Could you live without tv? And would you want to?

[Snafu]

Schnapps's thread just got me a-thinkin'

Could you live without tv? I'm beginning to think that I could, quite easily - although I know full well I'll never actually get rid of the thing. And what's more, I like the idea of not having one.

This isn't a smug, hempy, lentil-weaving rant - I don't think tv is evil (although it's often shite) and I used to watch loads. It just occured to me that I almost never watch any these days. I don't have a soap I love, can't get into reality tv crapola, get my news/comedy/documentary stuff from the radio/newspapers/books/interweb most of the time anyway. The last thing I had to watch was Green Wing - the rest feels, well, irrelevant really.

Soooo...would ya? Could ya? Have ya?

would love to, hardly watch it, and usually forget to watch something i have earmarked to watch!
dh couldnt give up.

Floatingonthemed - I grew up without tv as well and I understand exactly about everyone else at school talking about it and not having a clue what they were on about. Plus all the comments about "can't afford a tv" "no wonder there's five kids in your family" etc etc
It's all about balance. I think having no tv whatsoever is as bad (in a different way) from having it on all day. I have rearranged our living/dining room so that the main part of the room has no tv. We haven't moved the ariel wire yet, so if we want to watch tv, we have to unwind the wire and plug it in first so often my laziness gets the better of me and I don't even bother.
DS is only 9 months and he doesn't see any tv at all and won't do until he's a good bit older. Because the tv is no longer "pride of place" in the living room, I am hoping that he won't see it as a central part of everyday life.

I could easily go without and especially in the summer. We watch very little TV. I watch Coronation Street and Gardener's World so that amounts to 2.5 hours a week ish given that I fast forward through the adverts. I generally do my ironing at this time. DH watches Top Gear and 5th Gear and occasional random things for relaxation (which I don't do). DS (5) has watched a 40 minute DVD of Ivanhoe this week. DD (2) has watched nothing. So between the 4 of us - less than 10 hours viewing this week.

Think dh would miss the sport, but that's all. I remember some years ago my brother saying he could live without TV but not his computer and I found that weird at the time, but now would miss t'internet a lot but could live without TV programmes -but would want TV set for watching DVDs (and so would dd!)

I did for about 2 years and was fine, read more, did more. It's generally such utter crap that you don't miss much.

Since we've been living in Africa TV has been dire for us. The only channel we regularly have on is Sky News. And even that, I realised recently, I rarely actually watch; I use it as radio, having it on the background while I'm doing other things.

We don't have home internet either (am currently in UK, in case you're wondering!) and UK papers are not available. I would never have thought I could live without either of those but it's actually quite nice! Dh has internet at work so he prints off news items he thinks I'll be interested in and that's it for news. It's made me realise how much unnecessary info we are bombarded by. I do think it's important to keep abreast of the world in general but there's an astonishing amount of garbage out there, too.

On the downside, I'm now addicted to Sudoku and Kakuro instead!

we have no TV and I love it - although I did think I would hate it because I was a big TV watcher until we bought our house with no TV in it! The dds don't miss it because they have never had one! We do watch DVDs and good documentarys we buy and watch (we have all the Davids!). It means the kids play, read, talk, fight more (too I guess) than if we did have one - I find it scary how still they get when we go to someone's house with one and how addictive it gets!

I have to have the TV so I can watch it while ironing.
Lou33 but impressed by that.
Tho I do think there is still that "did you see xxx on TV" moment the next day. Sometimes.

My brother doesn't have a TV but then he is known even to his friends as "weird Jxxxxx".

(not saying those without TVs on MN are weird btw. He is weird in other ways to diverse to go into here.)

We live quite happily without one. DH and I did not have one before we had children and have seen no reason to acquire one since.

Could, but pref not. Living with my xh's tv preferences was a nightmare - i still can't watch the Simpsons because he used to watch it all the time, it was the first thing I heard when coming home etc. But as a result, the tingle of sheer joy that goes through me when dh is out, ds is in bed and i can watch whatever the goldarned heckfire I like is fantastic.

Yes could live without it...haven't watched it at all this week...but like watching DVDs......and need to watch something when I'm ironing..

I could and I would. I don't really know what's stopping me. I hardly watch it these days.

no, i couldn't.

we could. don't particularly want to but we don't use it THAT much. especially since moving to a new area we have had no Cbeebies, channel 2 or channel 5 for the last 4 months. the dds now watch far less TV than they used to, just because there's less age-appropriate stuff for them to watch.

[wholesome smug family emoticon ]

Personally I don't watch TV but how would I read the paper if I couldn't stick the children in front of it?!

I dont watch TV much at all - especially since discovering MN! but it is handy to stick on to keep the kids quiet for a while and I think DH would go stir crazy with no TV - he is a real TV junkie.

So, I could live without it but the rest of the family probably couldnt!

I watch very little TV & if the box wasn't there, I really wouldn't miss it. I'd struggle a bit more with getting rid of the playroom set though! The thought of life without cbeebies is a bit scary .