writer Resources

OVERVIEW

For reference to this model, please see: Vickery, J. (1999, September-October). Cut the cable; bring on the fun: Everybody thought we were crazy,but our family turned off the TV for a year. New Man Magazine, pp. 48-49.

This is an article review which actually serves as a model for trying to minimize or eliminate television viewing. This writer lets readers know he likes television, is happily married to a wife who is a football fanatic, and was himself a communications major in college. It was, in fact, because they loved TV so much, they decided to "go cold turkey and cut the cable for a year." They began to realize how much time it was taking out of their lives; that they were watching little screen people have fun instead of having fun themselves; and that they were talking less to each other while watching people talk about things of little interest to them.

 

The biggest reason we flipped off the set, though, was the effect it was having on our kids. We began to notice that they were more interested in watching life on television than living it themselves. They were living virtual lives.

 

Although they noticed gradual improvements in their family life without TV, this writer honestly admits there was no sudden "spiritual, relational nirvana." Benefits included seeing their children focus better on homework and a rediscovery of reading (including Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, which encouraged them to work on a family mission statement.

 

Best of all, our year-long television fast made a powerful impact on our marriage. My wife and I recovered the lost art of conversation. We found the intimacy we’d lost.

 

Admittedly, giving up television for a year is a difficult endeavor. Here are the writer’s suggestions that come from their experience.

Be a Man. Taking this initiative will make a positive impression on your spouse.

Use Incentives. To inspire their kids, this couple promised the saved cost of cable ($30 a month plus a little) would go into the children’s accounts, which added up to a little by the end of the year.

Prepare with a Plan. Involve the entire family in this decision and in a plan to fill in extra time. This family "went white-water rafting, signed the kids up for recreational sports, took up golf, read books, went hiking in the mountains" and did lots of other things.

Don’t be a Legalist. There were exceptions for very important news events and a couple of school assignments on television.

Set up some Accountability. Don’t wear a sign that says, "I’m not watching television for a whole yearÉ" But telling a few trusted friends or family members can help.

 

I know it sounds crazy (this writer concludes); a whole year without television. But what’s so sane about sitting in a recliner watching tiny people live pretend lives when you could be living yourself? This is one fast that will leave you fuller when it’s finished.

 

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you consider this to be a realistic experiment and experience? In what ways?
2. Have you ever done something like this and would you?
3. How much time do you (and your family) spend watching TV?
4. What are the best arguments for and against having TV in a home?
5. How could a family (person) benefit from carefully thinking through this article’s proposal even if they (he or she) decided not to go on a year’s fast?

 

IMPLICATIONS

• Most people confess to watching too much television.
• Jerry Mander (followed by Postman, Bloom and others) wrote Four Reasons for the Elimination of Television in 1977. These arguments can be countered by cultural and practical arguments to the contrary.
• It is very important that society not be dominated by TV and that individuals and families know how to set limits on it and how to select and interpret what they do watch.
• A television fast can be a very good thing.

Dean Borgman cCYS