seven months I haven’t had any kind of television service: no cable, no satellite, no antenna. When I turn the television on, all I can see is gray snow. It started out as a budgetary measure. I didn’t receive a full paycheck for a number of months after I returned from Norway, so I cut out things that weren’t necessary: television, a gardener, a cell phone (for a month). I learned quite quickly that I could live just fine without a gardener. I actually enjoy mowing my lawn and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I’m done. Television was a little more difficult to abandon.

However, in the age of the internet, hulu, and netflix, it isn’t really necessary to forgo T.V. I still have series that I follow, and I’ve even discovered some new shows through hulu (Glee, Dead Like Me, V). I’m still totally hooked on Dexter, which I view on Netflix (although I hate being a season behind).

But there are some things I miss: the Food Network, Top Chef, Project Runway. I get a little mesmerized by television when I visit friends . . . and these are the shows/networks that I want to watch. Still, when I was in Utah visiting my parents who have cable, I didn’t turn the television on very much at all.

So this is what I’ve found out. I don’t need to spend money on cable or satellite. There are plenty of things I can watch without it. Also, and more importantly, I’ve found other things I can do with my time. I like that I’m not so glued to the television when I’m home. I listen to music more frequently, read, go out with friends, or obsessively check Facebook (okay, that’s my next frontier for self-discipline).

I miss television . . . but not very much.