Nobody says you have to live in a stark white room and never watch TV again. Some ‘minimalists’ never watch it, but most of us like a repeat of the classics (Porridge etc) on a rainy afternoon. And some TV actually can be good!
What we are talking about here is nonstop TV junk, that can do more harm than good. Even if you love your TV, consider lessening or giving up:
Rolling news (biased and not good for your mental health). Psychologist Rolf Dobelli asks how has watching distressing news helped you to help others in any way, in the last year? Likely, not. Just live a good life and donate anonymously to favourite charities. Far better use of time.
Or use easyfundraising to raise funds for favourite causes (on what you would buy anyway), and then just turn off the news. If we go to war, someone will tell you.
Soap operas are not very distressing, but some people get addicted. And record episodes if they go on holiday. If you can’t bear to miss an episode, ask yourself why?
Celebrity junk. Give this one up. Chris Packham recently wrote an open letter to Ant and Dec, asking them not to kill creatures for entertainment, for the celebrity jungle programs. He writes that we’ve given up chimpanzees having tea parties, so why on earth is this still on?
Killing creatures for fun is not just cruel, but affects local ecosystems. There are creatures in that jungle who would eat those creatures, and now they may suffer too.
Nasty programs. You know the ones – dining and coach trip programs. It’s interesting that in the rest of Europe, these programs also air, but everyone is nice and civil. Here, it seems to be there always has to be victims to be mocked or bullied. Don’t encourage it. We have enough bullies in society.
Fame and Money Obessions. From millionaires to making ‘fun programs’ about politicians who used to mock people using food banks, give them all up.
There are serious repercussions to this. After the suicide of Caroline Flack (by all accounts a very kind woman), many hair salons now don’t stock gossip magazines, so do the same for TV programs.
The very recent death of Liam Payne gives heed to such concerns. This nice young lad likely would have had a much happier life, if he had stayed in Wolverhampton, and never become a pop star. Just to feed the egos and bank balances of the judges, who in some cases seem to think they are more important than the acts they sign up.
It’s always given that the programs made Susan Boyle a singing star. But if you ever saw her first audition, she was mocked before she opened her mouth and started to sing. If she could not have sung like an angel, she likely would still be made fun of now. Is that the society we want to live in?
Phone-in Programs. Don’t use them. This makes a fortune for lazy TV programmers, who just get encouraged to make more.
Ads. When the TV ads come on, just go and make a cuppa. Although the Calm Act says they cannot be at higher volume, clever people sometimes master the audio, so they do appear louder, in order to try to hypnotise you into buying stuff you don’t need.
If you do give up your TV license, know that the powers that be will try to stop you. But in most cases, if you don’t watch live TV (or BBC iplayer), you can legally give it up.
Ideas on What to Do (instead of watching TV)
If you can’t think of anything else to do, then you’re a TV addict! Here are a few ideas:
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me. What is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
- Read a good book
- Take a course to learn something
- Relax in the garden
- Play with pets
- Go for a walk
- Go for a swim
- Visit the cinema
- Visit the pub
- Have a self-massage
- Go for a coffee
- Volunteer
- Go for a run
- Visit an art gallery
- Visit a museum
- Hike a mountain
- Write your CV
- Write a poem
- Go to a music concert
- Visit a yoga class
- Visist a meditation class
- Ride your bicycle
- Search for a nicer job
- Visit the local park
- Clear the clutter
- Decorate your house
- Fix things that need fixing!
- Organise your paper work
- Catch up on your sleep
- Go for a game of tennis
- Learn to paint watercolours
- Watch the sunrise (or sunset)
- Cook a nice meal
- Visit a nearby town
- Give blood
- Write a letter
- Visist relatives
- Call a friend
- Do a litter clean-up
- Go to church
Watch Less (but better) TV)
Arrange your sofas so that there is ‘conversation’. Most say to do this in an L-shape with a coffee table in the middle. You can then still watch the TV on a wall, but the arrangement of all the chairs and sofas facing the TV, is half the issue.
The odd decent program is worth watching, like Michael’s railway programs on BBC4:
A little over a year ago, I confessed I couldn’t stand Michael Portillo (Great Continental Railway Journeys) who dressed like an early 1990s gameshow contestant. It pains me to admit this, I got it wrong. He is a weirdly compelling host. At one point, a woman kisses him on the cheek and he turns to camera and shouts ‘CHOO CHOO!’ at the top of his voice, like the horny wolf from the Tex Avery cartoons. So fine, I got it wrong. And I hope he never stops making these shows. Stuart Heritage
BBC Alba is the channel for people living the Scottish Highlands. It’s all in Gaelic (so you likely won’t understand much). But there are good music and nature programs. Worth a look!
