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RSSReturn of the Experiment: Kill Your TV II
One of the first posts that I ever published was an experiment to see if I could shut off my television for 7 days. At the time, I found the first two days were marked with definite withdrawal, but after that there was a marked increase in brain activity as my brain transformed from a passive observer to an active participant.
Because I’ve been feeling the life sliding out of me lately, a couple of days ago, I started the experiment again. And because television is a habit backed by billion dollar marketing machine, it’s a tough habit to break. I’ve gotten a lot of shit done over the last couple of days, and even though my brain seems to be coming up with more ideas lately, it’s not smart enough to help me avoid getting my ass whipped by #1GF! in every game of Lost Cities we play.
If you need a little encouragement to participate, check out the original Kill Your Television post
I’d love to hear if you participate and if it does you any good.
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February 27th, 2007 at 11:51 am
I once went 4 years without a television (self imposed because I felt I could do more with my time than watch reruns of Three’s Company). It’s weird – you begin noticing marked differences between TV-watchers and those not in the TV world.
Though I now watch a lot of television (married – it comes with the territory), I miss those days of intese objectivity that comes from not being inundated by commericials, spin and talking heads.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I’ve watched a lot (a LOT) of TV this past week, laid up at home sick. I should clarify that for me, this means episodes of shows on DVD or my hard drive – I’m still not watching what the man wants me to watch…
My TV has been on more this week than in the last 5 years – before this I literally only turned it on once a week when my friend Clint would come up to play Burnout Revenge. There’s a huge difference in what’s going on in my head right now compared to usual – it’s almost overwhelming how much the stuff I’ve been watching has overtaken my thoughts.
Ironic that on the same week I’ve indulged myself a massive binge on something i normally avoid, you’re considering that you may be ingesting too much of it.
February 27th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
And you both have brought up issues that I have with the TV. Even though everything I watch is recorded, I have found that I’ve allowed TV to become too invasive. It occupies too much of my thoughts even when not watching, and it’s time to cut back.
If I could do it for four years, I might become so objective that I might lose the ability to relate to “normal” people. As a computer guy, this would not be good for any remaining social skills.
And it’s not irony. It’s East Coast vs. West Coast. Aww Yea.
Is Burnout Revenge really TV, though? It’s technically an active rather than passive mental pursuit. (Even if you say it is, I won’t give it up.)
February 28th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
No, i agree with you there. A good video game is a mind-stimulating activity that just happens to use the giant brain-sucking eyeball for display purposes. But up until lately, that’s the only time I’ve even brushed the dust off the screen and used the beast, and it’s been good for my brain (i think) but weird for me in other ways. For example, I’m now completely fascinated by advertisements; my threshold for ignoring them is much lower that it should be.
I’d also agree that just enough TV to relate to society is probably healthy. While there’s no reason to actually *watch* american idol, knowing enough about what it is to pick up on snide references to Simon and Paula’s secret love affair can’t hurt your dinner party cred.
And I guess one man’s irony is another man’s GMT offset.
March 1st, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Since starting to play bass and guitar again, I’ve watched less and less tube, and although my left index finger says different, I feel really good actually.
My hands are nowhere near where I can play what I hear yet, but since Cartman is putting Slayer on to kill the full swing hippy jam… gotta go!
Self defeating, I know, but its damn funny stuff.
As with all things, balance.
-d—
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 am
technically I’ve not watched TV since January 20th and then before that, I was without from august 28th to december 15th. it’s interesting; it hasn’t changed my life toooooo much, but it does have some effects. i do however watch many dvds (movies and tv shows on dvd) so maybe i’m cheating a bit…