whats the longest you have been without a tv

hmm I got rid of mine about 10 years ago so about ten years for me , whats the longest you have been without TV and do you think TV is bad for you, a addictive drug that controls your mind.

do you get withdrawal symptoms when you haven't seen TV

 

I think the longest has been about a fortnight. I do miss tv though now with the internet I might be able to do without it. I'm lucky in that living on my own I can switch off and be selective.

For too many people it is an addictive drug.

 

about a year. although obviously as i didn't live in a mudhut with no access to a modern world when i went round to friends houses or to my parents or the pub i would sit down with the telly on. i didn't run out of a room in horror and i had no objection to watching the TV. it wasn't some alternative rebellion against the subliminal messages searing into my brain from the goverment trying to get me to buy glade touch and fresh, at the time it was an extra £112 quid towards food and rent a year that i couldn't dish out on a license. i'm good now though and watch tv when theres something good on.

and no, i dont think its bad for you. TV can be very educational as well as entertaining.

and no i dont get withdrawl symptoms, and shit, i havent even bought a sofa from DFS and that ad must be in at least twice per break.

 

what kind of TV we talking about here??

 

that is a good point orison.
i'm using an msntv unit right now. the tee vee i got is about 13 years old. i have a digital converter box for it and, i'm in no rush to get a digital tee vee either.
i use tee vee mostly for the internet/web and, to watch dvds and streaming movies.
i don't have cable. it is just not worth the price.
when i do watch tee vee it is the educational stuff (pbs.)
mostly i listen to radio; things like college, educational, underground etc.

 

I went 2 years without a tv once, while I was in boarding school, but I almost never watch TV anyway, can't stand most of the shows on it.

 

I went without a TV for a year when I first came up to university. Those were dark days....

 

About a year when I first moved out from my mums. I couldnt afford one and decent shops were miles away anyway, plus I had other stuff on my mind

Actually I think we went without tele for longer when I was little, but I cant remember

 

while ive been away on holiday camping or something i guess, i like it on sometimes not to watch but just company if im on my own......that makes me sound like a old dear dont it??

 

Never watched it often anyway, didn't bother getting one when I came up to uni about 2 years ago.
Shit, I have 24meg broadband and a big external harddrive.. if I wanna watch a series I just download it, then I can watch it when I want, not when the BBC says I can.

 

i do that when my boyfriend goes away. we rarely have it on when hes home but in the evenings when hes away i put it on for company. i'm sure it's not an old people thing.....although the only other person i know that puts the tv or radio on for company was my gran, so maybe.

 

Just coming up to 20 years TV free.

I rarely ever watched it when I had one, and just decided I couldn't really justify the licence fee. Never missed it.

Now I have the internet , and also one of those small DVD players with a built in, so cant see much point in having one anyway.

Mind you - I've never been able to shake off the TV Licence people. Every couple of years I get letters threatening me with all sorts of dire things. I tell them the reason I dont have a licence is because I dont have a TV. They withdraw.

Two years later, its starts again.

 

i have been without a tv for around 2 year. im in a houseshare now and there is one down stairs. it bores me. i much prefer to get out and about and gain experiences rather than be dictated to by a square box. lol

 

haha when i had my own flat, i got letters from them saying that they have detected a signal from my flat and they will be paying me a heavy visit. i laughed and couldnt help but imagine how fun it would be if they came around and i showed them around the TV-less flat. They never did of course.

 

It's been nearly three years I think. Sent back my licence for a refund, gummed up the back of the TV and now just use it to watch DVDs and occasional downloads. I don't think it controls your mind, but the temptation is always to watch rubbish just because it's there, which isn't very good for your mind. I think film and TV can be brilliant medium but that you should be very selective with what you choose to spend your precious time on.

 

I've heard some horror stories, but they're pretty reasonable in my experience. I sent back my licence and got a refund for the half of the year that was left. The language they use in their letters is a bit off, always assuming that you are watching TV illegally, but they have to check, and as long as you keep them informed, they back off. I think they have a two year cycle where they will check if they haven't heard from an address in that length of time, since people move house. We had a chap round, showed him that the TV wasn't plugged in to anything other than the DVD player, and he left. Fair enough.

 

interesting. i always wondered about this. people tell different stories. i heard from one friend just having a tv in your house meant you had to pay a license, even if it was just for DVD and video games also if you watch BBC iplayer or 4OD you need a license?

 

No, you can own a functional TV, it's just watching or recording broadcasts as they happen (on any device) that's not allowed. It's all in the small print on their website. Of course, if they come round and find you've got a freeview box plugged in to the aerial you'll have a hard time convincing them that you don't watch TV. We gummed up the aerial socket on the back of the TV just to make the point clear.

 

And because lithium liked the idea of gumming up a socket.

 

Approx 15 hours...

I kinda miss watching my soaps. Nothing else. Thank god for the omnibus.