What if you removed TVs from your home?

A look back on life NOT centered around technology

Sebastian and I moved into our new home in November. The layout is open-concept with the kitchen overlooking the living room and the front door opening right into this space. There’s a large wall across from our kitchen space, all of which is currently empty.

The owner before us had beautiful teak shelving hung on this wall, making it a focal point of the space. However, we’ve left it bare for now, with our couch and writing chair pointed towards the empty wall.

Whenever someone comes over to see the house, the first thing they ALWAYS say is, “Wow, that would be a perfect spot for a TV!”, or “When do you think you’ll hang up a TV there?”. We are so ingrained as a culture to have a TV as the center of our living space. But why? What value do TVs bring us?

Americans have come to rely on TVs for entertainment. I’ve seen it firsthand with my parents growing up; after a long day’s work, they would come home and immediately plop down on the couch and turn on the evening news (sorry to call you out dad, I know you’re reading this). It was a way to destress from a stressful day and was done without much thought at all.

And trust me, I get it. Sometimes all I want to do is binge a Netflix show in bed with my warm tea and a bar of chocolate. After a day of working, it’s easy to just numb yourself with some mindless entertainment.

However, I’ve refused to pay for a TV and hang it up in our living room. If I’m going to watch TV, it’s from my tiny laptop screen, which isn’t nearly as satisfying as a large screen. I’ll discuss more why I am so against hanging up a TV in my home.

In this article, I want to talk about what life was like before TVs. What did people do for fun? Why was community more prominent? I also want to address why I think TVs are a large contributor to our depression and disconnection as a society.

What Fun Looked Like Before the TV

I love looking through old photos of my grandparents when they were younger, getting a glimpse into their childhoods. Many of their childhood photos were taken outside, with families and neighbors gathered on their front lawns. It wasn’t uncommon to see adults lounging in lawn chairs, soaking in the sun and chatting with one another while their children played around them.

They didn’t have phones or television, so the best source of entertainment was each other. Up until recently, my mom-mom could stay recall all of the names of her neighbors from when she was a little girl. That’s how important they were to her! They helped shape her into the woman she became.

How many of us even know our neighbor’s name today? When I lived in an apartment in DC, I didn’t know any of my neighbors’ names. We would all avoid one another in the halls or the elevators, fearful that we’d have to make small talk.

Not having technology forced those of the older generations to get outside and make their own fun. They leaned on each other for funny jokes rather than the latest sitcom. Instead of watching romance reality TV, they met one another organically.

Unfortunately, the rise in technology has kept us indoors more than ever. Most kids no longer play out in their front yards and adults keep to themselves. We instead interact with internet celebrities in order to feel like we belong rather than talking to people in our community.

Technology and TVs have helped us escape from reality. They have zapped us of the one thing that truly matters- building relationships with other people.

The Rise of TVs

I recently read a Substack post from

Homo Imaginari

about the history of TVs and how they are pulling us away from our communities. In fact, that post is what inspired this one!

He mentions that the average American spent a whopping 2.9 hours each day watching TV in 2021. This is double the average time spent watching TV in 1965.

Richardson says,

The average hours per day Americans spend socializing has declined in inverse correlation to the increase in television viewing, no matter how you measure it. Americans spend about 35 minutes daily, on average, socializing and communicating (i.e., with those beyond their home). Yet, we spend roughly five times more minutes each day watching that irresistible, near-infinite video content. 

Before TVs, we relied on books and radio as other forms of entertainment beside one another. However, reading involves your own imagination and radio only utilizes your hearing. TV is a whole different ball game because it requires NO imagination and engages both sight and sound.

TVs as a Source of Escapism

TV is a form of escapism. There is no way to sugarcoat it. We watch TV because we are bored and want to be easily entertained. We don’t want to have to think, use our imagination, or really engage at all. It’s mindless and numbing.

And hey, I’m not judging if you’re an avid TV watcher. It’s an easy pattern to fall into! I am definitely guilty of it. However, I at least recognize that I am using it to escape reality. It becomes a major problem when you aren’t aware of this.

A lot of people wonder why they are unhappy or unmotivated, but don’t look at their daily habits. While watching TV is an easy source of dopamine, it also has the ability to bring us down for this very reason. When you get a spike of dopamine, you also get a drop below baseline, causing sadness and a lack of motivation. It’s easy to fall into a cycle of constant hits of dopamine followed by troughs.

Unfortunately, we can’t walk away feeling accomplished after watching TV. Sure, it’s entertaining, but what are you gaining? You aren’t gaining a new skill, aren’t connecting with someone, and aren’t benefiting your health in any way. Rather than watching TV, we should be pushing ourselves to make deeper connections with others, discover a new passion, or truly relax.

And no, watching TV does not count as “self-care”. You are overstimulating yourself with blue light and unconscious programming. Instead, read a book or call a friend.

A warped sense of what matters

TVs expand our worlds exponentially. Before TVs, all that really mattered was your local community. Now, we hear about every disaster happening around the world in real-time, thanks to the news. We are programmed to live in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

We have more exposure now than ever to things that don’t affect our lives in any way. Call me ignorant, but we don’t need to know about what’s happening hundreds of miles away. It only adds more worry and fear to our lives when there is nothing we can do about it.

Before TV, there were way worse things happening that nobody ever heard of because of the lack of mass media. Guess what? Those in California survived despite not knowing what was happening in New York. We don’t need to be so connected. If we all focused more on making our local communities better places, the world as a whole would be a better place.

Why there won’t be a TV in our living room

I don’t plan on ever hanging up a TV in our living room. These last few years without one, I’ve come to enjoy the silence. There is never any background noise of nonsense. I can hear the birds and chickens in the morning when I wake up. The hum of the air purifier. The children laughing in the schoolyard behind our fence. Just the wholesome sounds of life and nature moving along.

Sebastian and I talk to one another while we cook dinner. We discuss random topics over our meals. We both know one another is fully present and listening (unless someone has their phone or laptop open, which we are guilty of sometimes).

There’s no temptation to turn on the TV “just to see what’s on”. If we don’t have something we specifically want to watch, we won’t watch it. I see a lot of people turn on their TVs instinctively when they’re bored. By not having one, we don’t ever have this instinct.

Instead, we will go outside, pet the dogs, or pick up a book. There are other things we reach for in sight that just make more sense.

Take action

Start by monitoring how much TV you are watching each day. Write down the hours each day and total them up at the end of the week. You’ll be shocked home much time is spent in front of a screen.

Then, write down all of the other things that bring you joy. What are some hobbies that you think you “don’t have time for”? Could those be done in the hours you spend watching TV?

Try to replace some of your TV time with your favorite hobby. Observe how fulfilled you are feeling. Are you feeling happier? Do you feel more accomplished?

This week I’m going to replace two hours of TV time with time spent sewing. I always think I don’t have time to sew during the week, but I know I absolutely have the time if I make the time.

I want to know how you do. What will you be replacing your TV time with?

Have a great week!

Madison