July 26th, 2007 in Featured, Productivity

Using YouTube To Quit Television

Sometimes I can’t believe the amount of television people watch. I used to watch a fair bit, back when I had cable, and I still can’t understand what you can spend so much time watching.

Now I don’t even have the time to watch TV. To be honest, I don’t actually have a television anymore and haven’t sat in front of one in as long as I can remember. When it’s not there it’s very easy to live without. Believe me.

But for those who enjoy staying current and watching some of their favorites: I suggest YouTube. Ever heard of it?

It’s the only thing I come close to watching that’s like television – probably because most of it comes from TV. But it’s occurred to me what a great nicotine patch YouTube is for anyone who is trying to ween themselves off television.

There are several reasons why watching your shows on YouTube – or any other internet video streaming site, even from DVD – works to your benefit.

1. You have a clear goal. I want to watch this and then I’m done. If you want to watch more, there is an amount of effort required and you’re more likely to do something else.

2. No breaks. Ad breaks get you comfortable doing nothing, sitting looking at non-stimulating images waiting for your show to come back on. This perpetuates the activity of doing nothing.

3. You watch when you want. Because you aren’t tuning in to watch a show at a particular time, you are able to schedule your viewing when it suits you – instead of the other way around.

The other reason is that, in the case of any internet-television, you are already at your computer and have the immediate option of doing something more productive. Even Digg or checking Lifehack.org will seem like a better idea!

You can watch five minutes of ‘television’ in between work. Or give yourself half an hour to look up interesting things on YouTube on your break. The flexibility is there and you should use it. Especially if you’re finding yourself rushing home to catch an episode of Sex & The City. What a waste of effort!

The Plan

Find your favorite television shows on DVD or on the internet. Search them on YouTube or some ‘illegal’ video streaming site. Try watching the shows this way instead of on your television for a few weeks.

At worst, you can now schedule your television viewing when you want instead of working around it. Watching what you want, when you want.

The best thing that might happen is you realize how much time it can take away from you with no gain. The average person watches 4.5 hours of television every day, quotes SavingAdvice.

To put it into perspective, if you watch an average of 31.5 hours of TV each week (which the average person in the US does) and you value your time at minimum wage of $5.85 an hour, you are spending nearly $800 a month ($798.53) to watch TV. That comes to nearly $10,000 ($9582.30) a year. I would imagine that most people reading this value their time well above minimum wage, so the cost is likely several times that number. When you look at it from that perspective, watching TV is an extremely expensive and financial draining habit to have.

How Dumping TV Allowed Me to Quit My Job, Create an Online Business and Fund My Retirement Account – [SavingAdvice]

What could you do with that time and money?

Steve Pavlina experienced an interesting side-effect after giving up television for a period of time:

I’m not exactly sure why, but I felt a compulsion to expand socially, which seemed to grow stronger the longer I went without TV. I just wanted to spend more time with real people, especially face-to-face. I started talking on the phone more, going to more social outings, and accepting more dinner/lunch invitations. I also accepted a couple new speaking engagements that I was previously hesitant to accept.

8 Changes I Experienced After Giving Up TV – [StevePavlina]

I can attest to this. There is no longer that crutch to fall back on when you want to do something away from your computer. The funny thing is, talking to people is waaaay more interesting than anything that comes up in a television drama or comedy. And this brings me to my next point.

5 Things To Do That Are Like TV, But Aren’t

See a friend. Everyone has a story and their own trials and tribulations. These almost always rival anything that can be scripted. Your friends will appreciate your time and input.

See a show. Go out and see a band, play, exhibition etc. You get the same audio/visual stimulation but with a nice social aspect. You get to meet people who enjoy the same things as you without tagging or stumbling upon anything. Even a movie.

Talk to randoms. Even more like TV is going to a pub, for instance, and talking with some randoms. People you don’t know will share their stories if you allow them to. It takes a little more effort than TV or seeing a show, but the experience is always much more rewarding.

Go for walks. Wherever you live, there are things to look at. Lakes, street lamps, diners; they all have their own charm and beauty. It’s a much more subtle pleasure, but one that could result in something unexpected.

Listen to music. We’re usually listening to music while doing something else like work or going to work. But how about setting some time to just listen to a record and take it all in. I’ve learned a lot more from a few albums than I have from watching television.

Do you need it? Do you really want it? In the end, I just ask: Does it really matter what happens to Carrie Bradshaw?

Craig Childs

ARTICLES BY THIS WRITER »

13 Responses

Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)

Comments

Debra says on July 26th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I’m a big believer in giving up TV – I’ve now gone 7 months this year without having a television. It all started when I lived in the UK for 5 months this year, and didn’t own a television. I was forced to actually *do* things with others, like travel and explore the area I was in! Now that I’m back in the US, I still don’t have a TV, and haven’t missed it one bit. There aren’t many good shows on during the summer anyway, just reruns, so I’d much rather spend my time outside than channel-flipping. The few shows I do watch I have been able to find online, some even legally – The Daily Show, for instance, posts each episode online the next day. Not only do you save time by skipping commercials, but it also keeps me from watching more TV than I intend to – I just stick with my 3 shows and nothing more. You’ll be surprised by how much more free time you have! Now if only there was some way to cut back on my web-surfing too…
Kevin says on July 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I don’t see how this is any different than purchasing a DVR and refusing to watch anything that you haven’t pre-recorded.
Also – pirating artistic work is NOT a lifehack. If you want to watch a television show online, be honest and pay for it on iTunes.
Sam C says on July 26th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Couldn’t agree more. It’s pretty hard to avoid the siren song of TV, though. I didn’t have a television for two years and absolutely loved every minute of it. About a month ago, I moved into a place that had cable and a tv, and find myself watching an hour a night. It is SO easy to just sit and watch if it’s there. You got it right when you said: When it’s not there it’s very easy to live without.
And I do agree with what Kevin said… look for it on iTunes before you Youtube.
Jon says on July 26th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I would recommend taking it a step further and use Miro to grab the shows for you.
NovMan says on July 26th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Presently I use DVR, which is fine.
I’m strongly considering dropping my cable tv subscription and getting a digital decoder to pick up the local broadcast channels.
I have a couple of shows that I like to watch. I have figured out that it would be far cheaper for me to drop cable tv and buy the DVDs for each season and sell it again when I finished with it – or keep it if it liked it that much.
I don’t like paying for TV, and I have been rather stunned at realizing how much time I spend watching TV. So I want to change that too.
Honestly, there are much better things I could do with my time.
ÆL431 says on July 27th, 2007 at 1:15 am
I use http://www.tv-links.co.uk/
for most of my late night TV needs.
:-)
Leion says on July 28th, 2007 at 11:32 am
From TV to youtube. Ain’t that the same shows, minus the ads, censorship and small screen…
Gerry says on July 28th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I used to watch a crazy amout of TV every day and it’s just addictive.
After I moved out of home I threw out my TV and then when I moved into a share house the other guy didn’t have a TV either. OMG!!! How amazing is it! I now tell everybody who will listen to throw out that piece of crap and take back your choice.
I was in a fish and chip shop the other day and there was a TV with a commercial news program on that I used to watch frequently when I had a TV. I couldn’t believe how awful it was! I seriously felt sick upon seeing the first three articles that they were calling news. They waste your life by throwing so much emotion provoking crap with zero substance at you on these “news” programs and it makes me sooo sad. The rest of the programs aren’t good either, but these news programs are by far the worst.
Erick Gzz. says on July 29th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
If you’re going to substitute TV, and you’re a videophile, don’t go to Youtube. Go to veoh.com, the same, better, and a lot more complete series.
Eric says on October 8th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
The word is “wean”, not “ween”. Saying ween implies some sort of weird contraction to the only other word that starts with “ween”… i.e., Weenie.
So you wean yourself off TV. Or you watch too much TV and are a ween.
lagirl310 says on October 19th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I’ve been struggling with stress, depression, anxiety, alcoholism and gambling problems. Amidst all of this I found myself hiding behind the bottle and my tv. When my cable was recently turned off due to lack of payment I freaked out and that’s when I knew I had a problem. I’m writing about in hopes that it will be good therapy. I’ve decided to stop watching all together for at least six months to see how if might affect my shattered life. Please feel free to check out my blog as maybe there are some things you can relate to.
http://www.quittingthebox.wordpress.com