How can one not watch Television?
Posted by Sonali Joshi-Bhatt on February 20, 2011
Every time someone asks me what I like watching on TV, they are either shocked or amused by my answer. If you are wondering why that is the case, let me tell you that I don’t watch TV and we don’t have a television set at home. Yes, that’s true!!
I was always against watching TV and often had tiffs with my mom who would incessantly watch TV and considered it to be her constant companion. Even when she was busy doing the household chores, she would have the TV turned on in the background. This ritual of watching TV further gained momentum after she retired from work. What I realized over time is that it’s hard to stop someone from watching TV. People are just so addicted to it! Perhaps that fear of addiction kept me away from TV.
I am always scared that if I start watching TV, I will be glued to it for long hours if not forever. In fact, I tried to test this fear several times by starting to watch TV for a few minutes a day and trying to see if I can turn it off at my will. However, I failed miserably. Instead of watching it for a few minutes, the duration went up to hours and that affected my rhythm and routine. Luckily, I couldn’t take it for long and one day decided to pack my TV set. Phew…..that was easy!!
It was not long before the temptations haunted me. I wanted to watch some of the popular sitcoms. I also felt out of place when friends discussed the storylines and treated me as an out-group. Dealing with it was hard at first but then I realized that in the long run, this discipline will help me. Sometimes, I give into my temptations by watching my favorite serials on Internet. The biggest advantage with this arrangement is that I can watch it at my will. Also, sitting in front of the system watching videos is a tiresome job, which keeps me from spending a lot of time watching those sitcoms.
I have so much time available, now that I don’t spend it on watching TV. I get time to do my household chores and don’t neglect them. I get time to talk to my friends. I get time to blog. I get time to study for my classes and much more. It’s just so amazing to have things under your control and be at peace. With so many advantages, I wonder why one would not want to watch TV!! For me, it has turned out to be one of the best habits inculcated so far in my life.
Jasmine said
I agree!! I have not had a tv or watched tv in about 5 years and I love it! I get to do alot more reading and blogging instead of having to be hypnotized by whatever useless things that are shown on TV.