by Natalie Johnson

Created on: January 20, 2011

Television has become such a normal part of our everyday lives that many people will find you “crazy” if you decide to give up television. However, you might actually be “crazy” not to give up television. Here are ten reasons why you should definitely consider going without:

1. Discover more time:

The average American watches approximately 2.8 hours of television per day according to the

American Time Use Survey; that’s 1022 hours a year. This is time that cannot be regained, and could be utilised much more efficiently. Many people believe it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something.  What would you like to be an expert at? By forfeiting television, you will regain time that you can then invest towards achieving your goals.

2. Reconnect with your loved ones:

When you’re on your deathbed, thinking back and reflecting on your life, would you rather remember the time you spent with those you love, or would you fret because you missed the final episode of Lost? All too often you can get so caught up in the lives of fictional television characters that you forget to notice those real characters around you.

And for parents, sometimes it’s only when the television is off that you realise just how easy it has been to let the television babysit your children. It’s not okay.

3. Improve your health:

A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that watching over 2 hours a day of television can increase your risk of heart disease, regardless of how much exercise you may do throughout the rest of the day.

Watching television also involves inactivity. Excessive inactivity can lead to obesity and related diseases.

To stay healthy, it is best to try and limit or avoid television as much as possible.

4. Save money:

Watching a small television for an hour costs about $0.01 in electricity (according to a Generic Energy Calculator). A large television costs $0.03 an hour. A projector television costs $0.05 an hour. If we calculate this figure by the average 1022 hours spent watching television in a year, a small television (13” – 21”) costs $10.22 annually, a larger console television (21” – 36”) costs $30.66 annually, and a projector television costs $51.10 annually. While this seems pretty minimal, this is just for power.

Cable subscriptions, satellites, and other accessories, add further costs every year. The television set itself also costs money.

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