A Day Without Television
An Essay
Last Sunday was the first day in, I don’t even know, years, that I didn’t watch any television. I use that term broadly. I didn’t watch any YouTube videos. I didn’t stream any shows.
Instead, I woke up, finished up some work, and then read my book for the rest of the day.
Why am I doing this?
Because I have a suspicion that I’m using television to distract myself from things that require my attention.
I was a latchkey kid. Television raised me. It babysat me. It gave me my dreams. It was my friend. Entire summers passed by with me staring at the screen, my eyes unquestioningly absorbing the content.
The thing about television, and movies, and online videos is that so much of them are just garbage for the mind. Yes, the is visual content that is actually worth the watch. To find it requires discernment. Not like anything I was doing.
We don’t think about what we’re consuming. With the popularization of reality television, we really don’t think about it.
Recently, I had an epiphany. It was pretty understated. In a quiet voice, my higher self said, “You watch a lot of TV.”
Then, she said, “It’s a habit you haven’t been able to kick. And it’s not a good one.”
