Today I read an article online that said the average American spends the equivalent of 2 months each year watching television. That sounds like a huge number (and it is), and at first I thought "hey, at least I'm not that bad!" And then I realized, no, I'm worse. My family watches more television than that each year. And I suspect that many of my friends and family would find themselves in the same boat if they took an honest look at their television watching.
It breaks down in my mind like this: if we get home at 5 p.m. from our jobs and have the television on until bedtime around 9 p.m. (conservatively speaking) that is 4 hours per day. Multiply those 4 hours by 365 days per year and that is 1,460 hours of television, or 60 full days of television per year. That's two months of tv, and that's not counting any weekend television-show marathons. What could I, and my family, accomplish with an extra two months added to each year?
So tomorrow morning I'm canceling our cable, and unplugging our televisions.
Let me explain. I didn't think our television watching was out of control, because we are usually doing something else at the same time. My husband and I are usually cooking dinner, playing with our daughter, eating dinner, catching up on the day - the television is on, "in the background." We don't generally have shows that we "have" to watch. We don't usually stay up too late because of television programming.
But did you know that the average parent says around 940 words in an hour, but that with the television on, that number plummets to 770? So really, how "in the background" is our tv usage? And how many opportunities to teach my daughter about the world, or to connect with my husband am I missing? So, speaking in averages - if I am NOT saying 170 words per hour because of television, that's 680 words per night. Or 4,760 words per week. Or nearly 250,000 words per year, lost to the abyss of television. And if my husband does the same thing, that comes to 500,000 missed words in our home. Half a million words per year! I'm not okay with that.
I feel a little preachy, and soapbox-y right now. And the choice to be TV-free does not mean that we won't go to the movies for a special night out. Or catch up on the news online. But I think it will help us to refocus our lives on what I think is most important.
Tomorrow I'm going to give my dogs the extra attention I don't usually find in the day. Everyone will get brushed, and played with in the yard. I'll pick up my flute and play a song for my daughter who has never seen me pick up an instrument. I will read a new book to my baby girl, and start one of the many books that have been collecting dust on my shelf. I will devote time to develop my graphic design and writing skills.
What could you say with an extra 250,000 words and two months per year?
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