What, If Anything, Would Convince You to Give Up TV?

[chidy]

this is a soapbox of mine, so i'll spare you the longer speech. but, short version? TV has killed the American experiment with representative democracy. do you agree, and if so, what are you willing to do about it?

i love DU, always have. been here for a long time, despite my low post number and lack of a star (long story). but lately, it's been really clear to me that people are talking about the issues because some dood on the TV tells them it's important. i am used to that at right wing or popular culture sites, but here? we can do better. we have better links. we actually read books (i hope). we skeptical and critical. and yet...

it's an odd parallel, innit? there are democratic voters. there are democratic politicians. both groups are good people who want to make the world a better place. the first group complains about how FOX and CNN misrepresent the important issues, spending more time on Willow Palin or whomever, while ignoring truly important issues like chronic unemployment or banksters stealing people's homes illegally. the latter group makes the same complain when it comes to coverage of Democratic positions. "how can we get people to understand that Nancy and Harry are really fighting for them, if you only cover what Rush and Bohner and Beck say?"

yet both groups? they *pay for* the very media that assaults them. it's like paying the guy who waterboards you. "Thank you Sir! May I have another!" etc. i recently saw my mother's cable bill, and frankly, i was shocked. she's not poor, but my goodness! that much, and they still force you to watch commercials on many of the channels? i don't get it.

anyway, people have called me every name in the book, for talking this way, thus i know "im doin it rong." so i ask you, person who has actually seen an episode of DWTS or "24," what would it take? how can you be convinced that TV is like crack, for your mind? or do i have it all wrong, and TV is harmless and fluffy and we should all watch 5 hours of it daily?

...for you purists: i count much of the Internet along with TV. increasingly, they are the same thing. and no, i don't believe and never have that websites and blogging are "our salvation." boot on the ground organizing is. period.

disclaimer: i haven't owned a television set since 98. i gave my last one away to a friend. i enjoy watching foreign film on my computer sometimes, when i'm smoking a nice blunt and don't want to read a book or walk my dog, but that's about it. i'm a total freak of an american in this way. i've never seen an ep of "glee" or "twilight" or whatever and the reason i know of them? because good liberals i know from the internet, can't stop talking about them. from my perspective, it's like you're all being controlled by a hidden puppet master who tells you what to think, and you just don't know it or can't see it.

[HopeHoops]

1. Hell, I gave it up back in '82. Waste of time and too many stupid commercials.

I just had no use for it. We got cable for 9 months since then, the year my youngest was in kindergarten, and only for Mr. Rogers, Reading Rainbow, Bear in the Big Blue House, Sesame Street. That's all the connection was used for. I dropped it as soon as summer came around.

[tanyev]

2. I have a few shows that I enjoy watching, especially Glee,

and I really don't care what you think about my TV viewing habits.

[muffin1]

11. I love Glee, too.

The last episode (with Gwyneth Paltrow) was amazing - and the 'Singin' in the Rain' number? :woohoo:

[tanyev]

18. That was fun.

I love any moment of screen time that features Jane Lynch or Chris Colfer. They're both amazing.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Lack of money.

As of December 1, I'm cutting out cable. There was a time back in my Poor Starving Student college days when my TV died and I didn't have the money to fix it or buy a new one. I ended up doing without a TV for 2 years and I was MUCH more productive, plus, I discovered the Old Time Radio Hour -- something one of our locally-owned stations (Remember them?) used to offer up. I laughed so hard at Burns & Allen I about wet my pants (TMI?). I was almost disappointed when a relative took pity on my and bought me a small TV as a Christmas present.

Besides, I find Netflix is the best deal ever for viewing.

[xiamiam]

4. Turn off the tv..as long as it is on you are being programmed

I turned it off over a year ago. Do not miss it one bit and I recognize it as contributing to the decline of our culture in almost every way. Turn it off, you will be glad you did.

[Rebubula]

5. Distractions

We all get our distractions in our own way.

Good for you on your eschewing TV - I still enjoy relaxing with my family (or just myself) and letting TV entertain me for short periods.

Just a side note: Being pious about anything tends to put people off. When you take the arrogant path to instruction, you usually lose a lot of students.

Good luck to you in your windmill tilting...

[trotsky]

8. +1 n/t

[xiamiam]

9. she is giving good advice..try it for 2 weeks..just try it..nt

[Rebubula]

10. No Thank you.

Again...we all have our own distractions and one of mine is certain TV shows.

My doctor gives good advice as well...sometimes I listen, sometimes I ignore.

[blondeatlast]

35. I have. I didn't care for it. I tried pot and didn't like it either, but don't

fault others if they enjoy it.

I don't judge people by habits they enjoy that I don't.

[Scruffy1]

6. Put it on the curb long ago

[muffin1]

7. Sorry.

There is precious little we can afford these days. Teevee is one of them. Do I watch Faux or CNN or DWTS? No...but I DO - like the poster above me - enjoy a few shows, including Glee. I'm not giving it up, either.

[hobbit709]

12. Cutting of your nose, etc.

I watch 3-4 hours a week on broadcast channels. I watch about 20 hours a week on nonbroadcast channels. TV is like the internet, you can find good stuff if you look but TV, like the internet follows Sturgeon's Law.-"90% of everything is crap". Once you learn to winnow out the chaff, TV can be quite informational and entertaining.

[GoCubsGo]

63. Yep. There are certain things I prefer not to do without on TV

I love PBS, and like to be able to get the local news. I also like the local all-weather channel. The local newscasts also serve as means of keeping track of severe weather, like tornadoes, that might be in the area.

[Marthe48]

13. My husband watches and I'm in the L.R.

But do I watch? Not really. I realized in 1973 that all news readers used inflection to sway how I might process a story, just like a story reader. I used to like watching sitcoms, because I like to laugh. But none of the shows are funny anymore. The shows with families invariably have the children act like snots, so if you let your kids watch shows, pretty soon, they are acting like snots too. The news itself is slanted to the right, and even a story about a Democratic advance is tinged with failure or segues to how it will affect Repug machine. The only possible way you can decide for yourself what is true is to read several articles if you can find the story, and rely on your own truth. I hope I am flexible and able to take on new ideas and I think I am. But if I happen to focus on a news story, then I listen with a critical ear, and hear the subliminal message the media thinks is more important.

Another thing I can go on about is the cost of cable and that the cable co. is double-dipping. If I ever had time, I'd like to chart the stations that are running paid advertising before 8 AM. Most of the basic and expanded basic channels we get have some kind of bs product the promoters blather about for 30 to 60 minutes. So the channel is producing revenue from me and from the paid advertiser. I'm glad to see cable subscription is down. It has been ridiculous for years to pay the inflated cost of watching the tv. I said for years that cable was costing like an essential utility such as heating, and yet, the real truth is: TV is NOT essential to having a safe comfortable home. Having the tv on is like having radon in the basement--it is toxic to your brain and your will.

I do watch a few shows, Jeopardy, Seinfeld, and some documentaries, but not the reality crap (which by the way is so living vicariously--I have friends who lend drama to every conversation I have with them, and I get to participate!), never faux news. My husband must have it on, but overall, it is an annoyance to me. If my dear hubby goes before I do, cable bill is first thing to go out the door!)

[eShirl]

14. sorry we are all such a disappointment

[LWolf]

15. TV is more than news and talk shows.

I haven't watched tv news or talk shows in more than a decade. I still watch TV sometimes.

Which is it you want me to do? Give up TV entirely, or quit supporting and enabling the crap news and talk? What's the goal?

[EmeraldCityGrl]

84. I'm hooked on a couple HBO and Showtime series. Also Bill Maher.

I also watch MSNBC. Other than that the TV is off.

[superduperfarleft]

16. .

http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/

[superduperfarleft]

17. Why are you wasting your money on weed when you could be giving it to charities or other progressive

causes?

[Iggo]

58. Opium is the opium of the masses. TV is just TV.

B-)

[AnArmyVeteran]

105. A friend called it 'Chewing gum for the brain'.

[pipi_k]

19. Just wondering why it has to be either/or...

and why some people think it's impossible for others to watch, and enjoy, TV while still maintaining the usual number of operating brain cells.

Some of us really are capable of weeding out the garbage from the good stuff. Some of us really are skeptical enough to not believe everything we hear...in my case, perhaps I'm a bit too skeptical, which presents its own set of problems.

The most annoying thing about rants like this is that they look like attempts to portray the ranters as better/smarter than the "peasants" who are way too stupid to know they're being irreparably damaged and are in need of some serious "education" from the Knights in Shining Armor.

[KittyWampus]

33. Mystery Science Theater- a friend of mine enjoys Judge Judy. When we watch the commentary we provide

is pure gold! And somewhat educational (he took a few years of law).

So even the weeds can be entertaining.

I also do craftwork and artwork while "watching" tv. SO I'm actually listening to tv... like radio.

When I did cross stitch, which required a LOT of visual attention, I didn't even know what some commercials looked like cause I never looked up to watch them.

[pipi_k]

59. Judge Judy...yah!!!

I watch her show while making dinner every day.

It's a bit embarrassing sometimes when she really gets on someone for being stupid, but hey...it's not like a lot of them don't know what they're likely to face when they go there.

Anyway, when my MIL was living here before she died, I noticed that she would get all agitated when JJ was on (Mom was 93). We found out the reason the day Mom announced that JJ was a "mean lady". We just laughed and went on as usual until it became apparent that Mom's agitation was getting out of control. So we switched channels to Dr Phil, whom Mom pronounced "a nice young man". :7

Anyway, yeah...like you, I'm doing crafts while "watching" TV too. I can deal with most of the commercials except for the really loud, obnoxious ones which a local station insists on airing on a constant basis...I'm talking playing the same one each commercial break, which is about every 15 minutes.

[TreasonousBastard]

20. Why just TV? Why not radio, books, magazines...

or hanging out with people who half the time don't know squat about things they talk about? And don't ever go to a play or a movie-- they'll never have anything worth to educate or inspire you.

Every medium of communication or entertainment since the first runes were carved on sticks and rocks has had its downside, and picking on TV now is as ridiculous as the crickets complaining about how the public would be in trouble from the invention of the printing press. Or the penny dreadfuls and scandal sheets it eventually gave us.

Most of us here are too young to remember Walter Winchell, Father Coughlan, or Reverend Ike and how radio was destroying civilization. Or how that guy named Hearst was able to start and stop wars singlehandedly. Or how Hedda Hopper could make or break anyone in Hollywood. Somehow, civilization survived, if only barely.

So, knock yourself out if you can't be bothered to lower yourself to watch Fringe, but kindly refrain from preaching to the rest of us.

[Dappleganger]

24. You nailed it.

You can't preach against one without giving up the rest.

[Dappleganger]

25. You nailed it.

You can't preach against one without giving up the rest.

[blondeatlast]

29. Edit: wrong place. nt

[woo me with science]

21. I'm open to negotiations.

What are you offering?

[Umbral]

22. A functional Holodeck. nt

[Pathwalker]

53. Yep. That would work for me. Good one!

:rofl:

[Dappleganger]

23. Self-righteous hypocrisy.

To give up TV and yet not give up the internet, then judge others for not being just like you.

Not all of us have minds of mush...some of us have the ability to discern between what is true and untrue, what is a half-truth wrapped up in lies and use the media to stay informed about the world around us.

[Brickbat]

26. I can tell you it won't be a self-righteous pothead on the internet who thinks he has the answers.

I'm just sayin'.

[blondeatlast]

27. Proposal for a new reality show: "Survivor: Self Righteous Hypocrites in their Self-Righteous

Utopia." No TV, only foreign films. No non-fiction except the "classics." No pot, no drugs of any kind. The "Mythbusters guys and Jon stewart and Steven Colbert for color commentary. Now, THAT I'd watch with a bowl of popcorn (PLENTY o' butter and salt) and my sense of humor and irony well-tuned.

I don't watch TV much, don't judge others who do.

[hobbit709]

28. +1

I'd almost pay money to see that.

[blondeatlast]

30. Yeah, but you and me are mind controlled puppets, ya know. nt

[hobbit709]

32. I am a puppet of my mind. and i like it that way.

:rofl:

[KittyWampus]

37. will the foreign films be captioned or dubbed?

;)

[blondeatlast]

38. Neither, they'll have to interpret them... nt

[Coventina]

42. Well of course non-TV watchers have mastered a number of languages

with all of their free time, right?

LOVE your idea of the reality show! I'm not a reality show fan, but that's one I'd watch.

on edit: typo

[hobbit709]

40. Funniest thing I ever saw

Was a John Wayne Western on Yugoslavian TV subtitled in Serbian with the audio dubbed in Italian. The Italian voice over for Wayne was someone with a real wimpy sounding voice. We were rolling on the floor.

[blondeatlast]

31. Will Dear OP return to this thread? I do so hope--but I doubt it. nt

[hobbit709]

34. Looks like hit and run to me.

[chidy]

87. no, goofy.

i have a meatspace life and i can't live here at DU, no matter how much i may want to. this was a test, and up to your comment? proving what i already knew. TV is an addiction, and people who watch it? they talk like addicts. i was married to one, for a while, so i know the language.

never mind. i'll continue reading comments that attack me personally and fail to address any of my salient points. because the people who make TV? and the intertubes? richer and more powerful than me.

[hobbit709]

93. I refer you to what I said in post #12

And you spend time on the Internet so you are not removing yourself off from the evil influences you are claiming to be.

And there are times when I want to watch mindless moronic cretin fodder in order to wash the harsh realities of the world temporarily out of my mind. I also read plenty, my personal paper library is about 2000 books and I probably have that many more on my computer in digital form.

[WI_DEM]

36. People who are smart enough don't have to watch the idiot box around the clock

but they don't have to give it up either. You can still find interesting programs on PBS or elsewhere and not watch the junk. Also people need to learn to read again. As long as were doing this discussion about TV sooner or later when are people going to give up their computers which are also turning into a huge waste of time.

[Stevenmarc]

39. Since I figured out the concept of media manipulation when I was 5, I don't have to fear ...

the glowing box in the room.

One Christmas there was this particular toy that the glowing box told me that I just had to have and that would do all sorts of marvelous things, so after some fairly solid badgering of my parents I was pleased to see it under the tree, however, reality didn't come close to the promise of the glowing box. From that moment on I was able to tell when the glowing box was selling me a steaming pile of shit and with that information I am able to enjoy the glowing box for what it is.

[Occulus]

41. Netflix.

Watching what I want to when I want to really kills cable for me. I'm about to cancel it.

[Swede]

43. I hate being chided for my habits.

[Roon]

44. I gave up TV about 13 years ago

I loved to read more than TV. When the net came along it provided plenty of READING! So I am totally without television right now.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Saokymo]

45. Gave up ours during the Writer's Strike

... whenever that was. I honestly don't remember at this point.
We only watched 5 or 6 channels with any regularity, so we figured we might as well just cut the bill and save ourselves the money. It took me about 6 weeks to fully break the addiction to having it on as background noise (because we hardly ever actually sat and watched the damn thing), but after that everything was fine. Now the only TV I get is when visiting family, and it hits me as a culture shock -- so much mindless noise that serves no real purpose.

And the best part? The cable company calling us back after 3 months to try and get us hooked again, literally. They were like drug dealers who couldn't believe that we could ever possibly give up their dope. They finally gave up after Mum told them point-blank that we won't get cable again until we have the option to buy a la carte and only pay for the channels that we really want to watch.


Now we get our information and random entertainment from the interwebs. I'll occasionally watch a show or two on HULU when a friend links me to one, but for the most part we just surf for news, DU and Lolcats. It's very refreshing.

[msongs]

46. tv hasnt been on for 9 months, it coulda had a baby since then lol nt

[Bluenorthwest]

48. Are you also afraid of cd players and the blender?

Is the radio controlling you? Is pop music of the devil?
I just don't dig those who will judge that which they have not seen. That is the number one sign of a closed mind. You are talking about that which you don't know about. And doing so from a perch of self righteousness, as do most promoters of personal dogma.
Just so you know, I do not see cultural illiteracy as a good thing. When I read these, and they are common enough, screeds against some aspect of entertainment, I think of strict religionists, forbidding movies because they lead to 'sin' and 'demonic influences', of control by invisible forces. Put a cross around the OP's neck and it is fundie 101.

[blondeatlast]

54. Well said!

:thumbsup:

[fishwax]

49. I've never really heard a remotely convincing reason why I should

Maybe the long reason would be more convincing, but the short reason doesn't offer much substance. You don't like TV, and that's fine. That's a perfectly valid reason for you not having a TV. But the fact that some random set of people think that I'm submitting myself to thought control by sitting down for an episode of Glee is hardly a good reason for me to not watch it.

I like TV, and watch a fair amount of it, but no, I'm not being controlled by it. It's not too difficult to watch a program without being programmed. It's a false choice that TV is either "crack, for your mind" or "harmless and fluffy." Television keeps me informed (though it's far from my only source of information) and, yes, entertained (though it's not my only source of entertainment).

[Raine]

50. Absolutely NOTHING

I enjoy TV, I like the diversion and I'm not giving it up. :-)

[TBF]

51. I watch sports and Glee -

my hubby loves tv (he is also much more of an intellectual than I am and extremely bright). So I don't know what that says about me but I've always preferred reading and other activities. I do watch sports, and I must admit to not missing "Glee" (he will ask me to watch tv occasionally when he finds a "really good" show - many I don't like but I do enjoy Glee).

I prefer to read news from various sources on the Internet, and will also watch movies. Just not a tv person I guess.

[phleshdef]

52. TV is fine. Its people that are the enemy of themselves.

Its just a 1 way medium of communication. Its the same as a newspapers/magazines or a website or the radio.

If you watch mind rotting programming or read tabloid garbage or spend your time watching youtubes of people doing stupid things to hurt themselves or you listen to Rush Limbaugh, thats your own fault for desiring that sort of thing.

On the other hand, you may spend your time watching educational programming, reading about current events, spend your time researching intellectual topics or listening to some good music.

It doesn't have a damn thing to do with the TV itself. If people want to zone out on garbage reality tv or other types of uninsightful communications, they will find a way to do it. If it isn't TV, they will waste their lives some other way.

[brooklynite]

55. What did you pay to watch the movie?

I'm guessing nothing, which goes to the point of why do people complain about paying for TV?

A producer paid to have the movie you watched written, filmed and edited. In all likelihood, it wasn't done for "arts sake"; someone expected to make a profit, or at lease cover their expenses.

If everyone stops paying for the media they consume, people will eventually stop producing it.

And as for being assaulted by Fox News, it exists because there are conservatives out there who want to watch it and have their biases confirmed. Anyone else can change the channel.

[WinkyDink]

56. Nothing; I was born when it was. Why the bug up the butt? Can't find enough variety?

I've traveled EXTENSIVELY; taught British and American Lit for DECADES; own more books than I have shelves and table-space; was on "Jeopardy".

And I'm ALSO going to watch television. Boo-hoo.

[Iggo]

57. If it didn't work anymore.

And yes, your doing it rong.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

60. Too bad, you're missing a lot of great stuff.

:shrug:

It has never been about "TV" and it has always been about what your TV choices are. You can choose to watch "Housewives of Atlanta" or "Democracy Now!". I watch a startling amnount of TV yet I somehow manage to remain an active, educated participant in our attempt to dethrone the PTB.

[LoZoccolo]

61. I haven't watched it much since 1996.

I haven't had cable since the year before that. I watch it at my father's house because that's one of the only things that he likes to do; he's way into it.

[blondeatlast]

62. I cannot miss "Cash Cab." Sorry.

I LOVE that show.

[Morning Dew]

64. How can we hope to

warn people of the destructive policies of Hoover if they're huddled in front of the gramophone listening to Rudy Vallee?

[blondeatlast]

65. Have you heard that awful jazz music? And THOSE women "bob" their hair! nt

[Morning Dew]

66. They're wearin' makeup too !!

At the Jazz dance, my "boots on the ground" were the only thing that saved my toes from the flapper's heels.

Twenty Three Skidoo, flapper gals.

[bikebloke]

67. Gave it up in the mid-70's

My father thought there was something wrong with me because I preferred to read books instead.

I do have a set sitting in the corner under a dust cloth for DVD movies on Saturday nights.

[blondeatlast]

68. My soapbox, if you'll pardon me, is that I dislike hit 'n run posters. nt

[chidy]

88. baby, i'm so not "hit an run"

i've probably been posting at DU longer than you have. no, really. it's funny how that attack is used against people in place of salient arguments. trust me when i say: i've been here, a long, long, long time. (internet wise, that is) there is very little about liberal web based discussion of which i am not aware. it's been a long time since i've put up a GD thread at DU. i'm just "testing" as it were.

and i have my answer. TV is as addictive as crack, just as i thought. but here: why don't you call me fat, stupid and ugly? i am none of those, but it will make you feel better to do so.

[Mz Pip]

69. I love TV

You'll have to pry the remote from my cold dead hands.

[Dulcinea]

70. Not gonna happen.

I don't watch much TV except for Law & Order, CSI, The Daily Show & live sports. Gotta have my football & hockey. YMMV.

[AmandaMae]

71. I understand where you're coming from but don't agree...

Of course too much tv can be a distraction, and have a negative influence on a person's life. But I don't see a problem with a healthy, intelligent person enjoying a few shows. It's not realistic to expect everyone to constantly seek out things that are intellectually stimulating. Sometimes people need a break.

I do think TV has had a negative affect on society as a whole, and we would probably be better off without it, because most people do watch too much of it. I also think it's a crime the way some parents let their children grow up glued to the tv, absorbing all of the messages in not only the programming, but also in highly gendered and consumeristic advertisements. But that's another topic. My point is, I worry about how TV affects people too, but I don't think taking a purist attitude about it, trying to get everyone to stop watching altogether is the right way to go.

Right now 40% or more of Americans are functionally illiterate. I think educational reform, improving literacy, and emphasizing the importance of reading and critical thinking are more important than turning of all the TVs. If those things happened, I wouldn't be so worried. It's not TV itself that's the problem, it's people not being able to filter truth from fiction, and recognize when they're being manipulated.

[Iggo]

72. Ah, the voice of reason.

And what the heck, better late than never:

Welcome to DU.:hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

73. I haven't had a tv for over 13 years

I love the nets, wouldn't have it any other way.

[sufrommich]

74. That's the wonderful thing about choice, you can give up

whatever you want and I can choose not to.

[EFerrari]

75. Television is like smoking, a very efficient way to fill a bunch of needs

that can backfire on you.

I've come to use television as radio more than anything, and tend to only listen to a few good progressive shows on publicly funded stations and to BookTv on the weekends. Every now and then, a good old sitcom or movie in the evening to check out.

No reality shows, not corporate media. I think at this point, my use of the thing is as subversive as it can get. :)

[pintobean]

76. 5 weeks is a long time?

Maybe if you watched a little TV, time wouldn't drag on so much. :)

[Dr Fate]

77. I cut my cable a year ago. Best thing I ever did.

If I am in the mood for some boob-tube, I rent the DVDs of my choice. I get my news from the papers and the inter-tubes.

Giving up channel surfing is SOOOOOOOOOO much easier than people think. I promise, you really are not missing anything. If it is that great, one can catch it on DVD at some point.

If people would try it, they would see that you are right.

[Name removed]

78. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dr Fate]

79. Self edit. n/t

n/t

[GodlessBiker]

80. 2 bits and a free jiffy lube.

[Greyhound]

81. For me it was the programming, in both senses of the word.

The entertainment value is questionable at best and the mental programming to Obey, Conform, and Consume is downright insulting, even as it is terrifyingly effective.

Our nation needs a complete re-work and the Godbox is the single most significant roadblock to that ever happening.
:kick: & R

[Jackpine Radical]

82. Nothing will convince me to give up my TeeVee.

I have none to give up.

(Well, actuallly, we have a TV somewhere, but I have no idea of how to even turn it on.)

[JustAnotherGen]

83. I don't watch "Pop" T.V. at all

I have cable for TCM, MSNBC, AMC, old movies, extended PBS selection, TV5 Monde . . . though I do like the nonsense on Bravo too. Used to love the History Channel but now it's not about "History".

[quinnox]

85. Only when you give up the internet

You admit your hypocrisy in that you are using the internet and it has taken over tv watching for you. You have substituted one poison for another.

Until you give up the internet completely then NO DEAL.

I hate to say it, but think about what peoples reactions have been to your preaching as you admitted in the OP.
<a whispered tone> They might be right and you might be wrong.

[silverweb]

86. Almost everything is on line, anyway.

I gave my TV away nearly 4 years ago and selectively watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it on line. Keith/Rachel and Jon/Stephen are the only shows I view regularly.

Other movies and TV shows are available on line, as well, if not from the networks airing them, then from hosting sites. One of the best is http://www.free-tv-video-online.me, but there are also others.

Why have duplicate appliances for viewing as well as duplicate bills (cable and internet)?

[chidy]

89. i'm glad you get it, silverweb.

that's at least one, here.

that was really my point, i just wanted to see how much hostility i'd get for posting what i said. wow, talk about a mess of zombie junkies@ heh we're doomed.

folks: i don't hate visual culture. "movies" and "tv shows" aren't always Evil. just like theatre and song aren't always Evil. i happen to love modern Chinese film, and "buffy," and i watch quite a bit of it, in terms of my schedule. all i'm asking is a simple question about addiction. some of you have been or are addicts to other substances, i assume? i was trained as a scientist, so i know how that works, and i'm trying to point it out. and you hate me for that, don't you? trust me, that doesn't bother me at all; this is sociological and a research project. but still, also, even so: ask yourself why. i said: could you give it up, if you had to? and most of you said: fuck off, bitch! you'll pry my TV from my cold dead hands! just as i'll continue to pay for it, no matter how much i worry about paying my rent this month or eating food. shut up, cut her mike!!!1! who cares that democrats handed a portion of a *billion* dollars to FOX news this season for election ads? that doesn't matter!!!

think about that, please.

absolutely NO ONE on this thread has "justified" why liberals, progressives and democrats PAY the organizations that demonize them. if you were a black woman, would you pay a white KKK member to demonize you? of course not. but dem pols and dem supporters literally pay for FOX "news." i have yet to read a good justification for that. other than, "chidy, you're new to DU and you're stupid and you suck." um. OK. actually, i've been here longer than most, and for various reasons have had to sign in under different names, over and over. but this isn't about me. it's about getting some people to admit: if they aren't watching a TV program every day, they are unhappy. all i'm trying to do is get folks to think about why that is. and yes, i use a computer daily. i have no problem admitting that. but i choose what is on my computer screen, page by page. TV watching people? not so much.

hit me with facts, folks. i'm a bitch, of course. let's just let that go, for the moment. come back to me with why "watching TV is good for you." with facts, reason, and science. i'm betting: you can't.

[Name removed]

92. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blondeatlast]

99. I don't watch every day; I might watch three hours a week. But I don't have to justify

my habits to you.

What I do in my spare time is my own business. I try very hard not to judge others--but I'm truly struggling with that credo regarding your oh-so-fine self.

[Codeine]

90. There's nothing wrong with television.

I carefully pick and choose what I watch and therefore receive a great deal of pleasure and edification from it.

There is not one remotely logical reason for me to give up something that is a net benefit to my daily life.

[REP]

100. What - you're not a Sensitive Artist (tm)?

:sarcasm:
I agree with you. I know you're not like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-kHB2fWUS8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Codeine]

108. God I love that song.

Takes me back. Now I've gotta dig that CD up and listen to Cheesecake Truck.

[wildbilln864]

91. this helped me:

I watch a little. Two and a half men. 60 minutes sometimes, etc. But now I know.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1925114769515892401#

[jmowreader]

94. Bristol Palin winning DWTS would do it for 90 percent of those here

[swilton]

95. I'm with you

I haven't been off TV as long as you and I have to admit, I do spend a lot of time on DU and NETFLIX which I do rent a lot of foreign films from. And watching the foreign films is so much more enlightening than films from the US; I rarely if ever go to the US cinema - perhaps only to AFI when they are showing a foreign film. But I haven't been a serious television watcher for about 10 years now...

The issue really came home to me when college football went to cable - could never afford cable and then I realized - BINGO - with cable you were paying to watch corporate commercial messages - consumer and otherwise. But back to college football. After the hiatus from television, I can no longer watch a college football game....It's like the program suffers from ADHD - there is no substantive content because the..actual game itself is disproportionately represented compared to all the interviews, replays, flashbacks and commercials, commercials, commercials

To think that digital TV was supposed to improve things - I can't even discuss what digital TV does because I don't own one and never wanted one. Direct TV which I had access to during a two-month temporary living arrangement is garbage directed at the American public's lcd (least common denominator) And as you point out, the payment is for watching the commercials not to mention propaganda promoting America's or global elites.

[swilton]

97. I don't own or want a micro-wave either

They were invented to promote the food processing industry (big corn - popcorn).

I got one as a gift and had no room for it in my galley size kitchen....My kids tried to assemble it in the living room - I ended up donating it in its packing box to the nearby middle school which used it in their teachers lounge.

[Old Troop]

96. I have a TV with very basic cable ($11 per month). I very seldom watch

it and find much greater enjoyment reading or visiting friends. I will admit, however, that it is on a lot more during baseball season!

[REP]

98. You can't. I like too many shows, watching movies

The TV isn't on for hours a day here - not because we're "above" watching TV (hardly! Love me some 30 Rock, Community, Law & Order, etc) but because we have DVR and we also love our computers.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

101. I'm almost there

My TV goes on for special news bulletins, a few Olympic events, an occasional PBS special.

My other visual entertainment is all DVDs or Netflix or Hulu streaming, and I'm pretty fussy about what I watch.

[joshcryer]

102. I only watch like 6 shows, online.

Fuck TV. Especially fuck cable news. The least informative bullshit on the planet. I can't believe people watch that shit.

[Capitalocracy]

103. Total lack of interest or a compelling moral disagreement

with all of television (as opposed to a specific program, which I would avoid anyway). And that moral disagreement would have to be extremely compelling... I think the intelligence gathering value of watching the MSM and even Fox News (which I watched quite often when I was in the U.S.) overrides what little difference my eyeball patronage makes in their business model.

I disagree with you about internet media, though. Independent media is going to be very important if we are going to change anything. While the worst of internet media will mimic television or even surpass it in extremism, the best of it will be a truly independent voice and a rallying point.

[AnArmyVeteran]

104. When they 'pry my cold, dead fingers off the remote' (just kidding)

[ThatsMyBarack]

106. NOTHING!

TV has been a part of my life nearly every single day of my almost 40 years on earth.

[lunamagica]

107. Sorry, I can't do it

I don't use drugs or drink, and I need something to help me escape, something to numb the pain so I can forget for a few hours..

[WorseBeforeBetter]

109. " because good liberals i know from the internet, can't stop talking about them."

LOL

[TheKentuckian]

110. Only Fox can be tuned in???

[blondeatlast]

111. Maybe the OP and her various DU logins over the years went off to actually watch "Mythbusters."

Not really a great idea to admit to violating the rules in one's OP.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

112. The Simpsons is too intellectual for the people here.

I bought some Simpsons stamps at the post office and asked the people in line if they ever watched it.

Never heard of it. Had no idea. Even after it's been on a network 25 years.

These idiots are ignorant and lazy, and have no intellectual curiosity. I guess they watch Fox Nooz and are too lazy to investigate what they are told.

I assume they watch stupid sitcoms with "line -- laugh track -- line -- laugh track" so they are conditioned like Pavlov's dog to know when to laugh.

To watch The Simpsons and get the jokes, you have to watch for the funny signs and actually listen to the dialogue. And there's no laugh track to tell you when to laugh.

Too deep for East Texas.

:banghead: