That's me. TV-aholic, TV-junkie. I'm addicted, and it's come to my realization that I need to break the habit. I've always known that TV has been my favorite hobby, but I would never admit that to anyone. The "Get To Know Your Friends" memes usually have a favorite hobby question, and the first thing to my mind is TV because that is what I do the most. I could tell you exactly which shows I like are own starting from 7:00 am until 10:00 pm. I leave the TV on constantly even if I'm not watching it. Even if I'm reading a book or taking a nap the TV is on mute so that I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
I'm addicted to movies as well. They are my favorite past time. I was walking through the video store with my cousin LeChelle last week and was able to tell her the ratings of all the movies she picked up, what the movies were about, and whether they were worth watching or not. She had barely heard of any of them.
It's been weighing on my mind since Scamp was born that I need to cut back or right out eliminate it. I don't want to teach her that TV can be your best friend. It has been mine for a long time. If I'm having a bad day, I watch it to leave my own reality. If I'm sad, I watch a love story to lift my mood. It's my distraction, my comfort, and my idol. Instead of focusing on my family, my friends, my own self, and God, I'm tuning in to someone else's family, friends and god whether real or not.
I've made it a goal to not watch TV during the day when I'm at home with Scamp. I won't let Scamp watch more than one children's video a week, so why do I let myself? I've been doing fairly well the last couple of weeks, but it's hard because it's what I've done for years! Without my shows, I'm able to accomplish more housework, more writing, and more quality time with my husband.
I don't want it to control my life anymore. I've slowly been cutting out shows from my line-up. I do have a new DVR, so I record the shows I like then watch them when no one else needs my time. Hopefully, I will be able to resist adding any new ones in for the new seasons.
I also have a tendency to watch shows with questionable content. TV now is not the TV of my youth. Bad language and racy scenes are the norm, and if a show has neither, their viewings are typically lower. That is what I believe to be true anyway. I'm a little bit better with movies, but I learned the hard way that there are certain images that will never leave my mind. For that reason, I've chosen not to watch rated R movies.
This is a huge struggle for me. I've become too accustomed to viewing things myself I would never allow Scamp to view. They have impacted my life in a negative way, so why do I continue to watch inappropriate shows? Because I want to and it's viewed as acceptable so no one will probably ever call me on it. Hopefully, I will allow God to change this area in my life. I'm hanging on to this one with all my might!
About Me
- Shawna
- Welcome to Created to Learn! We were created to learn through circumstances, through the Word of God, through books, through marriage and children. The love of learning is a God-given desire I hope to teach my two young girls along with a love of books. Travel along with us, a new-to-homeschooling family, as we explore the world around us through books. If you have suggestions on books or tools that would benefit my family, please contact me. I would be glad to review them.
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5 comments:
Good luck Shawna. This is a huge struggle. I had a hard time with this one too, but now I find I could care less what's on tv. We even canceled our cable (we still have it, but we canceled it...go figure) Jeff & I have found we enjoy watching the dvds we own or nothing at all. And with spring/summer coming it's so nice to just sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. I'll keep you in my prayers on this one!
Reading this, I really think you need some help. TV can be like a drug addiction and it is rare that you can get rid of it alone even with the best will. It seems to me that you are living in a dream world maybe to escape reality and you only return to real life for your daughter. Real life can also be so pretty much better than TV life, but of course it's not so easy, you can't switch off when you don't like something.
Except for Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs, there's really nothing on TV I feel that compelled to watch anymore anyway. The Office and Earl and pretty funny, but of course, even some of their content is questionable.
I think I'd be fine turning off the cable, just so long as I still have my internet access to be able to download the new Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs episodes. :)
WEll I must admit I have my favorite programs....but I prefer to have my music on than TV....my husband on the other hand...love to have the TV on....like you I think it keeps him company with the background noise....he watches just about anything and I think that is just to empty his mind....I on the other hand difficulties watching violent shows, or horror movies...I like suspense like PBS Mystery...I really enjoy documentaries...I think you recognize you watch to much and you are making steps to correct it....I am sure you will be fine....
Thanks for dropping by my blog....
Happy Monday!
This is a tough area. We do not allow our girls to watch much tv. If they do, it's mostly things they watch with us. We do not watch much regular tv but do watch movies. We don't do it every night though. We have a few select weekly programs we watch but other than that, we find things to do. There is so much info on the internet that we enjoy sitting around and researching things, etc. More than tv, I worry about too much game time. I am not a big fan of Xbox, PS1, etc. The girls do like to play the Xbox and while many of the games are fine, I can't help but think they could be doing better things with their time. We've picked up knitting and hope to learn to crochet soon. Things like that keep your hands busy and gives you a sense of accomplishment. I admire your motivation to change in this area because I know it's hard to change something you've got in the habit of doing. Just remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. You go girl!
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