Life without TV

For a little over a year now I have been without a TV subscription and I thought it was time for me to check in.

Making the Transition

The hardest part of cutting cable is getting past the dependency.  I see it as no different than the lull we all experience after a breakup.  Our brains tell us that it is a good thing but the little motor inside still draws us towards the old and familiar.  I was fortunate that the transition wasn’t so bad for me.

The cable company made me really mad so that gave me the initial spark to cut the cord.  On top of that, there was the money savings.  When I look at all of my other expenses, it wasn’t that bad, but one would be hard pressed to argue that cable provides true value.  Those two things together were all that my brain needed to say, “this is good”.

As for the little inner voice, I happened to make the switch at the end of the season.  The summer was just starting and it was going to be 2-3 months before anything even came that was worth watching.  This helped me get through the withdrawal phase because my drug wasn’t going to provide much of a high anyway.

Filling the Void

Believe it or not, it’s just like they say…we can always find things to do with our free time.  I do all sorts of things now because I’m not tied down to a TV.  Instead of surfing channels, I’ll aimlessly surf the internet.  I find this to be just as mindless and unrewarding as watching TV, but at least it is costing me less money.  Fortunately I’ve also picked up more tasks.  I spend more effort in trying to get out of the house (because it’s kinda boring in here), so that means I get to spend more time with my friends.  If a good show comes out, I’ll still get to watch it…but I’ll get to do it with friends instead of in the solitude of my living room (more social time, big bonus).  I like to think that it also helps me get more things done around the house.  Instead of eating dinner and watching a 30 minute show…I scarf down my food because I’ve got nothing else to distract me.

Into the Future

The truth is, I hope to avoid getting cable until I have children.  Currently I’m too busy remodeling my house so I definitely will not sign up for cable in the near future.   Once I’m less busy, my plan is to setup my home theater so I can watch movies from the internet on the TV.  I’ll also make my own HDTV antenna (instructions).  My biggest motivators are still my dislike for the cable companies and all of the money I’m saving.  The downside is that I have one less excuse to invite people over…and I’ve got some beer in the fridge that needs drinkin’.

I’d love to say that life without TV is fantastic and life changing, but I’m not so sure that it is.  There is certainly a positive gain by switching off cable, but not enough for me to recommend that everyone follow suit.  In life there are things that come up that cost us money, make us less effective, or do something that could be considered negative under a certain light, but honestly, if those small costs make us a little happier then I say they’re worth it.  Sometimes we need to treat ourselves to a night on the town, an extravagant vacation, or a zombie tube because that is what makes all of the hard work seem worth it.