POLL: s/o TV-free... what does "tv-free" mean to you?

[Heather in Neverland]

As I mentioned in the other thread, we were cable tv-free for nearly two years and we finally got cable tv this week.

 

It took me that long to convince dh. And it was weird because it wasn't a money issue. He just got this bug that we shouldn't waste our time watching tv. Which is fine.

 

Except we watch DVDs. And buy entire seasons of certain favorite tv shows on DVD. And watch other shows online. And.... well, you get the picture.

 

So he said to me "I can't believe we caved in and got cable" and I said "We have a beautiful 42-inch flat screen that YOU wanted and instead we are watching tv shows on 15-inch computer monitor so we can SAY we are cable-free. That's ridiculous. If you want to go tv-free then get rid of the TV!"

 

So my question is two fold:

 

1. When you say you are TV-free, what does that mean?

2. Why did you go TV free?

[regentrude]

I have been TV free for 21 years. That means I do not have a TV in the house.

For many (15) years, I was TV free in the sense that I did not watch any TV shows at all ever.

Now with online streaming, netflix and hulu, I am still technically TV free, but admit to watching the occasional show on my laptop.

My reason for being TV free: TV is a waste of time. All that time spent watching can be put top more productive use - and it's much easier to not watch if you don't have the TV in the first place.

[KristinaBreece]

As I mentioned in the other thread, we were cable tv-free for nearly two years and we finally got cable tv this week.

 

It took me that long to convince dh. And it was weird because it wasn't a money issue. He just got this bug that we shouldn't waste our time watching tv. Which is fine.

 

Except we watch DVDs. And buy entire seasons of certain favorite tv shows on DVD. And watch other shows online. And.... well, you get the picture.

 

So he said to me "I can't believe we caved in and got cable" and I said "We have a beautiful 42-inch flat screen that YOU wanted and instead we are watching tv shows on 15-inch computer monitor so we can SAY we are cable-free. That's ridiculous. If you want to go tv-free then get rid of the TV!"

 

So my question is two fold:

 

1. When you say you are TV-free, what does that mean?

2. Why did you go TV free?

 

The bold.... yeah, that. I long to be tv-free. We were when I was in high school, and I know I was missing nothing. But DH is television-centric. Ridiculously so.

[Aubrey]

To me, tv-free means no tv, no movies, no internet tv, etc. Nada.

 

Dh & I didn't have a tv when we got married, on the grounds that...it's better that way. But when we realized that we were just going to the movies instead & frustrated w/ the price of tickets & poor selection, we bought a cheapo tv w/ a built-in VHS player. Since then, we've added a dvd player. We watch tv online.

 

I don't count us as tv-free, BUT our computers probably play better than the $200 tv/vcr we bought in 1999. :D So we don't have *that* problem in common. ;)

[JoyfulMama]

I'm not tv-free, but we are broadcast-free, and non-subscribing to anything fee-based for tv(-type)-viewing content.

[HelenNotOfTroy]

1. We have no television.

2. Currently, because when we moved we chose not to take our television, it was old and we never used it anymore anyway.

 

I first had no TV 18 years ago. Got a TV with built-in VCR after a couple of years and at that point I lived in an apartment complex that included cable, so I had cable for about 6 months. Then, I had the TV and VCR and rented tapes from Blockbuster for about 5 years. DH had cable and a TV when I moved in with him 10 years ago, but we got rid of the cable when it went digital about 1 year later. Over the years, we had a VCR and a DVD player (which died). When the DVD player dies, we switched to watching DVDs on the computer and discovered television shows on the computer. I am not sure how TV free I consider this, but I do not consider us to be completely TV free now, which I did when we had a TV and almost never rented videos to watch them.

[unity]

We don't have a TV and don't watch TV shows online or via Netflix. We do watch selected movies streaming or on DVDs. My main reason is that TV is addictive and a waste of time. Whenever I see TV now (at the gym, at someone's house, etc) I am struck by how stupid it seems to me. The only time I ever miss it is during the Olympics. Otherwise I could not care less.

 

The movies we watch are largely classics or otherwise high quality, and even then it's generally after a long day when we are all too tired to do anything else, or in the car when there's not much else to do anyway.

 

If I could only give up my real screen-time vice (Internet!!!!), oh what I could accomplish.

[dcurry]

tv free to me means that we don't have cable (or even non-cable) tv in our house. We still do watch dvd's of our favorite shows that we rent from the library, and we still watch movies. But it's easier to make sure that what we watch is what we *want* to watch.

 

Also, with dvd's, etc, we avoid all commercials & advertisements, and also avoid sitting in front of it flipping through the channels when we are bored. (My husband and I would do this as much as the kids).

 

Also, with dvd's, our schedule's aren't controlled by when it's on... and we can pause it anytime. We don't have anyone deciding not to go outside while it's light outside because their favorite show is on.

 

I still consider us tv-free, even though we choose programs to watch and watch them occasionally on dvd.

[RoundAbout]

I usually say we are TV free even though we still physically have a television (in our guest room, NOT the living room) and watch movies and some critically acclaimed TV shows (The Wire, Mad Men) in spurts.

 

We have been without cable or broadcast for about 10 years and watch probably 3 hours of stuff per week. I guess its not technically TV-free but it seems radical enough for most people.

[Allearia]

To me, tv-free means no tv, no movies, no internet tv, etc. Nada.

 

:iagree:

 

So although we do not watch cable/broadcast TV, I do not at all consider us TV-free because we watch plenty of DVDs and Netflix Streaming. I love some TV series and get the DVDs or watch online.

 

I would love to get a big screen TV soon because I love movies and shows. I will probably not get cable because, besides the expense, it would make it even easier to get sucked in and addicted to more TV. But we are not TV-free.

[sbgrace]

We have an antenna and last I checked we still got two of the network stations and one PBS. The last thing we turned on the TV for was the Olympics. No reason really except it's just a time waster and I prefer to waste my time in other ways! While I used to watch it some pre-kids (and pre-internet for us...) my husband never did watch much.

 

I don't think of us as TV free nor have I ever shared our viewing habits with anyone that I recall. Should something come up I'd turn it on--no big deal to me. We do watch a few videos for the kids occasionally (Liberty Kids specifically). Further, I'm here on the internet so I don't feel I'm eliminating screen time really.

 

Oh, I guess I'd think TV free would be not watching (via computer, DVD, or TV itself) television shows.

Edited February 16, 2011 by sbgrace

[yellowperch]

First, I never say "hey, I'm tv free." in conversation. It's the ultimate weirdo, "I'm a sanctimommy" red flag (that and homeschooling, actually). Who needs that, especially since I am not (a sancti-mommy that is).

 

Like several others, I had been completely TV-free (no tv, no dvds or movies, no computer/video/handheald games for the kids) for many years. A few years ago I started watching series on my laptop while riding my otherwise horribly boring stationary bike. I needed to work out, my kid-free daytime time was zilch and I could do the bike at night. The tv shows made it palatable (barely).

 

Now we have netflix streaming. I do watch a few times a week, either on my bike or when doing something really boring late at night (laundry, etc, bulkk cooking). My kids will watch something every two or three weeks--never more frequently because then the middle my 6 and 4 yos want more. It's a treat, and I'm good with it. My dh hasn't watched more than a movie a year or the World Series in the 16 years I've known him.

 

I think tv-free is as much a mindset as anything. I think it means that someone doesn't have "watching" as a central activity in their lives.

[Mallory]

Since I have lived on my own I have never had cable (which is a huge change from my parents who have always had the whole deal, movie channels and all).

 

Some times we have tvs, sometimes we don't, sometimes we have antennas, sometimes we don't.

 

The house we currently own (which is my forever home) is in a dead zone. No ones' cell phones work here (I don't have one of those either ;)), and you can't get any broadcast tv stations.

 

So while we have a tv and a VCR and DVD player, we don't get any channels.

 

I do not consider us tv free, although, especially when the weather is nicer, we can go for weeks without turning it on.

[redsquirrel]

We are TV free but not media free. I do not own a television and haven't in about 20 years. I do allow my kids to watch DVDs and netflix on the computer. It is pretty limited though. They have never seen commercial TV.

 

I got rid of it because I don't like corporate intrusion into my private space. Best decision I ever made and I can't imagine living with broadcast TV ever again.

 

I am considering getting a projector and a Kinect. I have two boys and I swear my house gets smaller every winter! I need something to help them burn off their energy.

[scrappyhappymama]

I don't consider ourselves to be TV-free since we do own a very nice flat screen TV. But we are cable-free, for many reasons.

 

We do subscribe to Netflix, so between DVDs by mail, Netflix streaming and DVDs we own, we always have plenty to watch whenever we do choose to watch TV.

 

I rarely miss having cable TV. I LOVE not having all the commercials and advertisements in our home. There are few network shows I'd care to watch anyway. When we do have cable, my husband will watch TV just to watch, without having a particular program in mind or time limit. Not having cable helps him to avoid that time waster (and lest I sound condescending, TV watching in that way is just not my thing, but I can easily idle away hours browsing blogs and (ahem) message boards). We all find that turning on the TV for a specific purpose, to watch a particular program, is a more purposeful use of our leisure time. Plus, there is a lot of drivel that contravenes our family values that I'd rather our family not have such easy access to.

 

The only time I miss having cable TV is for big sports events like the World Series or Super Bowl, and if a historic event is occurring. Normally, we're able to see sports events at friends houses (although we had the flu this year for the super bowl and it did feel weird to miss it altogether). And historic events are usually pretty well covered online, although I would prefer to flip on live coverage at those times.

 

If money were no object, I'd get cable and DVR, and simply record the few shows I might be interested in watching, and use it the same way we use Netflix streaming now. And then have it available for big events. But for now, it's too much of an expense for such limited use, when we have wonderful alternatives like Netflix available.

[Slartibartfast]

I see "TV-Free" as no television whatsoever.

 

We are not TV-Free, we mostly watch netflix.

[ereks mom]

I voted that tv-free means that you do not subscribe to satellite or cable, but watch DVD's or internet shows. Our family is not tv-free, and we have no intention of becoming tv-free. We have been DirecTV subscribers since 1998, and we have recorded and watched countless programs from concerts to history & science documentaries to sporting events to news to Bible programs to home repair & decorating to Christmas movies & specials. Television can be extremely educational, but for every worthwhile program that airs, there are also a zillion worthless programs as well. We've found that we have to be intentional about our viewing habits.

[Mrs Mungo]

I voted that it means you do not own a tv. My friends without cable say they don't have cable, they don't say they are tv-free.

 

Eta: we aren't the least bit tv free.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Mrs Mungo

[HistoryMom]

Also, with dvd's, etc, we avoid all commercials & advertisements, and also avoid sitting in front of it flipping through the channels when we are bored. (My husband and I would do this as much as the kids).

 

Also, with dvd's, our schedule's aren't controlled by when it's on... and we can pause it anytime. We don't have anyone deciding not to go outside while it's light outside because their favorite show is on.

 

Ironically, this is what we get from having the most TV technology we've ever had. Basic cable, TiVO, and Netflix is a great combination. No commercials, good options, no surfing out of boredom. If it's not taped or on Netflix, we don't watch it.

[Garga]

We got rid of cable, but I think we watch more tv now than ever. Instead of flipping thru a billion cable channels and finding "nothing good on tv", we have succumbed to Netflix and Hulu. Now that we can CHOOSE what we want, and it's right there at our fingertips, streaming instantly...we watch more than we did before.:glare:

 

We got rid of cable because it cost $80 a month to have it and we only watched 2 channels. Netflix costs $20, so we have a net save of $60. (Which we use to go to the Chinese buffet a couple times a month. :D)

[gingersmom]

We are cable free.

 

I have one television that is 25 years old and one is 18 years old. :001_smile:

 

Being cable free has significantly reduced the amount of television watching.

 

My son gets videos from the library and my daughter manages to find something online to watch if she wants to watch something.

 

On the weekends we usually will purchase 2-3 episodes of a show from itunes that we all watch together.

[DawnM]

I often wonder what people mean too because usually the "Oh, we don't watch TV" comment comes with an air of elitism. And then I find out that those same braggarts watch more Netflix and internet TV than I watch with Satellite TV!

 

It is a pet peeve of mine, a big one!

 

Dawn

[Dawn in OH]

tv free to me means that we don't have cable (or even non-cable) tv in our house. We still do watch dvd's of our favorite shows that we rent from the library, and we still watch movies. But it's easier to make sure that what we watch is what we *want* to watch.

 

Also, with dvd's, etc, we avoid all commercials & advertisements, and also avoid sitting in front of it flipping through the channels when we are bored. (My husband and I would do this as much as the kids).

 

Also, with dvd's, our schedule's aren't controlled by when it's on... and we can pause it anytime. We don't have anyone deciding not to go outside while it's light outside because their favorite show is on.

 

I still consider us tv-free, even though we choose programs to watch and watch them occasionally on dvd.

 

I guess this description fits us.

 

We don't care for most of the television programming aimed at children. We don't care for the advertising. We don't want people sitting on their butts watching TV just because its there. We don't want our lives to be ruled by what's on TV.

 

The kids might watch a movie after school and chores are finished if there's time. We watch movies when we are sick, or the weather is awful. We watch educational movies. We have a family movie night.

[secular_mom]

I don't say we are 'tv-free', I just say that we don't watch TV, but we do watch DVD's and Netflix Instant.

I LOVE not having commercials in my face constantly. I do miss some things about having cable, but we seem to be fine without it.

[aggieamy]

Even though we don't have cable I don't say we're TV free instead I just say we don't have cable and really don't watch much TV. Once in awhile DH and I will watch a Doctor Who episode or some other series after the kids go to bed and twice a month we do a family movie night and watch something we get from the library. Otherwise we don't watch any TV. We don't have cable for all three reasons. We're very frugal and can get anything we want to see from the library. DH and I detest all the commercials and marketing especially towards our kids and we really don't have much use for it. We have tons of things that we enjoy doing in the evenings instead of TV.

[forty-two]

I think of tv-free as not watching any dvds or shows/movies online, in addition to just not watching network/cable.

 

So I don't consider us tv-free b/c we watch dvds and stuff online ('till recently we had our comp hooked up to our nice 42" screen ;) - just need to get a longer cable to hook it back up) - hulu and netflix (and youtube, etc.). No network tv or cable, though.

 

I wanted to get rid of cable for a while, but dh didn't think he could live without it :tongue_smilie:. But then we had financial trouble, and cable had to go. And dh was surprised by how little he missed it. And when we could afford it again, dh was fine with staying cable-free. It's nice not having to worry about the commercials and whatnot, but we still watch too much stuff for my taste.

[BarbecueMom]

We don't have cable/satellite, and we don't watch network TV. We do watch stuff on Netflix, and I play about an hour of Call of Duty every night after the kids go to bed. I don't consider us TV-free though, because we still use the TV often. Commercial-free is more accurate.

[happypamama]

I consider us more or less TV-free. The children watch zero TV; DH and I keep up with one show (The Office) online (oh, and I am anxiously awaiting this summer's return of Rizzoli & Isles, LOL, which I watched last year online). We have no cable/satellite and like it that way. The children have limited screen time but occasionally play computer games or watch movies. DH and I spend too much time online <grin> and occasionally watch movies. We only started allowing movies for the kids less than two years ago and are still pretty selective. (It is actually kind of handy, because they know a few popular characters and don't look confused when the dentist gives them stickers, LOL, though we did have a pediatrician for a while who remembered that they were TV-free [they were 1 and 4 at the time] and made sure to give them non-character stickers.)

 

So maybe not 100% TV-free, but it's really not a huge part of our lives at all. We have one medium-sized TV and one tiny TV that has a VHS player attached to it, and both live upstairs in a rarely-used guest room

 

ETA: Why? Expensive, and if we had it, we'd feel like we needed to use it, and there's very little on that we actually want to see. I really dislike commercials and marketing heavily directed at children. I also don't like the addicted, "gotta see the next episode" feeling, nor the background noise of having it on all the time. And I just think kids especially ought to be doing other things than watching TV/movies, but at least with a DVD/VHS tape, it's easier to turn it off after a reasonable amount of time.

Edited February 16, 2011 by happypamama

[Laura Corin]

When we were in China I used to say that we were TV-free. We had a TV but we only watched videos. We couldn't stream programmes on the computer. For me, the difference was that our watching was intentional: we couldn't just switch on the television and sog in front of rubbish: we had to choose what to watch.

 

Despite having satellite television now, we have carried on doing roughly the same: except when someone is ill, we only watch things that we have recorded, rather than surfing for something to watch.

 

Laura

[Crimson Wife]

We don't have cable/satellite and get no broadcast reception. We do watch DVD's and play the Wii in limited amounts. It started out being a financial choice when DH was in grad school and then it became a lifestyle choice. I don't like the values promoted in the majority of TV programming. All the consumerism and the glorification of s*x outside of marriage, blech!

[myfatherslily]

I guess we are TV free - i.e. all our tv watching is free! I haven't had paid programming since I moved out of my parents' house 10 years ago. We had a few local channels with the antenna for a long time, but that died when they tried to make it "better" with digital. Now I have nothing. I don't want to pay for satellite (can't get cable) and I couldn't afford it right now, anyway:)

 

But I've never thought of us as tv-free. Cause we watch lots of tv!! Movies from the library, Hulu (I'd have the internet either way, so I still count that as "free"), movies borrowed from friends... We watch them on an boxy tube tv with the ancient normal-not-blue-ray technology;) If those things died today, we could still watch all the same stuff on my shiny iMac.

 

The only thing I miss is being able to watch the tv during severe weather (tornados).

[Classical Country Mama]

We are broadcast & cable-free, from January of last year when DH had been out of work for a while and we had to start dropping things. We still have the physical TV itself, but we rarely use it, even though we have approximately 3.36 bajillion DVDs.

 

I'll watch hulu or TV shows occasionally on my computer, and when I say "occasionally" I actually mean "fairly often," since I am married to my computer and it seems only right.

 

I am a blissfully happy hypocrite, however, and do not let the kids watch streaming anything. The princess is permitted to watch DVDs on Saturdays, but that's mostly because we didn't own a television at all when I was growing up (yes, they had been invented by then), and I think if I had been allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons, I might be, or at least appear, more of a normal person today. It's also partially out of guilt for ignoring her during the week while I'm working--the DVDs will hopefully prevent any bad parenting from finding a home in her long-term memory by destroying the appropriate brain cells.

[Soror]

TV free to me would mean not watching tv shows. I don't consider watching movies or tv on discs on the comp to be tv free. It is no different than watching them on a tv. We haven't had cable in at least 7 yrs IIRC. We do own a tv, it is hooked up to a blu-ray player- for Netflix and Youtube streaming. We generally have that in the winter and cancel it in the summer though. I prefer to keep the tv to a few occasions a week and most of that to be documentary. However, sometimes I am tired and lazy and let them watch especially if it is a weekend and the weather is bad and dh is working.

 

We don't have cable because of - frugality(we pay $10 for Netflix a mnth)- avoiding commericials and commercial tv-not wanting to spend so much screen time. I don't proclaim to others that we are tv free. We have been cable free for so long it is just the way it is. It is the norm in my group of friends though.

[angela in ohio]

We went TV free 4 or 5 years ago on Valentine's Day. Dh's gift to me was to smash up the entertainment center with a sledgehammer (dc helped) and throw the TV away. We were without any TV for a few years, but then we bought a flat screen for the Wii. We now watch DVDs (usually history-related movies and lectures) and network shows every once in a while (Watson on Jeopardy, for example, and a PBS special here and there.) I still consider us pretty much TV-free, because our use looks radically different than the average American's.

[Pretty in Pink]

TV-free, to me, means that one does not own a television.

 

We are cable-free, but not TV-free. We have a television.

[g7s22]

We are cable free-but not t.v. free. My husband and I watch a few network shows. The kids watch little to no t.v. , however they do watch movies on occasion. This is their only screen time, as we do not have video games and they don't really use the computer.

 

My real problem is the internet.. any time I saved by eliminating cable immediately was transferred to the computer!

[lailasmum]

Most of my friends are TV free we are the odd ones out. For them it means no broadcast tv & no physical tv in the corner (no cable here anyway). However all of them watch dvds and shows online on things like bbc iplayer. In fact I think several of them watch far more hours of this sort of entertainment that we ever would of broadcast tv.

[LibraryLover]

Not sure what the s/o is from, but I don't get the screen distinction...if you watch everything you want on a computer, how is that being TV -Free? Technically, you don't have a thing that is called a televison, but do have every option to watch whatever. :001_smile:

 

If you don't have a land-line phone, but do have a cell, are you telephone-free?

 

NO screen time is what I think when I think "TV -free'.

[Sahamamama]

I have been TV free for 21 years. That means I do not have a TV in the house.

For many (15) years, I was TV free in the sense that I did not watch any TV shows at all ever.

Now with online streaming, netflix and hulu, I am still technically TV free, but admit to watching the occasional show on my laptop.

My reason for being TV free: TV is a waste of time. All that time spent watching can be put top more productive use - and it's much easier to not watch if you don't have the TV in the first place.

 

This is us, except we don't watch movies on hulu, but get DVDs from the library.

[Punks in Ontario]

Well, I voted that tv free meant no TV. However we do have a TV and watch the odd news or show. We also watch some DVDs and videos - too much right now. We went this route initially for financial reasons and to limit screen time. I'm so glad we don't have commercials to deal with around here. I've been thinking about cutting any video time for a couple of months as I'm noticing we're watching more all the time.

[lauranc]

For us, TV free used to mean that while we owned a very old, small television, we kept it in a closet and only brought it out on the weekend for the kids to watch a DVD. (ie. didn't pay for cable.. no antenna.. just used it on the weekend to watch DVDs).

 

Then we got rid of the television (this was many years ago).

 

Now we are still TV free, *and* we don't have a TV either. :001_smile:

 

ETA: we still let the kids watch DVDs on the weekend, we just use the laptop instead.

Edited February 16, 2011 by lauranc
forgot to add

[MariannNOVA]

Semantics.:glare:

[AuntieM]

To me, personally, TV-free means no glowing box in the home. That would not include computers, which really have become easy to use for television shows (commercial and all).

 

We went cable free for financial reasons. I miss it, mostly when there are significant national/international events (ie, the recent Egyptian situation). But we have never been a family characterized my copious viewing.

 

My mom, however, has a tv in every room, all of them on, almost all the time. Often tuned to different channels. I can't hear myself think in that house.

[MariannNOVA]

My mom, however, has a tv in every room, all of them on, almost all the time. Often tuned to different channels. I can't hear myself think in that house.

 

THAT is my inlaw's house. I think their dining room is the only room that doesn't have a tv and everyone can be in there sitting at the table and the sets in the other rooms will be on. I have to get up and turn them off -- it makes me feel like my head is going to explode.

[Sparkle]

We do own several TVs but have no TV reception at all. We do watch a lot of DVDs. I have one or two TV shows that I watch online as does dh. We do not have Netflix either. So we are nearly TV-free but not totally.

[joannqn]

I agree TV free, imo, means you don't have a TV.

 

We haven't had cable in something like 10/11 years, but we got all of the broadcast channels via antenna. Since moving in October, we don't get any TV but we still watch it just as much via Netflix, and I miss some of the TV shows that we used to watch.