It was around this time of year in 2008 that we made one change that improved our quality of life.

I disconnected our TV antenna. We have no broadcast television or cable.

Some of things that TV is really good at:

They get you caught up the next show before it’s even started making it easy to spend several hours when you originally planned on one.

They give you little tidbits of news so you think you need to watch the news. Then when you do you get 30 seconds of a story, often with misleading conclusions. I think I am much better served by reading my news.

How many shows get you emotionally caught up in a STORY played by ACTORS. Its funny to think how often we talk about these shows and characters as if they are real.

Some of the ways it affects us:

About 20 years ago a story in Newsweek talking about how TV distorts our sense of living. People in TV shows live in nice apartments, have nice things and do lots of things. But how often do they work? At the time they concluded that for every hour per week you spend in front of the TV you spent about $1000 more per year.

It’s a distraction. I cannot be in a room with a TV on and have a conversation with someone. I end up half participating in the conversation and half catching what’s going on in the show and not doing either one very well.

I’m not saying TV is all bad. I just know that my life is better without it.