In the spring our community decided to conduct an experiment with our electronic entertainment. We decided to fast TV and video gaming for the summer. We went unplugged. We did allow for some fun in front of the Tube during one’s vacation and holidays, but generally we went cold turkey from the drug that TV can be. When I use the phrase “watching TV”, I don’t necessarily mean watching broadcast television, which few of us do, but I refer to any time one’s eyes are fastened to the flickering Tube that shoots pictures into one’s brain. Mostly that’s watching DVDs and playing video games.

We’ve been inspired by other communities we know who have “no TV” policies. Also, we wanted to find out just how much of a hold this medium has over us. Admittedly, it was a little difficult for most of us. It’s all too easy to pop in a DVD in the evening when we feel the day has been full of stress, or to let an embarrassing amount of time pass unnoticed while we aim to master a new game on a PC or gaming console. These things provide much pleasure, and in their proper place, a legitimate opportunity to learn, explore, and have fun. But, ah, that illusive concept of “proper place” is the problem. How do you know what that is?

Well, for one thing, the unplugged fast made it a lot clearer. Before the fast, “proper place” was a very subjective idea and all kinds of arguments could be raised to justify spending time with the Tube. “I’m too tired to read”, “My brain is gone”, “I had a hard day”, “I want to see that big news story”, “Just a couple more minutes until I get to the next level”, etc., etc.. But during the fast, those excuses and any others were just not valid. It’s a fast – that means no, none, zippo, nada, not an option! Wow, that’s clear. How many times do I have to tell myself that?

So the fast accomplished at least one thing: It showed us how much we were deceived. We mostly thought that we had a handle on this thing. But, truth be told, TV had a handle on us.

Next post I’ll share how we reacted to this revelation.