Living Without Cable

It's been about four years now that I've been living without cable TV, and you know, I don't regret that decision. Some people look at me rather strangely when I tell them that no, I don't know what happened on American Idol because I don't have TV. The look they give me is one of pity, that kind of look that says, "Oh my, she can't even afford TV!"

It started out that way, I admit. When my roommate and I first moved to this apartment, we didn't have the spare cash to get cable TV. But for the majority of our time here, we've had the money, and we still haven't gotten it. Why?

It just isn't worth it!

On rare occasions I'll visit somebody who has cable TV, and maybe we'll watch a show or two, and I'm reminded of what I'm really missing. Commercials that make little to no sense in regard to the product they're trying to sell. Advertising that relies on youth sex appeal to sell electronics that people don't really need. Dozens of great channels filled with shows that hardly anybody actually watches.

I don't need to spend $40 a month on that!

When it boils down to it, that's what I really would be paying for. At best, I can watch only one channel at a time, so the rest of the stations go unused, despite the fact that I'm still paying for them. And the liklihood of me finding enough interesting shows to watch to justify the expense is pretty slim, in all honesty.

Besides, there's always the risk of the trap I fell into once before, when my parents were paying for cable TV. I'd watch a lot of TV. 3-4 hours a day. Not necessarily things that I was interested in. Just stuff that was on that I didn't really mind. It was background noise, really. High-cost background noise.

If I want background noise that badly, I'll turn on the radio.

Although I live in Canada and my choice of free online TV is considerably more limited than in the US (we can't access Hulu up here, for example), there are still some shows that I can watch online, if I so desire. So long as I don't mind starting to watch in the middle of a story arc 4+ seasons from the beginning, that is. Most online TV channels assume you've been following along from the beginning and don't provide back episodes even though their TV-equivalent channel will frequently show reruns.

I have to admit, there are a few things that I miss about not having TV access, though. Mostly the educational shows and documentaries. I miss being able to turn the TV on and flick to the Discovery Channel or the Learning Channel and learn about some bygone civilization or the newest scientific discovery. I miss using TV to expand my mind, not to shrink it.

So what do I do instead of watching TV? Well, anything I want, really. I'm an avid reader and always have been, and a lack of TV gives me more time to read books. I do sometimes watch shows online. I write, here and other places. I craft. I listen to online radio and podcasts. I do a thousand and one little things that don't require TV to be on, and I do them happily. I'm not plagued by senseless commercials or thr worry about not watching enough to justify the monthly bill.

There are, it must be said, shows that I do enjoy, and often I've discovered them through friends or by watching an episode or two online. When this happens, I don't make myself go without. I'll go out and buy the season's DVD set, if I have the money. Instead of spending $40+ a month mostly on channels I'm not watching, I'll spend $60 every couple of months or so on a new season of a show I know I enjoy. Even if at worst I only break even in terms of cost, by buying seasons on DVD I'm guaranteed to be paying for something I want, and something that I can rewatch as many times as I like.

Living without cable is nowhere near as hard or depriving as some people make it sound. If you have any hobbies in your life other than watching TV, you'll find yourself with more time to do that, and it's not like you'll have no form of entertainment at all. You might actually find that you enjoy reading, talking to friends and family, or playing boards games, or any number of other hobbies that require attention but don't require you to turn on a flickering box.