Life without TV

Alternatives to TV

The average American watches 211 minutes of television a day. That's one-seventh of his or her life. You can find out what television does to you and what would change if you gave up TV starting today in this article.


TV


Despite YouTube, Netflix, Prime and Co., the television is still central to America's living rooms and is a major source of relaxation. Many people can no longer imagine life without a television.


What TV does to you

For many people, the best thing they can do at the end of the day is to turn on the TV and turn off. However, there are some reasons to question your own television consumption:


- Communication with people leaves a lot to be desired.

Turning on the TV takes your attention away from the people around you. If you turn off the TV, you automatically focus more on your fellow human beings, and thus on communicating with them.

- Loneliness is an artificial substitute for the world

Television is one of the most common responses to feeling lonely because television creates an artificial substitute world. Many television formats aim to create a sense of companionship. Unfortunately, this substitute world is not real and tends to discourage us from doing something to solve a problem, such as picking up the phone and calling a loved one. The remote control is often a more comfortable choice.

alternative TV

- Desensitization-the media world's focus on extremes.

The media's strong tendency toward extremes leads to desensitization to information.

The media's strong tendency toward extremes leads to desensitization to information. 

Like social media and the Internet, there is a strong tendency for exaggeration and negativity on television. The consequences are, on the one hand, desensitization to information, news and even fortunes, and on the other, distorted reality. Especially people with low media competence form prejudices more quickly.


- Harm to children - from concentration disorders to aggression

Everyone should know that too much television is harmful not only for adults, but especially for children. Studies show that even moderate media use has a negative impact on reading skills, for example. In addition, heavy television consumption causes a decline in children's concentration, initiative, and vocabulary. Many children also often experience increased anxiety.


- Advertising - tells us that our lives are not satisfying

Television is a business that lives solely on advertising, the purpose of which is to arouse our needs and, with each product, to tell us again that our lives are not satisfying. Especially in the case of private broadcasters, even the laws provide many opportunities to provide advertising time.

For example, 20% of the total broadcast time can be used for advertising. That's 4 hours and 48 minutes of advertising in just one day. On top of that, the broadcaster's own advertising is added.

What happens when you give up television:

Thus, television affects us more than we realize. So what happens when we consciously give up television, and what are the alternatives?

Improved friendships due to living without television. 

- More time.

Automatically turning off the television creates more time. However, it is important to have a competent replacement for the television. Unfortunately, if you spend your won time on Netflix or YouTube, not much has changed.

- Life gets more creative.

Watching television is a very passive activity. You turn on the TV and allow yourself to splurge. Nevertheless, it is through active pursuits that people develop, learn new skills, and generally become more creative. The freer people are able to handle information, the better the environment promotes creative processes in people.

- Improved health through increased physical activity

Living without television encourages people to use their free time more actively. People go out more often, take up other hobbies that involve more physical activity, or choose sports as an alternative to television.

- Improved friendships

Socializing with real people is more enjoyable and leads to better relationships than passively observing an artificial substitute world.

- You get better rest.

It doesn't help to be bombarded with impressions to relax. Because of the passive nature of watching television, staring into the tube at first helps you relax. However, thoughts need space, silence, and few external stimuli in order to organize your thoughts and come to a state of rest.

alternatives to tv

Alternatives to TV

If you eliminate television from your life, you make room for new things.

If you minimize passive time watching TV or cut it out of your life altogether, make sure you have an active and competent replacement. Some alternatives are as follows:

Listening to music.

Listening to podcasts

Reading a book

Talking with family, friends or partner

Playing sports

Meditation

Yoga

Reliving forgotten hobbies

Reading the newspaper

Conclusion - Life without TV


Less is more. Living without television does not mean getting rid of it completely, but it does mean thinking about and questioning your own consumption of television. Living without television improves the quality of life in many areas. However, it is important to find a competent replacement for passive pastime that is enjoyable. If you're not sure that getting rid of TV is the right decision, just give it a try and leave the TV off for a week. Who knows, maybe that week will turn into two, or three, or four, and life without TV won't be so far away.





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