Kill your television

Kill your television

My brother used to own a T-shirt store and one of the most popular
shirts for sale said, "Kill Your Television." I bought that T-shirt with the
picture of a TV being blown up. It still makes people nervous to look at
it when I wear it today.
You can actually change your life by turning off your television. Maybe

just one evening a week, to start with. What would happen if you
stopped trying to find life in other people's shows and let your own life
become the show you got hooked on?
Cutting down on television is sometimes terrifying to the electronically
addicted, but don't be afraid. You can detox slowly. If you're watching
too much television and you know it, you might find it useful to ask this
one question: "Which side of the glass do I want to live on?"
When you are watching television you are watching other people do
what they love doing for a living. Those people are on the smart side of
the glass, because they are having fun, and you are passively watching
them have fun. They are getting money, and you are not.

There's nothing wrong with occasionally watching other people do what
they love doing. But the average household now does this for seven
hours a day! Are they living on the side of the glass that will advance
their lives? (Big advertisers hope not.)
Here's a good test for you to determine if television motivates you more
than books do: Try to remember what you watched on television a
month ago. Think hard. What effect are those shows having on the
inspired side of your brain? Now think about the book that you read a
month ago. Or even the e-zine you read last week. Which made a more
valuable and lasting impression? Which form of entertainment better
leads you in the direction of self-motivation?
Today the growing fascination with going online is an improvement over
television, especially if you interact. Communicating inside thoughtful
chat rooms and sending and receiving e-mail both grow the brain.
Television does the opposite.
Groucho Marx once said he found television very educational. "Every
time someone turns it on," he said, "I go in the other room to read a
book."

I'm reading: Kill your television