I currently am in my 68th hour of avoiding television, and the act of avoiding television has become the true nuisance of the assignment. Since I never watch programming in the first place, I completely take for granted its subconscious control it has on me and everyone around me. I think many of us simply turn television on for background noise, or to pass moments of boredom. For so long I have turned to other routes to deal with my lack of productivity, but consciously avoiding television is almost a chore.
The first night we removed ourselves from the world of television was easy for me. I began Tuesday night, since I could wait till morning to hear the election results. Besides, I knew at Famous Dave's where I am scheduled to work Friday I would be in very close proximity to six large flat screen TVs, each of which are hard to avoid. I had so much homework to do anyway that locking myself in my bedroom (where there is no television) seemed appropriate.
I did find it a bit lonely when my friend came over to hang out with my roommates because they all sat in the living room socializing as the election results played in the background. It was a reflective moment, however, when I realized how social of an activity television is. Occasionally I would hear one of them comment on what was happening on the screen, but conversation dominated the noise coming from the room as opposed to audio from the programming. I suppose since I sat in my room and listened to what they discussed I still lived vicariously through the interactions of characters (in this case my friends), much like the act of television.
I was not exposed to television until around 7 p.m. Wednesday night. I went to visit with my friend Anna and after we grabbed our dinner from the kitchen we went straight to the living room to sit with her mom and watch TV. I stared at the screen for just a few seconds before I realized something was wrong. I jumped up, almost spilling my soup, and ran to the other room. "I can't watch TV!! I can't! It's for an assignment!" I gasped, and explained the situation. It was clear Anna's family was just like mine was growing up – watching TV during dinner time.
Later that night, I found myself in a very similar situation. Anna and I went to another friend of ours house, where the TV was on and everyone gathered around. I sat down nonchalantly for a little longer than I had at Anna's until I realized what I was doing. Yet again I jumped up and ran out the room; I made my friend promise me it was a movie to reassure I hadn't totally messed the experience up. I left my friend's house shortly after upon realizing that all they were doing that night was playing the knock off Wii. Another social experience I was forced to miss out on, but I still didn't feel right staring into the depths of their HD flat screen.
Even as I sit in my room on Thursday evening, I can hear the hum of the television from the other room as my roommate is sucked farther into the rabbit hole. I realize I used to watch TV everyday for at least two to three hours each day, but at this current juncture in my life I find it useless and possibly detrimental to my sanity. The only tolerable form of programming in my book is specific shows on DVD, but even those tend to suck me into a world of disillusionment. I don't think I have a need to replace television in any way, perhaps the Internet fills this role. I did realize though how difficult it is to entirely avoid, and how subconscious the act of watching the boob tube is for many individuals – including myself!
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