Life Without Television
When my family’s only television set went to the repair shop the other day, my parents, my sister, and I thought we would have a terrible week. How could we get through the long evenings in such a quiet house? What would it be like without all the shows to keep us company? We soon realized, though, that living without television for a while was a stroke of good fortune. It became easy for each of us to enjoy some activities alone, to complete some postponed chores, and to spend rewarding time with each other and friends.
First of all, with no television to compete for our time, we found plenty of hours for personal interests. We all read more that week than we had read during the six months before. ____________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ We each also enjoyed some hobbies we had ignored for ages. _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In addition, my sister and I both stopped procrastinating with our homework. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
Second, we did chores that had been hanging over our heads for too long.
There were many jobs around the house that had needed attention for some time.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We also had a chance to do some long-postponed shopping. ____________ _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________And each of us also did some letter writing or other paperwork that was long overdue._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finally, and probably most important, we spent time with each other.
Instead of being in the same room together while we stared at a screen, we actually talked for many pleasant hours.______________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Moreover, for the first time in years my family played some games together. _______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. And because we didn’t have to worry about missing this or that show, we had some family friends over a couple of evenings and spent an enjoyable time with them. _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Once our television set returned, we were not prepared to put it in the attic. But we had a sense of how it can take over our lives if we are not careful. We are now more selective. We turn on the set for our favorite shows, certain sports events, and the news, but we don’t leave it running all night. As a result, we find we can enjoy television and still have time left over for other activities and interests.