Just Say No to TV

People are always surprised when I tell them I don't have a television. I also don't have a microwave, nor do I subscribe to or read any newspapers. I'm not exactly a Luddite -- after all, I am typing this on a state-of-the-art computer -- but I am careful about what technology I bring into my life. In the case of television, I choose not to be influenced by the junk that's on TV. What we allow into our minds affects how we think, just like what we eat affects how we feel physically. I don't want a diet of TV.

I think not watching TV is part of the reason I'm able to get a lot done. I don't have the TV to distract me. I do read, write, and listen to non-commercial radio from time to time, but those activities aren't as hypnotic and addictive as TV.

There probably are some good shows on TV, but I suspect they're few and far between, and I think it's difficult to turn the TV off when the good show is over. For the most part, TV promotes violence, fear, and insecurity -- all attributes I can live without. Some say that I am burying my head in the sand. Perhaps, but I inevitably hear about the major news stories from friends or from Internet news flashes. And maybe what I don't know won't hurt me!