Originally Posted by babenwaiting:
First, let me say that I don't care whether anyone watches anything on TV or not. BUT, having said that, there's a lot of good programming on TV when you get the broad cable, speciality networks, sports channels, etc. Like anything else, food, music, theater, movies ... you pick the best, you don't just consume it all! I have friends who LIVE on their laptops and Blackberrys, but pride themselves on never watching TV. IMHO, that is ridiculous ... no difference ... and WHY the *attitude* with some? I like a bit of everything in moderation, and don't care what anyone else does! :)

I grew up with cable. I remember when we first got it, I think I was around 9 years old. My life really revolved around cable tv. It was normal to watch hours of tv every day. When I moved in with my husband, he wasn't sure he wanted cable, I thought he was crazy. Our lives just got busy and we stopped watching cable. I think the offerings these days are such that you can tailor what you watch without having to pay for cable. I felt quite liberated by not having to spend money on cable and not being exposed to tons of commercials and being able to be selective in what I watch.

I wasn't trying to say "you are bad if you subscribe to cable" or "you are bad if you watch tv every day". I just was curious about others who had different habits than 'the norm'. This wasn't a thread about judgement but more about interest in various tv watching habits.

I have a friend who had a car repossessed, was evicted from an apartment,. has massive debt but has every cable channel possible and also has a cable modem for internet access. If I even mentioned the idea of cutting down on the cable tv or getting rid of, I was being ridiculous.

My parents have a tv in every room and it is constantly on. They have cable and spend hours every night watching tv. She will try to ask me things like "did you watch this", "did you watch that", when she knows I didn't. One thing my mom does though is will watch tv while exercising.

This thread was really started because I saw a few people complaining about media over coverage of certain recent news events. On the other hand, I wasn't exposed to it and really my answer would've been, change the channel? Turn the tv off?

Of course on the other hand, I have my inlaws who have no cable tv, live in an area with poor antennae reception and they have dialup internet access which they rarely use. One thing they do have is a DVD subscription so they do watch tvs/movies but even then not every night.

We got rid of our cable as it is too expensive and I have a dislike for Cablevision...a big dislike, but you know we need some of their services, but the cable and crap is too expensive. Now we get 4-6 channels with a crappy set of "bunny ears" and a digital converter box (which I hate as well). I watch TV sometimes, but usually I'm happy without it.

Mostly I'm a movie person. I would rather watch endless hours of horror movies, which is available to me online...:D So, I just watch stuff on my computer now and leave the TV for the evenings if the signal comes it. :P

Originally Posted by babenwaiting:
BUT, having said that, there's a lot of good programming on TV when you get the broad cable, speciality networks, sports channels, etc. Like anything else, food, music, theater, movies ... you pick the best, you don't just consume it all!

Uh, a little thing called a huge cable bill! I'd love to have broad cable (is that the same as premium? I'm not sure what broad cable TV is) and just pick and choose the very best. But the bill isn't worth it for a show here and there. To me, paying for cable only makes sense if you watch a lot.

I agree, I think the time we lose to the internet is bad too. Not the same, because at least we're interacting. And I'm not watching ads - which seem like no big deal until you've gotten them out of your system - then hear them again. They're kinda like sugar that way.

But as far as attitude, well, the noise of background TV just bugs the **** out of me. It did so long before I ever thought I should watch less TV. And yet, for other people, it's comforting, which I just completely can't understand. I start to feel like I'm going to explode if the TV is never off and quiet - and I know people who look like they're going to explode if they won't be allowed to turn the TV on all day long. They literally pace and twitch. So I guess it's a personality thing. You know, the old "There's two kinds of people in the world ..."

JulieJ08, there are ads on the Internet as well ... in your line of vision, popping up, etc., and most people I know are not interacting on the Internet ... Very few friends and family of mine participate on message boards; they just spend a lot of time reading sites and watching tv shows/videos, etc. on their computer. So I do consider watching TV a lot or being on your computer/Blackberry a lot basically the same.

Obviously, you're not going to spend a lot on cable/premium TV if you can't afford to, and I'm not RECOMMENDING it. I'm just saying that everyone should watch/use what they can afford and what they enjoy, and not feel superior to someone who chooses something different (and I'm not pointing fingers here, just making a statement.) :)

I don't own a television. I haven't had a TV for many years and I don't miss it. The only TV program I watch is The Biggest Loser and I can watch that on my computer. :) I keep up with the news via the internet btw.

babe - I said in my other post, I wasn't trying to feel superior but I do like hearing from people who have gone away from tv in one way or another. I will also say that tv commercials are strange when you never watch them and then all of a sudden see them. Also, tv really isn't about what you can afford because it wasn't that we couldn't afford cable tv but we just chose to spend our money elsewhere. This thread wasn't started as a criticism.

nelie, I know you didn't start this thread to criticize ... :) I mentioned the affordability (or not) of cable because several others mentioned the cost. Different people have different reasons for what they do ... I know that.

Originally Posted by babenwaiting:
JulieJ08, there are ads on the Internet as well ... in your line of vision, popping up, etc., and most people I know are not interacting on the Internet ...

You're using the wrong browser then :) And in any event, hardly the same, at least to me, as several minutes of action and sound as with TV commercials.

Originally Posted by babenwaiting:
Very few friends and family of mine participate on message boards; they just spend a lot of time reading sites and watching tv shows/videos, etc. on their computer.

Ok. Not my experience. YMMV.

My husband doesn't spend any recreational time online. For me, I do read a couple message boards and sometimes news here and there. My husband was the one that told me about hulu.com. I think he found out from his coworkers.

Anyway, we watch hulu together, usually at dinner time. If we want to watch something longer than a 20/40 minute show, we might just watch one of our DVDs although we hardly ever watch a movie in a single sitting, we generally split it in half, sometimes thirds.