Throw Away Your Television

Marx (not Karl)

There is a quotation from Groucho Marx that I really like. It goes something like this: “I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.”

Couch slobs

What is in television that is so interesting, popular and widespread? With television you don’t need to think about anything, especially about everyday things and problems. That’s what makes television so attractive to most people. When you come home from work (if you have it) the last thing you want to do is think about meaning of life. It is easier to sit in your couch, take the remote in your hand and start switching channels. It makes you feel like you have control of your life, isn’t it? But it’s just opposite.

25 hours

People in the United States really like to have control over their lives. They have control on average of 25 hours per week. Let’s do some math: 25 times 4 equals 100 hours per month, which makes 1200 hours a year. And that’s 50 days per year! One year have 365 days, do you really want to spend 50 of 365 days watching television? Quite frankly, watching television is waste of time. We can spend those 50 days more productively: we can practice some music instrument, be so good at, start a band and make a lot of money! Or we can learn a foreign language: if you spend television time on learning foreign languages, just imagine how many languages you can learn! Or, you can read a good book. (By the way, literacy in US is not 100%, but guess what, it is in Cuba). Choice is yours.