Ok, maybe a few times per year.

I don’t own a TV set, so that’s a good start.

The reason I don’t watch TV is I like going my own way. When someone watches “Friends” it’s usually to get in on the story, and to identify with the characters, and almost be like the cast or act like them. That’s fine if you have that kind of personality where you’d like to belong (around 75% of the population), but not if you’re like me, who’d just like to go their own way and set their own trends (25% of the population). (I get these metrics from “The Pathfinder” by Nicholas Lore.)

Another reason I don’t watch TV is to avoid being inundated by advertising. I don’t like it; it numbs my mind. Granted, TV ads can be crafty, witty, funny, and clever, but I never forget it’s supposed to ultimately sell me something (it succeeds by embedding itself into my consciousness and lifestyle). A quote from the excellent text “Your Money or Your Life”: “the typical American is exposed to 50 to 100 advertisements each morning before 9 A.M.” That’s a lot of advertising to fill my mind and I’d rather not have it.

I also read somewhere that the TV sitcom (eg, Friends, Seinfeld, Everybody loves Raymond, etc.) is a corporate product. They were produced for the purpose of generating income. Come to think of it, that is true. But again, that’s not bad per se, these folks want to make a profit and they’ve found a way to do it – nothing wrong with that per se.

Also, I notice that the shows and the advertising creates that kind of culture – a popular culture; similarly the way music does. And it’s all done in an intertwining, enmeshing way. When someone asks “Did you see that Seinfeld episode last night?” immediately that pop culture extends itself and comes to life. Immediately people get enmeshed in it whether they like it or not. Just an observation.

Not to say that TV, sitcoms, or advertising are bad by themselves. By themselves they’re fairly inert and harmless. It’s when they take over my life and my time; and I don’t want them to, that’s where I see that it’s a problem.

I watched a lot of TV when I was a kid. I enjoyed it. I still enjoy some TV once in a while; an episode of the Simpsons, a NOVA documentary, an Oprah episode, some Saturday Night Live once or twice (SNL isn’t funny anymore. See? There’s that culture thing again). I’m grown up now so I can make my own choices.

It’s so freeing now that I don’t have to watch TV. I’m not tied to TV. I choose what to do with my time. If you want to have that, it can be your choice as well.

All you have to do is to get rid of your TV set.