Simeon Brody
I like watching television, but I know where the off-button is and I do lots of other things as well as watch telly. I have several friends who don't have a telly and when I mention something I've seen or that they 'should see', they remind me that they don't sit and goggle... and on occasions I've felt a bit guilty that I do! For a period of about 5 years in my 20s I also didn't have a telly, until my girlfriend's grandmother gave us one. We didn't miss TV, and couldn't understand how people made the time to watch it, but once we'd got one, we quickly became hooked, sorry 'accustomed' to our daily watching habits.
So I was curious to find that it is International TV turnoff week, hosted by whitedot.org, the international campaign against television. So, what are the benefits of not watching TV?
Well, televisions run on electricity and may be left on for hours at a time, sometimes when not even being watched. Many modern TVs use a lot of electricity, for instance, plasma TV's use twice the power of LCD, and LCD uses more than old CRT types (source, Sust-it.net). Some TVs when left on standby (some old-fashioned people still leave them on overnight!) continue to use significant amounts of power, although some modern ones use less than a watt. So, when not watching TV, what else could you be doing?
Whitedot suggests some of these:
Invite friends or family over
Go out and see some live entertainment
Go for a bike ride, or go for a walk
Go to bed early with your lover, or a good book
Sort out stuff and sell some things on ebay or a car-boot sale
Listen to some music
Pay someone a surprise visit
Check your cookery books and create something tasty
Participate in a local event
Join a political party.
And I'd add one of my favourite activities, plant some seeds and grow some vegetables.
For those of you who like doing things on a particular day, and knowing that other people are doing something similar on that day, April 22nd is 'Earth Day' and there may be events or activities near you (there's a search facility on the website) to participate in or inspire you.
Happy Earth Day and happy TV Turnoff Week!
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