The Case for Not Having a TV(lopespm.com)
lopespm.com
The Case for Not Having a TV
https://lopespm.com/notes/2023/05/04/the-case-for-not-having-tv.html
43 comments
Same, since leaving for uni I've not had a TV. My mum keeps the TV on all the time for company or something, which is very annoying when you call up and its blaring out in the background. She doesn't turn it down for video calls either.
Now that I've got my own kids we still don't have a TV. We've just a few laptops so streaming shows can be watched wherever.
Now that I've got my own kids we still don't have a TV. We've just a few laptops so streaming shows can be watched wherever.
>Now that I've got my own kids we still don't have a TV. We've just a few laptops so streaming shows can be watched wherever.
The problem with this is that laptops are a terrible way of watching a streaming show (or anything else) if you're more than 1 person. A large-screen TV is much nicer to sit in front of when you have a couple or group watching the same thing.
But these days it's getting really hard to know what people mean by "watching TV" or "owning a TV". Do they mean watching over-the-air broadcasts with ads? Or do they mean using a large screen as a glorified monitor, connected to the internet for streaming shows or for watching pre-downloaded movies? The use-cases are quite different.
The problem with this is that laptops are a terrible way of watching a streaming show (or anything else) if you're more than 1 person. A large-screen TV is much nicer to sit in front of when you have a couple or group watching the same thing.
But these days it's getting really hard to know what people mean by "watching TV" or "owning a TV". Do they mean watching over-the-air broadcasts with ads? Or do they mean using a large screen as a glorified monitor, connected to the internet for streaming shows or for watching pre-downloaded movies? The use-cases are quite different.
> The problem with this is that laptops are a terrible way of watching a streaming show (or anything else) if you're more than 1 person
Well, I'd agree but my wife and kids don't seem to care. They'll all huddle around a 14" laptop while I'll be like "we could at least use my large monitor?"
Well, I'd agree but my wife and kids don't seem to care. They'll all huddle around a 14" laptop while I'll be like "we could at least use my large monitor?"
That's weird. Different strokes I suppose...
What is tv? Is youtube tv? Is tiktok tv? Is netflix tv? Does it matter if the screen is 6" or 60"? Does it matter if the content is 5mins or 50mins?
I have a 65" 4K TV, but I don't have cable or a TV antenna. I watch all of my content from Netflix, YouTube and other sources. I wouldn't put up with ads.
Yeah, same here. I have my own ad-free sources of content (usually supplied by USB stick...), and never watch OTA (over the air) TV.
So, do I "have a TV" or not? I'm not sure, because "having a TV" seems to frequently imply watching OTA TV with ads, like people did in 1975.
So, do I "have a TV" or not? I'm not sure, because "having a TV" seems to frequently imply watching OTA TV with ads, like people did in 1975.
The concept of watching cable TV with premade programming and ads seems extremely dated to me, and to most people of my generation, I imagine.
Exactly. I watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, and quite a bit of Youtube. That's it. I haven't had a TV for the last fifteen years though. Broadcast television is completely irrelevant to me. I don't really care about watching sports so I don't miss that.
I mostly consume media on laptops or desktop PCs. Watching on mobile is tedious for me; so I don't do it. I consume news in written form so I don't care for the editorialized dramatized version that is still popular on TV. Whenever I see that (on other people's TVs or in hotels) it always strikes me how dull, one sided, stale, and boring that content is. Just not a very efficient way to learn about what's actually going on in the world. Which I do care about, especially international news. And not having video, makes me a bit more detached from the drama. I get the facts but not the "OMG this is so terrible" infotainment angle that CNN and others thrive on. Whether it's tsunamis, earth quakes, political scandals, etc. I read about it and then move on with my live. I don't need to see the dead bodies in the street, see some weeping people, hear some outraged people commenting, etc.
I have ad blockers so I never see ads on Youtube. So, it's a completely ad free experience to me. The only sponsored content I see are in video promotions on Youtube.
I mostly consume media on laptops or desktop PCs. Watching on mobile is tedious for me; so I don't do it. I consume news in written form so I don't care for the editorialized dramatized version that is still popular on TV. Whenever I see that (on other people's TVs or in hotels) it always strikes me how dull, one sided, stale, and boring that content is. Just not a very efficient way to learn about what's actually going on in the world. Which I do care about, especially international news. And not having video, makes me a bit more detached from the drama. I get the facts but not the "OMG this is so terrible" infotainment angle that CNN and others thrive on. Whether it's tsunamis, earth quakes, political scandals, etc. I read about it and then move on with my live. I don't need to see the dead bodies in the street, see some weeping people, hear some outraged people commenting, etc.
I have ad blockers so I never see ads on Youtube. So, it's a completely ad free experience to me. The only sponsored content I see are in video promotions on Youtube.
I just don't see how not having/watching TV in 2023 is a special thing to be discussed here anymore.
Tbh to me in 2023 watching actual broadcast tv is more special than not.
And it's not even an interesting statement
I don't have a TV. I mean I still watch YouTube and movies and stuff. Just on different form factor.
I don't have a TV. I mean I still watch YouTube and movies and stuff. Just on different form factor.
[deleted]
It's like telling people you don't use Facebook.
It depends if "TV" just meant broadcast TV, or if it is: no broadcast TV, no Netflix, no Disney+, no Amazon Prime, no Apple TV, no MUBI, no DVDs, no on big-screen games, no small-screen games...
But we did not watch TV before it was cool! /s
I have no TV in my living room now, just a projector that lives in the closet. It puts some friction between me and sitting on the couch to watch something. It just takes a few minutes to set it up, but it's enough to keep it to occasions when I really do want to watch something that way or have people over.
I wasn’t allowed to watch TV as a kid so I read books instead. You might think this did something for my brain but it didn’t. I don’t remember a thing I read and my vocabulary doesn’t stand out. The main thing I remember is being alienated from others and missing out on cultural touchstones. There are fewer cultural touchstones happening on TV but to the extent there are, I think they are still worth having a TV for.
Does having a TV but not using it as one counts? Mine is only used for streaming services, and the game console connected to it. So, not a TV, but a rather large high quality display.
I haven't watched 'TV' in any traditional sense for over 20 years.
I either pirate (proudly; piracy is a net good for society and will eventually be normalized), or pay for nor DRM digital media, see stuff in theaters, or buy physical discs.
Not to mention gaming and browsing has taken a lot more of my time than simply watching something because it happens to be on.
I either pirate (proudly; piracy is a net good for society and will eventually be normalized), or pay for nor DRM digital media, see stuff in theaters, or buy physical discs.
Not to mention gaming and browsing has taken a lot more of my time than simply watching something because it happens to be on.
Haven't had a TV for 30+ years, don't intend to start.
The last time I watched actual live TV was the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.
And even then I had to quickly find an antenna cable from the Box of Cables I'll Certainly Need Someday, only because the web stream was so unreliable at the time.
After we moved out of that place, I never bothered to pack up the antenna cable and threw it out. We've been Bluray/DVD and streaming only from that point on.
It would've taken longer, but I don't follow sports, so I don't need "live" TV even for that. And even then there is a 0-60 second delay on the "live" tv compared to some streams. (The upstairs neighbours cheer for a goal a good 15 seconds before I see it on my stream :D)
And even then I had to quickly find an antenna cable from the Box of Cables I'll Certainly Need Someday, only because the web stream was so unreliable at the time.
After we moved out of that place, I never bothered to pack up the antenna cable and threw it out. We've been Bluray/DVD and streaming only from that point on.
It would've taken longer, but I don't follow sports, so I don't need "live" TV even for that. And even then there is a 0-60 second delay on the "live" tv compared to some streams. (The upstairs neighbours cheer for a goal a good 15 seconds before I see it on my stream :D)
this is such a hacker news blog post
It smells like Medium.
Too outdated to be a “hacker news blog post then”. Needs to be hosted on the most insufferable substack you’ve ever read.
I just started adding TVs to more rooms: the office, the garage, and now thinking maybe the bathroom. TV makes boring things less boring, like cooking, working out, and getting ready.
Sounds like you should try watching TV while you watch TV!
You jest, but for things like breaking national news/big weather events it can be nice to have so much data available.
I've not had a TV for more than a decade and a half, never had the idea to write an article about it.
only boomers have tv now we waste time on the internet and our apps
Yep. Basically, TV 2.0.
I wonder if the next such trend, maybe among gen alpha or their progeny, will be "I don't use the internet".
I wouldn't even know how that would work, then again, I'm sure someone in the 80s wouldn't have been able to imagine life without TV.
I wouldn't even know how that would work, then again, I'm sure someone in the 80s wouldn't have been able to imagine life without TV.
not "the internet", but maybe tiktok and friends.
not having a tv in 2023 is like not having a fax machine. yea, cool. you and everyone else of your generation. but like people above said, maybe you don't have a tv but you waste 4 hours a day on TikTok. I don't see how it's different. nothing to be proud of, if you're just wasting time on "tv 2.0".
not having a tv in 2023 is like not having a fax machine. yea, cool. you and everyone else of your generation. but like people above said, maybe you don't have a tv but you waste 4 hours a day on TikTok. I don't see how it's different. nothing to be proud of, if you're just wasting time on "tv 2.0".
"I don't use the web," is more likely.
Even more likely is, "I never use the web directly: I have my agent / AI interact with the web on my behalf".
Even more likely is, "I never use the web directly: I have my agent / AI interact with the web on my behalf".
>I wonder if the next such trend, maybe among gen alpha or their progeny, will be "I don't use the internet".
They're already doing it: they don't use Facebook, which in the minds of the Boomers equals "the internet".
I personally haven't used the internet in ages: I have an ad-blocker on all my browsers.
They're already doing it: they don't use Facebook, which in the minds of the Boomers equals "the internet".
I personally haven't used the internet in ages: I have an ad-blocker on all my browsers.
There's a pattern to these things. Television has always been overrated. Same with radio. We will look back and say the same things about iPhone. You laugh now, but I promise it will happen. Just hope our next thing is something we can switch off.
> Just hope our next thing is something we can switch off.
neuralink braindance
neuralink braindance
snvzz(1)
It's really weird visiting relatives houses now, where the norm is to have the TV on all the time. Like... how do you have a conversation over the noise?