tvfreelifestyle - How to Turn It Off

Primary Objective

There are many different ways that you can setup your new TV-Free lifestyle. Each person has different schedules and needs, so each program will vary. The important thing is that you:

1. Watch less TV

2. Use the resultin free time for something productive or fulfilling (or both)

Our Method

The rules that my own family (which contains a 6 year old) has recently adopted are as follows:

1. No Television cable or antenna.

2. Can watch movies (or DVDs of TV shows) at home in moderation.

3. Exception rule for Saturday morning cartoons. We had way too many good memories of waking up Saturday morning and watching cartoons to deprive the little one (though it does require dragging out the antenna).

Tips for Starting Out:

Remove the cable and/or antenna from the TV to avoid temptation
Make a list of hobbies you are interested in
Realize that you are gonna feel bored at times....fight the addiction, there are many things to do if you put in a little effort. As I tell our 6 year-old, "the only people that are bored are boring people"
To moderate movie watching we use Netflix. We basically each end up getting one movie a week.
Subscribe to a few magazines that interest you. Always a good way to stay informed and renew interest in your hobbies.

Tips for Stickin to It:

Stay active with your hobbies
If a hobby isn't doing it for you, move on to a new one
Watch out for times of stress. See the article on the right for details. Turn your attention to reading a book, a hot tea, taking a walk, or another activity that helps you unwind.

Excerpt from a Scientific American Article

To study people's reactions to TV, researchers have undertaken laboratory experiments in which they have monitored the brain waves , skin resistance or heart rate of people watching television. To track behavior and emotion in the normal course of life, as opposed to the artificial conditions of the lab, we have used the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Participants carried a beeper, and we signaled them six to eight times a day, at random, over the period of a week; whenever they heard the beep, they wrote down what they were doing and how they were feeling using a standardized scorecard.

As one might expect, people who were watching TV when we beeped them reported feeling relaxed and passive. The EEG studies similarly show less mental stimulation, as measured by alpha brain-wave production, during viewing than during reading.

What is more surprising is that the sense of relaxation ends when the set is turned off, but the feelings of passivity and lowered alertness continue. Survey participants commonly reflect that television has somehow absorbed or sucked out their energy, leaving them depleted. They say they have more difficulty concentrating after viewing than before. In contrast, they rarely indicate such difficulty after reading. After playing sports or engaging in hobbies, people report improvements in mood. After watching TV, people's moods are about the same or worse than before.

Within moments of sitting or lying down and pushing the "power" button, viewers report feeling more relaxed. Because the relaxation occurs quickly, people are conditioned to associate viewing with rest and lack of tension. The association is positively reinforced because viewers remain relaxed throughout viewing, and it is negatively reinforced via the stress and dysphoric rumination that occurs once the screen goes blank again.

Full Article