abaya

So TV has not been a part of my home life for going on 10 years now. When I moved to college I didn't have one in my room, and I liked the effects. So even though a roommate or two might have had a TV that I watched occasionally (we're talking maybe an hour every couple weeks, at most), I walked away from it when I was 17 and haven't missed it since.

So it often happens that my friends/colleagues are having a discussion about some TV show or commercial, etc. Once these water-cooler chats get going, the flow usually comes to me and someone asks my opinion... and I always just say, "Actually, I don't watch TV." And people's reactions! It's like I've just announced that I don't like sex or something. Either that, or that somehow I'm a hippie or liberal, etc. Why do people respond like this? Doesn't anyone else NOT watch TV, or is it really that freaky to not watch it?

To me, other than a few quality educational or comedy shows (I'm talking 3-5, max), TV is THE major source of consumptive desires worldwide. It is also probably a major source of people's insecurities about their bodies and selves. My life has certainly not suffered from abstaining from watching TV, and hell I don't care if other people watch it (I mean, it's like watching someone smoke... if they want to harm themselves, I'm not going to condemn them on the spot).

But why do people react so violently when they hear that I don't watch TV? Any thoughts, TFP'ers? Feel free to call me a hippie, btw, but at least explain WHY you feel that way.

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Martian

I just don't advertise the fact. I watch hockey games on CBC and that's about the extent of it.. I've never met any odd reactions, aside from the occasional incredulity. Mind, it's like I said though. I don't advertise that I don't watch tv; I just don't participate in conversations about television. If my opinion is asked, I usually reply that either I didn't see the event in question or that I don't watch the show being discussed.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Willravel

I've mostly given up on TV. I can't give up Battlestar Galactica. I just can't.

Carno

I don't mind tv, but I don't actively watch it. Never had anyone flip out when I tell them I don't watch it. Most people are like, "Cool, it's probably a good thing.."

Ask me to give up movies though, and you'd be startin a lot of trouble.

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MexicanOnABike

Gave it up about 3 or 4 years back for no reason and since then, i dont care for it anymore. wayyy too many comercials. that is why i buy my TV serie boxsets.

I still watch movies since my dvd collection is pretty big now. and the shows i like, are downloadable on the net.

I might watch it here and there for random stuff (weather network, food network, when my gf is watching)

but it's true, ppl usualy act weird. probably because it's so into everyone's routine that they can't imagine living without it on. my parents turn it on when they get home and turn it off before going to bed.

eribrav

For a couple of years during residency I had no TV. Actually come to think of it I didn't have one most of med school either. I was able to get a lot of productive learning done during those years. I don't think I missed out on much.

Now we have a TV, but my viewing is pretty limited.

Try bringing up a good book you've read recently. Maybe the light bulb will go on for some of the TV addicts.

*Nikki*

I don't care if TV is there or not, it's internet that I am addicted to.

jth

i went through phases of TV watching and non-watching. My senior year of my Undergrad I had a TV but no channels. The TV was purely a DVD/Playstation situation. Since then I don't watch very much television. I watch the Simpsons once a day and sometimes an extra little bit if I am bored.

The only time I spend on TV is Sunday evenings I watch about 2 hours of TV at night since I don't want to do any work and nothing else is available to do. But now that i've seen 24... probably will watch that. I also like House.

Luckily for me I live in a house of fellow musicians so often times there are jam sessions which is infinately more enjoyable then TV

alpha phi

I don't watch much TV.
The internet is much better entertainment.
The TV is on most of the time....background noise.
The cats seem to like it

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fresnelly

It's not that they don't understand your position. They're just being defensive, because deep down, they know how vapid television is, and are a little ashamed of how much it dominates their lives.

It's a bit like announcing you're a vegetarian, when offered a meaty dinner, or asked to compliment on a fur coat when you strongly disapprove.

If you're tired of the shocked responses, just say that you don't watch that particular show, and how the quality of TV has really gone down hill lately. It's less threatening and you might just be able to steer the conversation into deeper territory.

TV is junk food, which has its place.

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Siege

I pretty much only watch tv when i'm really bored. There are however a few shows that i'll try to watch semi regularly.

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Charlatan

I'm in a phase where I am actually watching more TV. This time will pass and I will go back to not watching much.

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Cynthetiq

I stopped watching TV in my early 20s... for about 3-4 years so there's a good number of things that time that are totally lost on me. same with music. irony of course working for a music tv channel.

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Sage

Martel and I watch TV every now and then- but there's nothing on (least not this time of year) that we religiously watch. When Adult Swim was running Harvey Birdman we never missed an episiode, and I really love Alton Brown's Good Eats, but other than that TV isn't a huge deal to us.

I agree with what has been said here- people just have strong reactions when you tell them you don't participate in an activity that they would consider a necessairy part of everyday life. People are stupid. :-p

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maleficent

Sometimes it's not so much as what is said -- rather than how it's said - or how it's perceived to be said... I've come across people who say they don't watch television and the way they say it - it's like they are better than you are because they don't watch tv... They instead -- spend their life on the internet (which kills just as many braincells as tv does - if not more). It's not like the time they don't spend watching television they are out do-gooding..I'm not impressed when someone says they don't watch tv... I would be impressed if they said they spend the time they would have spend watching tv out do-gooding...

Television is good for small talk - I'm quite bad at small talk so it's helpful... though I don't watch the popular shows... When I am home, my television is always on, mostly for background noise and for company... I like being by myself most fo the time, but silence or other people's noise makes me insane... It's a distraction...

If someone doesn't watch television... I really don't care much... but I also don't see the need to advertise it... kinda like i don't see the need to advertise a lot of things people do... but that's me...

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skier

I've sort of replaced television for computer/internet.

It's the same vice- high stimulation, low effort. You can sit back and go into alpha wave state on the internet just as well as watching tv, playing video games, or even listening to music.

I think television is an addiction. If I cut down on TV, my internet use goes up. The only way to beat it is to bring down the amount of "fuel" I use.

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snowy

I only ever watch 2 TV shows religiously: Alton Brown's Good Eats and House.

That doesn't mean it's not ON, though--we usually have the TV on for a bit of noise while we're both on our computers. But rarely does the TV hold my attention, and honestly, I wouldn't miss it if it were gone. I went without TV in the dorms for four years (my choice).

I think peoples' reactions are relative--here if you said you didn't watch TV, no one would look at you sideways. It's quite normal in my town at least, mostly because cable is expensive and not every apartment comes with extended basic. Furthermore, a lot of us are just plain ol' too busy to watch TV or waste our time with it. If people think you're odd for not watching television, that's their problem. Think of all the money you're saving by not paying for cable.

Honestly, I'd rather play World of Warcraft than watch TV. At least that takes some level of engagement.

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abaya

Thanks for your responses, everyone. I see now that because I live in a university town, the pressure is going to be higher to watch TV (especially sports), and thus the reactions are more skewed in that direction. When I am teaching classes I realize that even though the students are maybe 8 years younger than me at most, they grew up in an era where the TV was established and the internet was already becoming a dominant force... whereas I was running around building tree forts and such up through high school. So I guess I don't know how to relate as well to them, in the mass-media sense?... anyway.

I don't think I "advertise" this fact, btw... it's only when people ask me in particular about a TV show, and I just use a blanket statement that I don't watch TV. I like fresnelly's idea about downplaying TV in general, rather than stating that I don't watch it... might lead to a more interesting discussion. And yes, since coming to grad school in 2003, the internet has become a big part of my life, so maybe it's just a substitute for TV.

Good responses, all... thanks for the insight.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

DEI37

I don't watch much, and I definitely do NOT like the fact that my wife and daughter watch as much as they do. It's not healthy, and it's just not good in general. I watch NASCAR races on Sunday, maybe some other racing stuff here and there, and when 24 is on on Monday nights, I watch that. Occasionally, I'll watch some comedy stuff, but I'd bet that even during race season, combined with 24, I don't watch but 5-7 hours per week. Kiddo probably gets upwards of 50. Have got to change that.

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Psycho Dad

Rarely anymore it seems does the conversations at work revolve around television shows. Then again where I take my break I am joined by a Muslim, a staunch Christian and an agnostic while I read the paper. Damn near anything on the front page gets a discussion going that is almost always more interesting than anything on TV.

Like many of the others, I have seemed to replace TV with surfing the Internet. Except for some NFL games and The Sopranos, I rarely turn the thing on. That isn't to say that the 'net is any better of an option though. IMHO, it has the same potential for couch potatoism as TV.

What I realize I need to do is exercise more and read more. But that seems easier said than done.

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SuicideBlonde

I don't watch TV either. I'd much rather listen to my radio or iPod connected to a sound dock or surf the net. I guess it mostly stems from the fact I am so busy with the children and my household duties that I don't have time to fat out on the couch and watch TV or without interruption. Another factor is that my husband hogs the remote and surfs a buch of shows at once, which is annoying.

kutulu

That's what I was going to say. It puts people on the defensive because a lot of people who don't watch TV get so self-rightous about it. The school we might send our daughter to is very anti-TV. They have this crap about how their suggested at home policy is to not let kids watch TV except in small doses on the weekends. It's that OMG TV IS TEH EVOL!!11 crap. I'm not going to let her be a couch potato but I'm not going to raise her with the idea that there is something inherintely wrong with it.

It's interesting that someone compared it to vegetarians. Good comparison.

Coppertop

I had been TV-less for about a year, then moved in with my girlfriend. She has helped me to be sucked back into TV land. I'd much rather game or read a book than watch 99% of the crap that's on TV these days.

Anyone here read Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television or In the Absence of the Sacred by Jerry Mander?

flstf

Without Tivo and the ability to fast forward through the commercials, commercial TV is very annoying. I seem to watch more now that we have the Tivo unit. There is some interesting stuff on Nova, the History Channel, the Science Channel, etc... I even find myself taping some of the real old shows like "What's My Line" and "Leave it to Beaver".

ASU2003

I don't have cable, and most of the time I watch PBS. They have a good news show at night, and Globetrekker is a great travel show. I watch Beauty & the Geek, the Simpsons and Family Guy the rest of the week. I might watch a few college football games if ASU is playing. I also watch NASA TV on the Internet. And I buy the Battlestar Glactica DVDs, and then drop everything to watch them all day.

Actually, the Internet is what I am addicted to. I spend far more time on-line then in front of the TV.

Toaster126

I don't watch much of anything on TV because I can feel my intelligence being drained during commercials. I also refuse to watch a large amount of programs including sitcoms and most things on primetime for the same reason.

I watch Law and Order, Mythbusters, and Bob Ross' painting show if it's on the PBS channel. And I record them so I don't have to see commercials.

I'd say the negative reaction people have to the "I don't watch TV" declaration is because a lot of people who say that have a holier-than-thou attitude about it.

I also think your responses in here are going to be heavily skewed (towards not watching TV as much) compared to the general populace.

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pig

No TV for about five years. Some at my parents house when I visit...small addiction to nip\tuck while I was rebuilding a house with a set on the back porch.

In addtion to people feeling defensive when you say you don't watch tv, i think its also that you've just annihilated the basis for the conversations that people above are talking about. i think we're conditioned to sort of be mock friendly to each other, and i'm not saying that's bad or good. i don't want to always have deep conversations while i'm taking a leak or getting coffee. but people feel they should speak, and yet without a common program you can't have as much harmless conversation. i think you sometimes might be perceiving the shock of people thinking "crap - now what the fuck do i talk about?"

edit: I fucking love Family Guy.

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Meditrina

I also don't watch TV, abaya. The kids watch it until they go to bed, then all I want is peace and quiet. We watch movies occasionally, but no TV shows. I don't miss it at all. I hear all the women that I work with talk about the shows, and they live their lives around the TV. I'd rather live my life with my family.

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analog

I gave up on TV years ago. Now, I watch CSI (the original in Las Vegas), and maybe one or two others, tops...

Martian

Sorry to drag this off topic, but this is a situation where conversation is definitely not necessary. People who do that creep me out.

Carry on...

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

abaya

Pigglet, thanks also for this thought... I think others have been saying more or less the same thing, but yours in particular got through to me.

I guess you made me realize that a big part of my frustration is that I hate small talk. I cannot STAND small talk, actually. As I mentioned in the OP, it's usually "water-cooler" type talk when this TV topic comes up, and I am probably already uncomfortable with the tone of the conversation (surface only). Like you, I don't want someone talking to me while peeing (dunno if women have the equivalent ) or drinking coffee... so when someone asks about TV, I really don't know what to say, since I often prefer silence in those situations. In my usual blunt style, I just try to extricate myself from it by saying that I don't watch TV... and people get thrown off their social programs.

Of course, I'd rather ask them how they're doing emotionally with their last break-up, or if they are feeling demeaned by the boss' latest decision, or how they are doing with the loss of a close relative... things that people just don't want to talk about on coffee breaks, I guess. (That's *my* social programming, for good or bad.) So it's TV shows that come up instead.

I suppose if I brought up the actual topics that I wanted to discuss (the way they bring up TV shows), damn, they might be reacting with the same irritation that I have about them!

In the interest of compromise, however... when I lived with ktspktsp for 5 months and he occasionally watched TV, I did enjoy Chappelle's Show and South Park. And the Daily Show is great. So those few shows in combination gave me some fuel for small talk, for a short time... too bad I haven't watched them in a year! Oh, and Family Guy is pretty cool (again, all through ktspktsp).

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

pig

i think it can be difficult to get used to be comfortable in silence. like a lot of people stated above, i think its pretty common to leave the tv or the radio on all the time, just for background noise. i think it's pretty interesting...i guess i get tired of what feels to me like repetitive programming (fat guy, hot chick anyone?) and the sense of manipulation through advertisement and imagery, etc. i confess, i don't spend all my non-TV time do-gooding (sorry Mal - I was kind of hoping I could impress you ) - but I try to play guitar or read or exercise. It just seems like an ineffecient use of time, etc. I don't really think of it as a better than thou thing, but a different strokes for different folks + introverted personality thing.

I think I'd prefer silence most of the time in "work" situations, unless I actually know the people. Then I guess it proceeds to the type of conversations you're talking about - but really I'd rather get away from the group area before getting into that as well. I'm pretty sure if you dropped off a "I heard your man was caught exposing himself to the neighbor's cat for sexual gratification - how does that make you feel?" kind of opener on most people, they'd be less irritated, more mortified. That, or you might open a flood gate and never hear the end of it. Either way, I usually find a policy akin to live and let live works best.

Oh, and for a TV novice, you and ktspktsp have a pretty decent list of shows.

oh, and martian - yeah, i hate that guy who wants to talk in the john. with the exception of the bathroom scene in Austin Powers, that's just never a good thing.

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maleficent

If they are work colleagues.. how would you even have this information? Most people I'd hope leave all that baggage at the door - the workplace is the last place for a discussion of feelings... Discussion of television shows is relatively safe and rarely offends anyone... (well -there was that seinfeld episode... ) Either that or the weather...

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abaya

Hey Mal... you are probably right, with most jobs. But don't forget the odd jobs I've held... one would be a high school teacher, where I knew the emotional state, family situation, and dating experience of just about every student I had. Not to mention English teachers never shut up about their personal experiences (particularly sexual ones)... so there was no "baggage check" at any door to that school. I admit, sometimes I wish there was one!!

My second job is that of a social scientist, where our whole work is to study other people's behavior and draw conclusions from it. These "baggage" topics are exactly what we are interested in, particularly my branch (cultural anthropology). So for me it's not a big stretch to talk about personal topics, since I interview people on those topics for a living! But for all but one person in my dep't (she's the only other cultural anthropologist; the rest are archaeologists who study dead people, and biological anthros who study apes), people would rather talk about TV shows than themselves, or to ask someone an honest, caring question about a personal topic. They try to beat each other to quoting the funniest thing on TV last night... I guess I'm just not into that.

That said, "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" (see, that was over a year ago)

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

maleficent

Interesting - -in the business world - especially in this day and age of sexual harrassment suits as well as the ability to sue for pretty much anything... discussion of personal topics is frowned upon because who knows who might take it the wrong way - heaven forbid anyone should be offended...

I had a customer at one of my sites, thankfully she resigned, because i'm not sure how much i could have taken... Every day i was there, it was a running commentary of the medication she was on and how she reacted to it, to her menstrual issues, to the problems with her kids, to her husbands impotency issues and a plethora of others... Give me a discussion of 24 any day of the week over someone's medication du jour... (then again, I'm kinda heartless...

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abaya

Alright, point taken.. sounds like my former colleagues in the English department at the high school! I have to concur with pigglet on this point... if someone *volunteers* too much information (without acknowledging whether or not I have the time/energy to listen), I'd rather they shut up than talk about anything else. Silence is more honest, at least.

I guess the closest I come to talking about TV shows is bringing up the latest thing I heard on NPR, which I listen to all the time. But not many people seem to listen to NPR on a regular basis...

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Redjake

dead on the spot. most people that I talk to that don't watch TV act like they are saints for not doing so and that they are enlightened.

Just the phrase "I don't watch TV" comes off as arrogant. I don't watch many shows either - I watch The Shield and Nip/Tuck when it's on, that's about it. So basically 1 hour a week. But if someone asks if I saw a certain show, I just respond "nah I don't watch a whole lot of TV, how was it?" gets better reactions!

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abaya

I guess I didn't realize that saying "I don't watch TV" sounded arrogant... but I see what you mean when you give the alternative. Maybe it really is just a conversation killer. I'll try to tone it down a bit next time this happens and see if there's a different reaction.

I just wish I didn't have to have these conversations in the first place... but that's just me being ornery.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

pig

start eating onions and garlic before work, or carry around some of the fart spray you can (supposedly) get in novelty shops. conversation = dead. pluses don't forget...avoiding eye contact like the plague and shuffling papers a lot will get you out of 90% of all extraneous office conversation.

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abaya

I loved the fart spray idea. Nice one. Yeah I've tried to avoid eye contact and all that, but the fact is that our "office" (the only one with computers for graduate students) is a set of 8 computers that all face inwards. There are a few cubicle walls between them, but not enough to stop someone from talking to you... and they ALWAYS talk to you. My only semi-successful method is to put on earphones, which seems to block people out... but then if there's a snippet of non-trivial conversation, I miss it.

This semester I don't have any classes in that building and am thus trying my hardest to avoid the place and people. Yes, I am becoming an anti-social bitch at work, but it's my 3rd year there and the place and people have not grown on me much. No wonder we don't have the same taste in television, among other things.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran