Kill your TV! Why?

[Deja Q]

I grew up on TV.

TV is my friend.

I have no real friends. Introvertedness, nervousness, and generalized aloofness makes making friends impossible. (being bullied by everyone during school just about gave me paranoia, too.)

I fear rejection.

I can't think well on my feet.

Hell, I can't think well at all. :-(

The TV I do like is at least intellectual and relies more on writing than special effects.

I wouldn't know what to do or how to pass the endless hours by. I know not what entertainment and companionship is like.

Am I pathetic? Yup.

Am I useless? Damn straight I am!

Why haven't I killed myself? Dunno, just waiting for the right moment I suppose. :shrug:

TV isn't bad. It's just been misused.

[LARED]

1. No one is useless

Try reading a book.

[patdem]

2. Hypno...my theory is that if TV did what it should have done I would now

be in possession of my 3rd PHD...that is if TV educated the masses instead of entertain them. I as a child believed TV would evolve into an education tool, but I was fooled like the rest of the world. I remember when the public service announcement would come on....who ever thinks that this tellivision station is not doing a public service should write to the FCC at.......this is not a part of the public airwaves today. There is no fairness doctrine...no public service part of the public airways today.

Hypno...but YOU are WORTH so much more ... hang in there life IS worth living!!

[Deja Q]

17. How do we change the system?

If there was a way to change the system, to get it back on track, I would participate in an instant. I want the system to change... Except those in power obviously don't want it to change because it'll affect their power.

I wish TV were an educational system.

But I wish lots of things.

Oh well. Someday things will get better.

[moof]

3. A. Television, tune to PBS & break off the knobs

B. for what it is worth this worthless enity enjoys your posts.

C. Ever play Civilization ?

[Deja Q]

18. Civilization

I've played it, but I always lose. *blush* It's a decent game though and more worthy of my time than tv...

Thanks for the compliment on my posts. :-)

When I go for my bankruptcy, they can have my TV and DVD collection. I just hope they leave my "tools of the trade" alone and hope that having a bankruptcy won't prevent me from getting a job or a place to rent in the future. (we do need bankruptcy reform, but not the type the credit card companies want. A bad credit risk has nothing to do with getting a job or a place to rent if you have a job to pay for it. Otherwise I may as well fall on my sword.)

[Nikia]

4. I'm sorry

There are friends to be made out there. I had trouble making friends because of those reasons too when I was younger, that and a messed up childhood which probably lead to those things. You have to learn to feel your worth and stop seeing yourself as someone who will be rejected by everyone. I still struggle with that sometimes when I am down despite the fact that I have a husband who loves me and a true mutual best friend and some other friends as well. As I began observing the world more, there are many of us like you and myself that are sensitive, introverted, and don't feel like we quite fit in with other people. I don't know what the percentage of such people are. They are all around you and some of them might even appear to be popular in the world but know that they are different than those that hang around them, sometimes with ulterior motives. These are the people who you should try to become friends with since you are struggling with similiar issues. The important thing is that you must be willing to become their friends. That includes trust, loyalty, sharing feelings, etc. How do you identify these people? I guess it is an intuitive thing. You are gay. How do you identify others that are gay? It is the same sort of thing.

[laura888]

7. Well put, Nikia

I'm sure everyone feels like they're strangers in the world at times. I have sometimes felt lonely seeing happy families driving in their SUVs, while I am single and trying to make sense of life. It seems like everyone has things figured out that I don't - dammit!

However, I DO know that people need companionship - and I have that to offer someone, if I am willing to listen. As I am listening, I become less lonely.

[Deja Q]

19. Thanks

I'll see where I can find some social outlets. Just getting out might be helpful too...

[localroger]

5. TV is bad.

I gave up on TV in the late 1970's. This was back when there were actual journalists on the news channels, but there were only about five channels available. Cable was just coming in. I have never in my life paid a dime for cable television.

I have seen it, of course; I stay in hotels now and then. I just don't see the use. I watch maybe ten hours of TV a month. I'd watch maybe twenty if I had cable, but it's not worth the hookup fee for such a small return.

TV is like an addictive drug. Like in the David Byrne song, "I grew up in a house with the television always on." One day when I was 16 during summer vacation I got fed up with the nothing-but-soap-operas fare and I just turned it off.

It was like a revelation.

There is life without TV. It is hard at first to think without all that stimulation (probably harder today, since the ads and programming are noticeably much more insistent). It is hard to imagine what to do next. But you know what? With the TV on what you would probably do next is go to the fridge and crack another beer.

You can do that without the TV too.

But without the TV you will eventually learn to appreciate the subtleties of merely printed words. To close your eyes and listen to music without a lot of people jumping up and down to keep your attention up.

The people we are here to fight want you to watch TV as much as possible; it is their medium, they own it outright. The more you watch it the more they own you too.

[laura888]

9. your last paragraph speaks volumes

rather than filter, why not turn off?

[nono]

6. OK I fit

Now can anyone help me put a pic. on my post? I am not too good on a computer. Thanks

[NaMeaHou]

8. Because it's there?

Seriously, I'm going to start taking Wellbutrin to stop smoking, but also am looking forward to the benefits of taking care of my ongoing low level depression.

We are all, if not special, unique, and have much to offer. Some just don't know yet where their gifts will go and be appreciated, but it's only a matter of time.

[Darranar]

10. You aren't useless...

Your steadfast attacks on corporate America are noted and admried by myself.

[HEyHEY]

11. plus if we kill TV

It's time to kill radio, then papers then each other. Plus without TV I get no sports - fuck that!

[Lizz612]

12. Didn't bring one to college

I knew it would distract me, so I didn't buy one for my room. Besides the a computer with DU is distraction enough. :evilgrin:
I watch West Wing with the campus dems, 60 Minutes if someone here says its good, a few movies, and thats it.
Feels good. I only had 9 channels back home and I still found myself watching way too much.

Hypnotoad, I'm no good at this, others, who have dealt with depression, will say this better than I can; Don't go! We like you!
You are NOT useless.

[Khephra]

13. I agree

Should I quit reading books because most of what's on the best-selling fiction list sometimes is tripe?

Should I quit seeing movies because the most sucessful films are tripe sometimes?

It's a similar type of snobbery that I've seen used against comic books.

It's a frigging medium of communication. Learn how to narrowcast (that's "watch what you want to watch and ignore the rest" for those not in the know) and get on with life. If you hate ads, get a vcr/tvio/dvd recorder and skip 'em.

It all can't be Shakespeare....who also wrote lowbrow comedy for the masses, lest you forget.

[Ivory_Tower]

14. I grew up on TV, too.

This is probably not going to be the most popular response, but...

You only think it's your friend. Actually, it's using you. Or more accurately, the people that that control it are using you (after all, TV is just a technology). At best, it's no more than an insane relative babbling in the corner of the room. (Someone used that analogy years ago, and I always liked it.)

I'm hardly the person to give advice on making friends (I'm pretty introverted/anti-social/awkward myself), but there are other things to do besides watch television. Hell, you're posting online -- at least that's interactive. You don't need a TV on to do that. If you want background noise, play some music.

Some people have enough self-control to limit the amount of TV without going cold-turkey. I found that television is the one addiction that I can't control. If it's on, I have to watch it, and I can't turn it off. Something with images and sound simply demands my attention, and I find that I will waste hours watching anything, even real crap -- I'm not talking "Masterpiece Theatre", I'm talking "V.I.P." or some such garbage. I simply can't have it play a major role in my life. Maybe you're luckier, and can exert some self-control over it -- if so, that's good. If not, you need to get outside. Start slow, take a day and spend it at a museum. Then spend two days at a park and another museum. Get a book and read it over a weekend and in the evening. I'll bet you'll be surprised that you don't actually miss what happened to Ross and Rachel (or whoever's sleeping with whom now).

When I went cold turkey, the first book I read was "Four Arguments for The Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander. It was written in 1979, before the cable explosion, but it's still pretty interesting, and relevant. I'd recommend it. You might also want to check out "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman.

Thinking about this a little more, it occurs to me that during the height of my television addiction, I felt useless and pathetic, too. I still feel that way at times, but I suspect no more than anyone else normally does. But when I found myself sitting at the TV eating dinner at around 7pm, and the next thing I know, it's midnight, and I haven't done a damn thing, I would beat myself up over it. Finally I decided that I had to do something about that.

It also sounds like there is more going on than just concern over television -- I wish I could help you find solutions, but I'm positive that there are much more qualified people on this board who will give you much better advice than I can. But like I said before, try tapering your television consumption off if you can, and substitute a different activity instead.

Sorry about the rambling response, it's just that I'm a bit evangelical about this (just like the worst kind of non-smoker is an ex-smoker, I guess :) ). To step away from television for a while, and then look at it in a new light is, well, enlightening.

Good luck to you.

[opiate69]

15. I think FZ put it best...

I'm The Slime
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out
From your TV set

You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't got for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

That's right, folks..
Don't touch that dial

Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin' along on your livin'room floor

I am the slime from your video
Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go

[KG]

16. been TV-less for 5 years.

amongst its evils is to make you want to be someone you aren't and to want things you don't need.

ditch it, and get inside yourself.