Do Yourself A Favor, Turn Off The TV
Do Yourself A Favor,
Turn Off The TV
To the Editor:
Two years ago my wife Lisa and I pulled the plug on cable TV. We were fed up with rate increases and decided enough was enough. Looking back, I must say that cutting television out of our lives was one of the best decisions we ever made.
Lisa and I now have more quality time to spend with each other or to do other things we enjoy. I like taking my dogs for long walks and have more time to read. Lisa has more time to spend raising Norwegian elkhounds and to go horseback riding.
Even if we wanted to, I donât think we could find time now to watch TV. And what are we missing?
I believe television has its share of quality material, which I used to watch, especially programming on the History, Discovery, and Learning Channels. And sports programming always attracts its share of viewers.
On the other side of the coin, television is overflowing with garbage: senseless sitcoms and programs packed with gratuitous violence. And letâs not forget the endless stream of commercials. Donât viewers have anything better to do?
According to TV-Turnoff Network (www.tvturnoff.org), which encourages children and adults to watch much less television, the average person spends an incredible amount of time in front of a TV set, often at the expense of spending time with the rest of his or her family. For example, children aged 2 to 11 watch an average of 22 hours of television each week, but spend only 38 minutes engaging in a meaningful conversion with their parents. By the time a child graduates from high school, he or she will have watched an average of 360,000 TV commercials.
The average American will have watched two million commercials by the age of 65. Assuming each commercial lasts 15 seconds â and Iâm being conservative â the average American will spend 347 days of his or her life watching nothing but commercials. Imagine spending nearly a year of your life watching someone try to sell you something.
Newtown residents should consider turning off all the TVs in their homes for a month. Instead of television, how about engaging in a meaningful conversation with your spouse. Or take a walk in the woods with your children. Open that book you never seem to have time to read or better yet, ask your children to read a book. Whatever you decide to do, if youâre lucky, after a month goes by you may wonder why you watched TV at all.
Sincerely,
Ray Peterson
18 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown  September 22, 2000