Comments on: Kill Your Television!

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 23:19:43 +0000

In reply to Danny Lee. :)

By: Danny Lee

Danny Lee — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 15:03:14 +0000

When my first daughter was one, the sun was shining the birds chirping and the stroller was set for a nice summer morning sunrise walk. However, my favorite show came on (Kung-Fu), so it sat for an hour. Then another episode came on after that, then another, it turned out to be a marathon, and six hours later, the stroller wheels never spun an inch. It was an old portable black and white , and I got so upset with myself, a beautiful morning and afternoon wasted ! I grabbed the TV, walked over to the second story window of my apartment which was directly over the dumpster and watched it drop to its electronic death. She is 35 years old now. It was the best decision I ever made. One wasted morning turned into a life of independence to think for myself, and grow my kids to use the World book encyclopedia for info, play board games, back yard games, and be a family without the third person (boob tube) barking for attention and diverting attn away from them. They are articulate, caring, and have the art of conversation, which many children are missing in their lives. One impulse moment turned out to change our lives , not just for the better, yet looking back I can see how bad I would have been…conversations at the office show me how addicted, how mind controlled (brain washed), and unaware one can get while so much is happening while you can be a part of it, as opposed to watching other doing life. If you have never considered detaching the leash, fear not, the dividends are priceless! Your first two weeks may be rough, the next two months will be easier, and by the time 6-months has gone by you will have forgotten what shows and their times come on, and you will never go back. In fact, you will feel sorry for the ones that do have a talking box which repels self thought. I challenge you to liberate yourself and be the person you should be, not the controlled sheep “they” tell you to be. You can do this, and you will NEVER regret it. If you think your kids will be made fun of because they don’t have TV, don’t worry, they won’t. Mine never had. Ever. Odd as it may sound, and yes it was a concern of mine early on, it just never came about. I have had people ask me “what do you do without all that time ?” The reply is always the same, “ I don’t sit in front of a box hours on end. I play frisbee with my friends and kids (and now grandkids), I have a clean house, I communicate with my wife and family, I work on the cars, I work around the house and the yard and garden looks great, I chat with neighbors over the back fence, we take evening walks, we play tennis, do chores like laundry and dishes, we visit family and extended family. So my follow up is also, “ I don’t see how I would get anything done if I had one of those awful things in my house”.
Liberate yourself, you will not only see the world as it really is, not what “your told” it is. Blessings and enjoy life ! The sunshine is waiting, and we only have a limited sunrises in our life.

By: aaronlindseyfbc

aaronlindseyfbc — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 19:31:23 +0000

I love this article!!! I’m new to the ‘NO TV’ game. Haven’t watched since mid April of this year. That’s, like, two months ago. In that time I’ve read 30 books! I hope I never return to the land of the TV zombies.
I’ve forwarded this article to a few close friends….

By: Leila

Leila — Mon, 11 May 2020 05:56:45 +0000

Love it. I’ve been reminding people of the push to “Kill your Television” (and excess of screens in general) but no one seems to remember.

Its why they call it “programming”. “This is the house you should strive to have. This is how you should behave and react. This is what you should accept and not accept. Look! The cool actor/actress is doing this, you should too”

Preventing people from thinking for themselves… Mind control…

By: Erik M

Erik M — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 14:10:56 +0000

This is beautiful. And ugly. When I was a teenager back in the 90s I had an inkling of this. I watched people around me mesmerized by passive video entertainment containing endless pleas for patronage, and I was disgusted. It’s funny to me that they say that you shouldn’t sleep with the TV on, because it’s more effective than Ambien for me. The pace is too slow, and the content is too clearly designed to promote consumerism, as you pointed out. I was an early adopter of TiVo, and I was so excited to use that magic 30 second skip. Today, my MO is that I get my news from aggregated feeds and if a link had a video with no transcript, I either skip it or I find a link I can read at my place instead of waiting for some talking head to get to the point. Today,I see most of my TV passively (as in someone else is actively watching and I’m in the same room reading). I only put it on to fall asleep because of its magic effects on my particular physiology. This article could use an update to include more on the illusion of choice created by streaming services, “on demand”, and the wild west of YouTube. Great read though. I’m always accusing others of living vicariously through “reality” TV and the online lives of the “influencers”. It’s nice to get the validation that I’m not the only one who sees the world this way. To the naysayers in the comments, I’d have to say that I agree that after a day at the grind, we all want to relax, but TV addiction is just as penteledata deadly as any other addiction and there are certainly healthier ways to relax.

By: Ride the Virtuous Cycle of Mindful Personal Finances – Mindfully Investing

Ride the Virtuous Cycle of Mindful Personal Finances – Mindfully Investing — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 19:55:05 +0000

[…] Waste: Mindfulness helps you step outside our culture of consumption. Advertisers freely admit they constantly attempt to amplify certain emotions in us to trigger purchases. Common ploys include eliciting greed, fear, altruism, envy, pride, and shame. Mindfulness helps you become more aware of when this sensory overload may be stoking your emotions. And have you ever actually taken an hour to study all your monthly bills and automated payments to see if your paying for something you don’t even want? This often happens with things like internet apps and gym memberships that are used for a while and then forgotten, while the payments continue. Similarly, bank account, insurance, credit card, cell phone, cable/internet, and even some utility bills can have hidden unnecessary fees or price increases that may have slipped past you. And many people are eliminating the arguable waste of cable, or television entirely, and finding they enjoy the replacement activities more. […]

By: I Tried to Cut the Cord. I Really Did. | Passive Income M.D.

I Tried to Cut the Cord. I Really Did. | Passive Income M.D. — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 23:57:17 +0000

[…] The Happy Philospher: Kill Your Television! […]

By: Welcome To The Happy Philosopher | The Happy Philosopher

Welcome To The Happy Philosopher | The Happy Philosopher — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 23:04:23 +0000

[…] http://thehappyphilosopher.com/kill-your-television/ […]

By: Happy Philosopher: The Backstory | The Happy Philosopher

Happy Philosopher: The Backstory | The Happy Philosopher — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 04:27:46 +0000

[…] How did I even know which stuff WAS the good stuff? My first step was to go on a news fast and kill my television. I started learning to say no and eliminated many things from my diet to see how it made me feel. I […]

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 15:24:01 +0000

In reply to Cubert. I find reading quiets the mind and makes sleep better than screens :)