Day 3
Another TV-free day done and dusted. Well, it was as free as I could make it.
Unfortunately televisions are everywhere and I'm spotting them now more and more. They've got one muted in my doctor's surgery waiting room and I've just remembered I saw them fixed to the walls at eye height in front of the urinals of a motorway service station not long ago. I think they were selling breakdown cover but again it's another example of how intrusive they are.
My boss took everyone from the office for a pub lunch today and were seated about 3 feet away from a 40" flat screen, wall mounted unit It was muted, thankfully, but was running a constant stream from the Extreme Sports channel which involved a lot of fast cutting, flashing imagery of mountain bikers and snowboarders. The distraction was enormous and couldn't help looking up at it to see what was happening especially as half the table's eyes were drawn to it during the meal. In its defense it did start a short topic on skiing but I think it suffocated more conversation than it initiated.
I left the pub after an hour with a splitting headache.
On a plus note I did come across a couple of websites today through www.tvbgone.com
The site sells a universal, remote, off-switch for televisions which fits on a keyring. Fantastic!
This was quite an interesting read www2.localaccess.com/hardebeck/killtv7.htm
And this is a "rant" from www.Whitedot.org . The website is a bit rough and ready but there's a message buried in there :
Turn Off Your Television!
The average American watches 4.5 hours of television every day.
You sleep for eight hours. You get up and work for eight hours. Come home, eat some dinner and turn on the television. A few hours later you're getting sleepy. Time for bed.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING??
We're not kidding. All those things you wanted to have in your life: passion, romance, love, childhood, parenthood, adventure? when are you going to do all that?
You're staring at a piece of furniture!
People on TV are not your friends. They're not in the room with you. You are alone in the dark, staring at a plastic box. Think about it. This is like a science fiction horror story; but it's really happening. People have stopped living as humans and connected themselves to machines instead.
You're only going to live for 75 years, if you're lucky. How much time do you have left? Enough to spend one whole day every week with fake friends, watching their imitation lives instead of living your own?
TV doesn't give you experiences, it takes them away!
On your deathbed, what if someone could give you back those ten years of television? What if they said you could have another ten years to be with the people you love, find new people, do things differently. What would you say?
Unfortunately televisions are everywhere and I'm spotting them now more and more. They've got one muted in my doctor's surgery waiting room and I've just remembered I saw them fixed to the walls at eye height in front of the urinals of a motorway service station not long ago. I think they were selling breakdown cover but again it's another example of how intrusive they are.
My boss took everyone from the office for a pub lunch today and were seated about 3 feet away from a 40" flat screen, wall mounted unit It was muted, thankfully, but was running a constant stream from the Extreme Sports channel which involved a lot of fast cutting, flashing imagery of mountain bikers and snowboarders. The distraction was enormous and couldn't help looking up at it to see what was happening especially as half the table's eyes were drawn to it during the meal. In its defense it did start a short topic on skiing but I think it suffocated more conversation than it initiated.
I left the pub after an hour with a splitting headache.
On a plus note I did come across a couple of websites today through www.tvbgone.com
The site sells a universal, remote, off-switch for televisions which fits on a keyring. Fantastic!
This was quite an interesting read www2.localaccess.com/hardebeck/killtv7.htm
And this is a "rant" from www.Whitedot.org . The website is a bit rough and ready but there's a message buried in there :
Turn Off Your Television!
The average American watches 4.5 hours of television every day.
You sleep for eight hours. You get up and work for eight hours. Come home, eat some dinner and turn on the television. A few hours later you're getting sleepy. Time for bed.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING??
We're not kidding. All those things you wanted to have in your life: passion, romance, love, childhood, parenthood, adventure? when are you going to do all that?
You're staring at a piece of furniture!
People on TV are not your friends. They're not in the room with you. You are alone in the dark, staring at a plastic box. Think about it. This is like a science fiction horror story; but it's really happening. People have stopped living as humans and connected themselves to machines instead.
You're only going to live for 75 years, if you're lucky. How much time do you have left? Enough to spend one whole day every week with fake friends, watching their imitation lives instead of living your own?
TV doesn't give you experiences, it takes them away!
On your deathbed, what if someone could give you back those ten years of television? What if they said you could have another ten years to be with the people you love, find new people, do things differently. What would you say?
posted by Alan at
11:51 am
2 Comments:
I feel like such a loser, your comments ring true and I can my life being full of TV nothingness. I don't want that for myself, I have something to get and the TV is taking that away
By
Anonymous, at 29 December, 2008
TV doesn't give you experiences, it takes them away! I love this phrase!
By
Anonymous, at 12 December, 2011
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