By Carole Fogarty,
Detox and destress: A regular feature:
It’s official, 21st April until 27th April, 2008 is: No TV for one week global challenge. Are you up for it?
It’s time to redirect your focus for just one week by living and thinking outside of the electronic box.
To get you motivated into joining this challenge I’ve listed a few facts and clever sayings which may inspire you into action:
1: The smartest and richest people in the world have turned off their TV” - Seth Godin
2: TV the plugged in drug – Marie Winn
3: Think outside the box
4: American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping
5: By the age of 70 they will have spent between 7 to 10 years of their lives watching Tv The Kaiser Family Foundation:
6: “You watch television to turn your brain off and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on” Steve Jobs C0-founder of Apple and Pixar
7: TV is violent, shooting, slapping, arguing, punching, screaming, kicking, killing, car crashes, bullying, horror
More details and juicy facts on screentime.org and Turn off your TV dot com and click here for a fact sheet:
As for my moi (me):
Well, I’m away supporting a friend in need this week, so no TV, computer, mobile phones or anything for me. However this global challenge has prompted me into having a TV free day once a week in our home. Wean the family off slowly, I say. Not keen on having 4 people going through withdrawal symptoms all at the same time.
I personally don’t watch much TV and don’t even have a regular TV show which I feel compelled to watch. I must say though, I have consciously chosen to remove any addictions I’ve had in the past to TV. It was relatively easy and only took a couple of weeks. There is nothing now that I miss on TV.
I do however like my TV occasionally. It’s all about balance and being willing to go without it for a while so you know whether your addicted or not. Besides there too good books out there to read.
Cooking and travel shows I love.
Thanks for reading this post, Carole,
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Another great article. We don’t have a TV in our home.
I LOVE not having one and I don’t miss it at all. I also like that the children don’t even consider television as a way to spend their time or be entertained.
Where is the TV picture?
I love cooking programs too and get great ideas for one of my passions.
Don’t feel the need to throw out the TV, love when I ocassionally turn on Oprah and find Eat love pray and Elizabeth Gilbert on air
I am also a sunrise fan
love and chocolates
Suzie
Our family (my husband, me, our 11-year-old daughter) have “media-free day” every Saturday. No TV, radio, computer. We’ve been doing it almost two years now, and it makes a palpable difference in the tension level in my body on that day every week. It’s wonderful! We’re doing TV Turn-off Week this week, which my daughter points out for us is really 8 days, since it’s buffeted by two Saturdays!
Love this article Carole!
Our tv is used to put on DVD’s on family night. We get a big popcorn bowl, light a fire and cuddle up.
Other than that, the box does not go on.
My kids once and awhile remark that they feel out of the loop on conversations that revolve around tv shows but they don’t care, honestly we are too busy playing games,having long engaging family dinners in the dining room, going for walks with the dogs, or just hanging out together. And our kids are pre-teens and teens.We are also very busy with their sports and creative arts activities. When you turn off the box, there is just so much more to do that you can’t believe you ever found the time to sit there!
The only thing I miss is the cooking shows and HGTV but whatever I want is on the NET and I don’t need to sit there for hours to get the information or recipes I need, and HEY! no comercials!
I turned the TV off about a month ago for one week. This wasn’t a problem for me……I hardly watch TV at all. But my kids LOVE their TV and computer time! At first I thought it was going to be quite a challenge, however I found the opposite. The kids got along better, played really creatively, weren’t bored at all…..it was great!
While I’m not ready to get rid of the TV completely (my husband wouldn’t go for it), I have decided that at least once a month we’ll have a “no screen” week.
Great post Carole!
I ditched the TV’s entirely about 2 weeks ago. First you think..bit of a challenge, huge void etc. But it’s really quite surprising, it opens up a world that sits quietly behind TV time, awaiting the day you make that change. Well, you know what? I listen to so much more music, the radio is used for background noise these days. I read so much, I use my mind far more effectively in terms of relaxation. You really do understand that the world is simply a media creation, based on questionable values.
The crazy thing is that kids know this! they are totally at ease simply coloring in etc, or simply using their imagination. As adults we really need to understand and listen to kids a bit more. The very simple things in life are being misunderstood. Great website