why we don’t own a TV
passivity vs. thoughtful choice
We aren’t total freaks I swear.
Disclaimer: Neither my husband nor I are people who enjoy binging a show on a Friday night. We are mostly consumers of nature documentaries, M.A.S.H., and old movies. That being said, you may find all of this rather odd.
We had a TV in our bedroom a couple of years ago - and then it died. We found ourselves examining all the reasons we might want to spend money to get a new one. It turns out that once we put some time and thought into the decision, we couldn’t really justify the purchase. Clarity comes when you break something wide open that has always been a given and decide to examine it with radical honesty. I’ve had plenty of those moments in my life, both big and small and it can be painful at times. Of course, this was just a decision about a T.V. - nothing too earth shattering, but even seemingly small decisions can have a big impact.
Here’s what’s taken its place (winter edition).
Let me start off by saying: we still really love a movie night. When we get the itch for a cozy night in, we break out the projector, prop it up on whatever is handy, and hook it up to our laptop. We make popcorn, hunker down with lots of blankets and pillows, and dig into the vast old movie archive available on youtube. This ritual takes time, a certain amount of thoughtfulness, and requires that both parties be on board. Most nights, we aren’t in the mood for all of that prep, so this is how we fill our evenings instead:
Talking until the cows come home - about politics, religion, our latest runs, ideas for projects, podcasts we’ve listened to, traveling we want to do, books we’re reading… you name it…we’ll talk about it.
Two person card games at the dinner table. Our current obsession is NERTS
Cooking together (even though we suck at it). We keep trying to improve our basic go-to recipes and expand our horizons. We are currently trying a new recipe once every few weeks in the hopes that we strike gold.
Invite people over. Recently, we started inviting our neighbors over after dinner to play games. It’s been great to have a social event to look forward to in the middle of the week that costs zero money.
Go to a trivia night. Our local pub has a weekly trivia night that doesn’t feel intimidating. We always come in last, but at least we’re consistent!
If the day has been busy, we might sneak in a stationary bike workout or an at home yoga session before bed.
Reading. Remember that? Turns out, it’s a really good way to wind down from the day and fill your time (and your brain).
More than all of that, what’s really taken the place of the TV is an ability to slow down and decide what we want to do with our time. That may seem simple, but when I think back to life with a TV I remember a lot of mindless sifting through netflix, and a lot of pre-bedtime nature docs just because it was the path of least resistance.
Not gonna lie, sometimes life without a TV is boring. And most nights we are in bed by 9:00 because the day feels long and you can only play so many games of nerts before your eyes go crossed. But whatever happened to being bored anyway? And why did we all decide it was a bad thing? (more on that at a later date)
I’m not suggesting you go out and smash your TV into a million pieces. But if simplifying and consuming less media interests you at all I would suggest making some time for thoughtful consideration.
You can start by asking yourself these questions:
What would happen if you took the TV out of your bedroom?
What if you only had one in your entire house? What if you got rid of it all together? Or if you love your TV, could you set boundaries around it - only one show before bed, or only one movie per weekend? And what could you do with all of that time you get back?