Television?!?
No Cable TV.
No Satellite TV.
No DirecTV.
No Hulu.
No TiVo.
No Netflix.
No Roku.
No Sling.
No Apple TV.
Etc.
Why do I not have any of these things?
I cannot see the purpose of paying for television. Television is mostly propaganda, both political and commercial.
Look at what it sells:
– Fast Food
– Cars
– Political viewpoints
I don’t want to pay money to have people attempt to throw propaganda at me. If anyone needs to pay, it’s the people who are dishing out the propaganda, if I want to receive it at all.
That’s not to say I don’t have a television set. In fact, I have two. One in the dining room, one in the living room. I mostly use it to watch the news in the morning and some evenings. At times I scan through some comedy.
And I do have internet. Our internet is from cable internet. So we have cable but only for internet. No television via cable here.
We are lucky, we are in a metropolitan area with a number of broadcast stations. So I use an antenna to receive television. And of course, I need to be judicious with my watching. I don’t want to spend time watching garbage. Most of the programming is garbage. As Newton Minow said in his famous speech: “I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.”
While I spend little time watching television, I do not condemn it totally. It became part of twentieth century living. At least to some extent. It has provided a visual opportunity that surpassed cinema for current information. What I am opposed to is being overly exposed to many of television’s negative influences on human thought, behavior, and interaction. My opinion is not new. Jerry Mander made better arguments about television than I ever can in his 1978 book “Four Arguments For The Elimination of Television.” Highly recommended.
No FOMO
Yes, I miss out on many cultural commonalities. Without cable TV I do not have the opportunity to watch those shows and programs. That’s OK with me.
What’s A Yoot?
When I was young, once the television was on, I would watch it non-stop until the national anthem came on (remember those days?) just before sign-off at about 1:00 am where I lived. So when I moved from my parents’ home, I did not get television, for I knew I would become a non-stop watcher if I had one.
So I finally let go of that need to watch it constantly. When I got married, my wife had a television, so that it came back in my life. But since I had broken away from my addiction, I no longer feel compelled to have it on.
A Thousand Ways
Of course with the rise of the internet, there are now a thousand ways to waste time, be inundated with advertising, be on the receiving end of propaganda, hate speech, hostility, etc. (YouTube can draw me in very strongly.) These newer methods, via a web browser or tablet or smart phone or with devices no yet invented, all have opportunities for evil or for good. And deciding where the dividing line between what I will accept in my life and what I won’t accept is a personal decision. It is up to me to be judicious in my use of any technology or any device. It is up to me to be judicious where I put my attention.
It becomes easier now to be aware of people with an ax to grind on media platforms such as YouTube. While there is often interesting and engaging content, for which I find myself watching, the proliferation of slanted and purely partisan content makes me draw back from it.
In addition, YouTube has most recently declined precipitously in its user friendliness. The proliferation of unabated advertising makes it more and more distasteful.
Therefore Who Am I?
It is up to me to own my self.
It is my responsibility to be me and to think my own thoughts.
Primarily, I wish to have the space in my life to be able to think for myself.
What do you think? Send a comment on the Contact page.
The bird illustration is from “Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects, and plants: particulary the forest-trees, shrubs, and other plants, not hitherto described, or very incorrectly figured by authors. Together with their descriptions in English and French. To which are added, observations on the air, soil, and waters: with remarks upon agriculture, grain, pulse, roots, &c.“, by Mark Catesby and George Edwards. 1754. At the Biodiversity Heritage Library of the Smithsonian Institution.
The illustrations of trout and carp are by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858). At the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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