

Sell your TV: you're better off without it. - chexton
http://semblancesystems.com/blog/sell-your-tv/

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jmduke
I'm sorry, but I think this is post is idiotic.

First off, the author sets up a bunch of straw men to bash down in favor of
his point, the most frustrating of which is:

> I watch truly quality TV shows. There are definitely the odd few of those
> but, if you must, download them and watch them on your computer: without ads
> and over a short period. At least in this instance you know what you’re
> subjecting yourself to and you will be doing it for entertainment: not in
> the background.

This is identical to me making a blog post saying: "Sell all your books:
you're better off without them. Sure, you might miss out on some quality
literature, but you can always just download them in pdf format and read them
on your laptop."

Television is a _medium_. Every medium has its Two and a Half Men, and the
luxury of the modern TV industry is that we have more freedom than ever to
pursue programming we prefer. Making a big deal from divorcing yourself from a
medium is fine -- of course you're going to have more free time, if I quit
listening to music I'd probably have more free time as well -- but doing so
with the caveat of 'oh, download some specific shows that you like' is shallow
and unfair to the reader.

~~~
slantyyz
Agree. There are plenty of ways to free up more time to do more enriching
things aside from selling the TV.

From the OP: >> I’ve decided that in the future, wherever I am, it’d be better
not to own a TV. It’ll save me the temptation and free up so much time.

For many people, cutting back on "connectedness" to the Internet would do the
same. For some people, social media is a bigger time suck than the TV ever
will be.

~~~
bunderbunder
_For some people, social media is a bigger time suck than the TV ever will
be._

For me, it's this site and Google Reader.

------
niels_olson
We threw out our TV 4 years ago. Haven't looked back. After Katrina, we lived
with my parents in Texas, who had just moved into their new house. We
convinced them to not turn on the TV, just because we were sick of the news.
And then we decided it was good for our daughter. My dad finally broke down a
few months later and started watching the History Channel. My daughter
immediately sat down and we didn't notice any bad behavior. Until the TV was
turned off. When she became a holy terror. We repeated that experiment every
day for 3 years, and finally I came home from school one day and my wife put
the TV out on the curb.

I'm convinced TV content and especially the heavily commericalized product on
the airwaves, activates a huge amount of sympathetic tone. Thus the bizarre
ability to stare at it intently, then the almost freakish let down experience
when the tube goes off.

Life has been steadily getting better since. We eat healthier, spend more time
with the kids, the kids do more, I've lost 30 lbs, etc, etc.

Throw away your TV.

~~~
artmageddon
Just out of curiosity, how old are you kids?

~~~
niels_olson
7 and 10 now. When we evacuated for Katrina: son was 6 mo and daughter was 3
yrs. First re-exposure to TV after that 4 month hiatus: right around her 4th
birthday.

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georgemcbay
It was only a matter of time until "Area Man" had a blog.

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

~~~
ChuckMcM
Thank you for that link. No doubt "Area Man" doesn't have a Facebook page or a
Twitter account either. :-)

------
irishloop
Two reasons I won't get rid of my TV:

1\. I like to play my PlayStation 3 on it.

2\. I stream Hulu to it for the few shows I really enjoy (30 Rock, Parks and
Rec, Community, Game of Thrones, etc.)

At the end of the day, while my TV may be off most of the time, I still prefer
it to watching TV on a smaller monitor.

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donretag
Notice how he/she doesn't use the word movie/film in his rant. How do you
expect to watch movies without a TV? A laptop/monitor is not the answer.

I never watch TV shows either except for Mary Tyler Moore on MeTV and Antiques
Roadshow occasionally.

~~~
excuse-me
"How do you expect to watch movies without a TV?"

You could always print individual I frames onto a transparent substrate and
shine a light through it to produce an image on a wall. Not sure what you
would call it

~~~
slantyyz
>> Not sure what you would call it

The funny thing is that the migration of movie theaters from film to digital
projectors is basically turning them into giant TVs.

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rprospero
Just as a counter point, I gave up TV a little over year ago and nothing
changed. Granted, I saved some money on not needing a cable bill, which was
nice, but it wasn't a life changing event. I don't feel like I suddenly gained
more free time. It's true that I haven't missed it, but I also haven't missed
the green pants I gave to Goodwill. I wouldn't tell you to get rid of your
green pants if you're getting enjoyment from them.

So, on the one hand, I'll agree with the article. Get rid of your TV. It's not
that important. On the other hand, if you feel like keeping it, do so. It's
still not that important.

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jcromartie
I think this guy means "cancel your old-school TV service". My TV is just a
large display connected to a PS3.

I'm eliminating:

* scheduling my time around the broadcast schedule of (increasingly sparse) shows I want to watch * going to (increasingly rare and distant) stores to rent movies * going to (increasingly hostile) theaters

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gsibble
These are good points, but having gone without a tv for 8 months, there are
downsides. There's really nothing that lets you relax without any mental input
whatsoever like a TV. It's very effective at that. I found I was more stressed
out without at least a tiny bit of TV in my life, albeit only movies and
Battlefield 3 on it.

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artmageddon
The only shows I really watch anymore are the Daily Show / Colbert report, and
some HBO offerings(Game of Thrones / True Blood). I tend to catch them online,
anyway. There's always Netflix if I really want to watch a movie. I get all my
news from the internet.

I'm reluctant to throw mine away since I won two 23" TVs in raffles(i.e. I put
in $5 into a hat). The only other use for it is for my Xbox 360, and I don't
play video games nearly as much as I used to in college. Instead of watching a
bunch of different shows, I happened to find more interesting hobbies to fill
the void such as running and flying airplanes. When the weather is too poor to
do either of those and no one's around to hang out, though? I'll put a game or
a show on and relax.

------
Pwntastic
This feels more like an argument against cable/satellite television and not
necessarily an argument against having a television.

I think he went a bit overboard. I don't have cable but I still have a TV that
I watch a few downloaded shows on.

There's quite a difference

------
jharding
When I moved into my current apartment a year ago, I made a conscious decision
not to get cable. I've heard people say cable is the path of least resistance
to ending boredom and in my experience that's true. Eliminating that path has
caused me do other things to end my boredom such as reading a book,
exercising, or working on a side project. I don't think it's a coincidence
that this past year has been one of the most productive ones of my life.

I still have a TV and a Roku by the way, so I'm not totally disconnected. I
still watch movies and shows I'm interested in. By not having cable though, I
avoid the time sink of channel surfing and that's been huge for me.

------
TwiztidK
tl;dr - I went to college, stopped watching "cable/satellite" TV and I haven't
missed it one bit. Though I did keep my televison so I can watch good
shows/movies and play games.

Before I left college I was one of those people who watched TV for hours a
day, and porbably more than 4-5 hours/day. When I moved into my dorm room I
remember being incredibly glad that cable was included in my housing fees
because I wouldn't be able to live without it. Basically, what I realized is
that the shows and movies I really wanted to watch never came on TV, so I
ended up downloading them in HD, sans commercials, and I never missed normal
TV one bit.

I'm at home for the summer right now, two years after quitting TV, and I'm
trying to get my mom and brother to give it up too. Now I just think TV is
damn annoying, mostly because of the commercials.

Side-note: I will be living with some hardcore sports fans next year and it
seems to be near impossible to get decent sports coverage without Satellite or
Cable.

------
jaredsohn
When I moved into my current apartment, I decided not to buy a TV but to
instead spend extra money that would have gone toward a TV on a nice large
monitor.

This particular monitor lets you also watch TV on it (although I never make
use of it; prefer watching digital content), it is possible to hook up video
game systems, and I can play DVDs via my computer.

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cpfohl
Better solution. Just drop cable, save a LOT of money:
[http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/05/06/mmm-challenge-
cut-...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/05/06/mmm-challenge-cut-your-
cash-leaking-umbilical-cord/)

(I have only enough cable to make my internet connection cheaper because of
Comcast (ugh))

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thornad
I gave up TV 10 years ago. I love it.

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redemade
productivity is in the eye of the beholder. maybe I should sell my computer
and watch more tv...

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antidoh
Movies.

