Anyone gone 'off' TV?

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Noticing my ability to stop in my tracks and watch anything that is on for multiple hours.... and what a terrible waste of time and near addiction I had... I decided to stop my TV watching. It started with moving my TV and not re-hooking up the cable. And to seal the deal, I canceled my cable TV service.

I still use my TV... for video games and watching DVDs. These DVDs even include TV programs. But I'm done with watching broadcast TV... and I really believe my life has improved drastically.

I do miss watching Good Eats, but it had to be done.

Most noticeable is the weekends, it was very easy to waste a good hour or two before I would actually get going to do stuff. I would sit and say, and just check what's on... watch Myth Busters... or something along those lines... and just completely lose track of time.

I'm saving money too... Even factoring in my new Netflix subscription...

I don't know what I'm going to do come Baseball season, I think'll just listen to the games on the Radio... Baseball is strangely more exciting on the Radio anyways.

Who else is done with broadcast TV?

I'm pretty much done with mainstream TV, preferring my niches: Adult Swim and whatever anime's airing, Daily Show and Colbert, and Leno's Headlines. Something like American Gladiators or the Terminator series that I can't believe actually got made lures me back to network TV occasionally, but I lose interest if I miss an episode, because I have to have continuity. I rarely stray from a TV routine.

I stopped watching TV on a regular basis when MacGyver got cancelled.

When I was living alone, I tossed the TV in the linen closet for several months. I didn't miss it at all.

Of course, I pretty much only ever watched television as a social activity anyhow so it wasn't any great exercise of will. I forget it exists when nobody else is around to want to turn it on. Putting my computer in the closet would be a much bigger feat. I think it's really admirable that you're giving up something that you liked in order to manage your time better. Do you find that this is easier than watching in moderation? I feel that way about many things.

As I mentioned in another thread on this forum, I do not own a television.

Television was never a big part of my life. My family had one telly in the lounge but it wasn't really used much except for news and an occasional sporting event or film.

Mostly my family read, listened to music, played games and talked. Believe it or not we also ate dinner together, usually around five o'clock.

I can watch DVDs on my computer but I rarely do so.

About the only show I care to watch at present is NCIS, and I only see that if I happen to be visiting family on Tuesday evening when it airs.

I'm "off" tv, but I'm "on" the internet, which wastes my time just as well.

It is much easier. I really can't do moderation, especially with something that is so easy to sink into and find mildly amusing. I still find myself wasting more time than I'd like watching TV shows on DVD, I put in a DVD hit play all... and found an hour and a half gone. But the thing is, it's always in a predetermined time. Once the disk is done, I'm usually content to go and do something else. Plus watching 4 episodes of a show is just about as much as I can take in one sitting.

Internet use is an order of magnitude harder to manage, since my current lifestyle needs it... not like TV. Especially considering my forgetfulness, having instant information is more useful than the problems that go along with it.

I was thinking about canceling internet service, and just using wifi and shops and my university. But I know I'd end up wasting just as much, just not at my place...

I'm working on it though, I have a plan to turn off my computers at night.... always no matter what day it is. That little barrier of turning on the computer should be enough to keep me from squeezing 5min of use... which inevitably turns into 15min which then means I'm late.

Actually the worst was the double whammy of internet and TV. I would use the internet, till I was bored... watch a little TV till I was bored of that... and switch back and forth in 15min intervals... all the while sitting in the same chair. Ugh... never again...

Yeah, that's about as many shows as I liked. I was getting into a routine of a bout 2~3 hours of watching a day, I couldn't even imagine myself doing anything else. By the time 7 or 8 rolled around I was done till 11... by that time I would forget all that I would actually need to do during the afternoon.

Another thing that has replaced TV watching, is just listening to music.... or a conversational based movie... music just exists in the room... it follows you.. and it's much easier to go and do something else and keep the music going as a mild diversion. It doesn't require your complete attention like the TV does. But it's still there to take a break and enjoy for a little while if I need it.

I haven't been watching much television, since the whole Reality TV craze kicked in. I think it's been five years, since I've really watched it.

Me too, it's been several years. I watch DVDs and Youtube tho. But all the shows I like either got cancelled or have got lame, so I don't miss it. Except Jeopardy! I still want to be a contestant one day.

I haven't really watched TV since I grew out of kids programs about seven years ago. We only have four channels at home anyway, and I can't really afford the license fee in uni (plus there's iplayer, so it seems a bit pointless to do so).

Haven't watched TV since November 2006, and don't miss it. Like someone else, I do watch DVD's and play video games on it. With the rise of Netflix though, I really don't see the need for broadcast television anymore.

Yes, now I'm "on" WP.

Those of you who are in America should keep one thing in mind.

Drew Carey is on "The Price is Right" this year, and that should make you very happy!

I haven't watched TV properly in ages now. I watch the odd thing but apart from that I mainly watch things online these days.

Wow!