idiot box

My TV truly is an idiot box. After watching one of my favorite programs (24, Prison Break, or House) I find myself drawn in to just sit there and let the tube flicker for hours on end. Motivation drains from my body and I tell myself just one more hour of viewing and I’ll go do what I need to do.I hate the way it makes me feel. Stephen King calls the television “the glass teat.”

I have come to agree.

So - I’ve been attempting to increase other media in my life. Television has never been a big part of my existence - so it seems pretty easy to wean off it.

I picked up a cheap mp3 player at Wal-Mart and am now listening to several podcasts, audio books, and music. Plus I am trying to read even more. I have always been a huge book worm - but I am really trying to devour books more now. I used to treat books with reverence and keep them clean and mark free.

My view has changed and I now see them as tools. I mark them up - write in the margins – dog ear the pages and underline bodies of key text. I read them in the new millennium style of non-linear. I will turn to chapters I am most interest in. And I have at least 10-15 books in any given month that I am plowing through.

The more I read, listen to podcasts, and write - the more the idiot box doesn’t appeal to me. I find myself motivated to do things. It is wonderful.

While listening to the Twit.tv podcast I learned that several of the hosts and guests don’t even own TVs. They get all their media from the web. They are in control of what they watch. Most of the content is free from commercials. And most importantly it is accessible at any time that makes sense.

It gave me a desire to kill my TV.

I am seriously thinking about it.

All of my favorite shows can be watched on iTunes. When I want - and without commercials.

My only reservation is missing all the Steelers games. I like being an idiot with my box for those. But I will definitely turn off the tube when the season is over.