How to Kill Your Television

You have probably heard the phrase "kill your television." It's an easy suggestion to sympathize with, especially if you're concerned about the commercial messages promoted by most television programming. It's easier said than done, though, since television can be so insidious.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. To increase your motivation, try to figure out how much television you watch. Spend a week keeping a schedule of everything you do and how long it takes. Try to behave normally so your results aren't skewed. At the end of the week add up the time you spent watching television, and think about all the other things you could have done with that time.

2. Probably the easiest way to kill your television is to wean yourself away from it a little at a time. Start by cutting out convenience viewing. Make a list of the shows you really like to watch, and stick to those. When your show is over turn it off, even if the next program looks really interesting.

3. Reduce your show list gradually. If you absolutely must know what happened in a certain program you want to eliminate, look it up on the Internet. You can read a show synopsis in a fraction of the time it takes to actually watch the program, and doing this also gets boring pretty quickly.

4. Make sure you are using your extra time well. When you kill your television it can feel like there is a gaping hole in your life until you fill this time with other fun and meaningful activities. Now you have time to do all those things you could never quite get around to like reading, cooking, cleaning, hanging out with your family or friends, taking up a new hobby. Make sure that you choose some things that are really fun for you, or the switch won't seem worthwhile.

5. When you're ready, transition your viewing to videos or disks only. This will probably further limit your viewing and cut out commercials entirely. If you have cable, cancel it.

6. Congratulations, you've done it! Though it can be tempting to actually violently kill your television at this point, this is not really a great idea because many televisions contain toxic substances that shouldn't be released into the air. If you require a symbolic gesture, consider painting over the screen--or if you are able to control your use, keep it for occasional video viewing.

Tips & Warnings

• Working on a transition like this with a friend is often easier.
• Seriously, don't smash your television. It can be pretty dangerous.

[Vanessa22]

on 2/12/2009 I don't own a TV and never will! Thanks :)

[mimpi]

on 1/29/2008 It was a great read! The touch of humor adds to the appeal. great article!!