No TV? No Problem
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When my wife and I purchased our first home two years ago, we faced a decision we'd been dreading ever since the early days of our marriage: could we live without television?
At the end of our engagement seven years ago, Jess and I decided that we didn't want to spend money for cable TV. Maybe we were young and naïve, but we just couldn't justify that expense in relation to our income. Not that it was an easy decision—and I certainly tried to come up with some creative accounting solutions. (I even offered to forego all my makeup purchases if my wife did the same, but that didn't go over so well.)
That's why I was tickled when we moved into a parsonage with another young couple six months after the wedding and discovered that they already had a cable subscription—which meant that we could watch our favorite shows without spending any extra money. And watch we did. I think that was actually the year I started my short-lived campaign to become the first Irish winner on American Idol.
Then we lived with Jess's parents for three years in order to pay off school loans and save money for a down payment. Again, her parents already had television in the house, so we didn't feel wrong in partaking of a little Discovery Channel here, a little Food Network there—plus a little ESPN every now and again, for me. We weren't paying for it, so we weren't violating our agreement.
But when we finished unpacking the last box in our two-bedroom starter home, we knew we could delay no longer. The pressure only increased when we realized that our new neighborhood received no broadcast reception, which meant that rabbit ears weren't an option. It was cable or nothing, and the decision had to be made: TV or no TV?
We decided no TV, and this time money wasn't the major factor. I was doing 10 hours a week of freelance work in addition to my day job, and Jess was taking care of a little girl in our home three days a week. Oh, and we had a high-energy two-year-old running around the new house, several ministries at church, and extended family living close by.
With all that going on, Jess and I decided that we just didn't have room for another major commitment.
Here's Why We've Been Okay
It's been two years, and I know we made the right decision—as much as it still surprises me to say that. Looking at our lives now, I can see that saying goodbye to television has uplifted our marriage and our home in a number of exciting ways. Here are five of the best:
1. The hook is out of my brain. When we lived at my in-laws, I was constantly aware of what I was missing on TV—like someone had hooked a fishing line from the television to my head and was gently tugging, tugging, tugging me toward the couch and the remote. Now that TV is no longer an option, I don't give it a second thought. I'm off the hook, literally.
Related Topics:
Adventure, Communication, Popular culture, Television
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kyna
I love this story! We currently have pay-for tele and there are less than a dozen channels that the hubs and I actually WANT to watch. Most of the others are things no person should ever be required to watch, my opinion. I would love to have a 'quiet' house but I need a little help getting my DH onboard. The kids are also happier, once they remember how to play without tv, when the 'boob-tube' is off for a few days in a row! Thanks for the article! It's a great perspective that hopefully can help others turn off the tv and get more active with others.
maria
I thank God for making me whom Iam. TV or no TV I don,t care. I can never be a slave of any thing after Jesus has set me free of being a slave of sin. I can remeber of a family that lost their three children including a baby of lest than one year because the authority took light and the woman was waching a programme, she lighten a candle and left the childen to a neigbour,s house that has a generator, only for the candle to fall down and the bed sheet cut fire and rosted the children.
RFoss
My husband and I ordered cable so we could watch the 2010 Olympics. It was an eye-opening experience!I was surprised at how much the programming dictates your schedule, at the content of commercials and TV shows, and the intrusiveness of having the TV on while you wait for the sports segments you wanted to watch. We were rather relieved to cancel the service when the Olympics concluded! We enjoy cable when we stay in a hotel, but inevitably end up surfing channels instead of having fun together... I MUCH prefer watching TV episodes on HULU.COM or renting dvd's, but even that sometimes detracts from the quality of our time together...
Laverne
Before my husband and I get married we got rid of my satalite TV. It was for financial reasons. We have our local channels and every now and then we find something interesting on. When we visit the homes of friends and family we have access to cable TV and I realize that I don't want to spend the money for it. It's just not worth it. Like the article mentioned you can stream a lot of your favorite shows for free or just rent them on DVD for a far lesser price. My husband still thinks we spend to much time watching TV and I'm starting to think he is right. In the next couple of days we will be fasting TV so we will see just how creative we can get with the time we have available.
jennifer
Just because we have a tv and subscribe to cable, doesn't mean our lives revolve around it. If we miss a show, the world does not end and we schedule activities just the same. To be a slave to the tv is wrong. I do agree with Carol-I am adamant that there will never be a tv in our bedroom. My husband jokes, but he knows I'm serious about it.
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