However, for me it’s been an interesting reflection of the impact such events have when you’re not surrounded by 24-7 media. We don’t have a TV here and we don’t speak the language, most of the people we know here are on holiday and our main source of news is the internet which at the time of the shooting we didn’t yet have access to. In other words we were isolated from the constant flow of information and shielded from the impact.
I experienced the same thing at the time of 9/11; then I was on a beach in Zanzibar oblivious to all that was happening. By the time I reconnected the media had made the decision to stop showing the attacks. It was months before I saw what happened and so while I could understand the shocking nature of it, agree with the evil, I was distanced from it.
The media connects people who are not connected, we can experience the power of the tsunami as we watch live the wave destroy all in its path, we can watch the tears of the survivors of shootings and bombings and we are affected. But we are also numbed, because it is momentary and as the media moves on so do we. The experience is temporary and short-lived however real we may have felt it at the time.
For me the distance from the media meant that I approach reading about this with a little more discernment as I wasn’t being numbed by constant coverage and endless repetition. I read how early reports of Breivik’s Christianity is overstated and wrong and this use of religion is often inaccurate and inflames the idea of a culture war; he’s more racist and mad and isn’t even sure if he believes in God. I read how Europe is still home to dangerous radical extremism of its own and not just of the Islamic kind. I read of how our culture struggles with the concept of forgiveness and vainly hopes that humanity will get better. Distance helped with discernment.
What happened in Norway was and is a tragedy, as were the thousands of other tragedies happening all over the world on the same day in Libya, Congo, Somalia, Mexico and goodness knows where else. But perhaps we might respond better if we had less not more media, not in a less detached way but a more discerning way and that if anything is what we need from our civil leaders.
Here’s one of his ‘milder’ (ahem) explanations:
“It is not necessary for relevance. And it is a deadly place to rest the mind. Its pervasive banality, sexual innuendo, and God-ignoring values have no ennobling effects on the preacher’s soul. It kills the spirit. It drives God away. It quenches prayer. It blanks out the Bible. It cheapens the soul. It destroys spiritual power. It defiles almost everything…It is unnecessary for most of you, and it is spiritually deadly for all of you.”
You should read the whole thing including the comments
But now it’s been a whole year and it’s a chance to reflect on life without a TV. What have we gained and what, if anything, have we lost?
It’s harder to think about what we may have lost because on the whole I think it’s been an excellent decision for us. Initially there were evenings where the lack of easy access to entertainment felt like a loss but that was part of the problem and the point.
We’re not nearly as involved in the ‘cultural conversation’ any longer even though that conversation isn’t always very cultural. I have no idea who is even on Strictly Come Dancing and I’m oblivious to X-Factor. Frankly I’m OK with that. I don’t know who Wagner is, I don’t really want to know and I think my life is probably better off from not knowing. I plan on keeping it that way. But we’re not involved in that and because for so many people their conversation revolves around what they watch instead of what they’ve read or done then we’re not as connected to that.
On the plus side I’ve read 50% more books this year than the year before. I doubt that’s a co-incidence. I’ve accomplished more, I’ve felt like I’ve wasted time less and I’m not as tired. Partly because with the TV went console games which I initially missed a bit but the benefit to my spiritual life far outstripped not being able to play Call of Duty.
I still think we default too quickly to closing the door and opting for the screen as entertainment, to watching a DVD or film – the other options are all more effort. But you get out what you put in, right?
But I’m delighted to not have adverts in my home and in front of my kids. Our front room is set up to talk to people not watch a screen and there’s more space. I feel more in control of what we watch, when we watch and how much we watch – which is odd because I could have switched the TV off but mostly I didn’t.
Will we get a TV again one day? Maybe, who knows but what I do know is that right now life is better without and you won’t see an advert saying that this Christmas.
There were some interesting asides too such as,
“The poorer the households, the more television is watched. As such, it is extremely difficult for them to separate the effects of deprivation from television.”
And also the obvious but critically important,
“Of course, the thing that really makes the difference for a baby is interaction with a caregiver and there is nothing we can invent as a people substitute.”
If you want to think more about this, have a watch of the video play (also on the right hand side of this blog’s home page) or at Conspiracy of Freedom. Just a few minutes long but really thought provoking on the care and thought we give to our children.
“Yet as it is, television most often caters to our own worst instincts, driving us to base our identity in what we’re able to purchase, hijacking our hopes with the emptiest of slogans and scenarios, and wasting our sympathies on tales that are devastatingly shallow and sentimental. It can even be argued that our relationship with television has crippled our ability to recognize, within ourselves, the need for a better way. We’re numbed to our own deterioration. Actor/entertainment personality, Ben Stein has prophesied that by the year 2030, it will all be pornography. (Dark, p43)”
Read the whole thing
So the World Cup has just finished and of the total 64 possible I watched just 3 (two England matches and the final). Four years ago I watched more than that live in the stadiums let alone on TV and you know what, I don’t think I’ve missed anything. I watched the highlights on iPlayer and saw all the goals and read the reports, so my football interests were satisfied.
But I wasn’t caught up in the hype, I didn’t see a single advert, I wasn’t consumed by something that lasted a mere month. I think it helped with a bit of perspective which TV can skew so easily, the world is shaped by what we see, by what we react to on the TV as much as anything else. I don’t miss the TV and I’m glad that at the age of two my son still isn’t really aware of the existence of a TV.
To be honest I still live too much of my life in front of a screen but it’s down to just one screen now. I’m not wasting time on consoles (if you’re a parent you can scare yourself by reading this article and seeing the pictures! pdf) and we don’t have a TV any longer.
The battle is now with the laptop, to controlling the urge to check emails just before going to bed (how pointless is that?) or read the news headlines constantly. I’m resorting to strong measures (I’m using this programme) to help me focus and shift my energies into more worthwhile and enjoyable things.
Screens are everywhere now, life is mediated through a screen, and I’m becoming aware that for myself this technology is a great servant and a terrible master. I prefer real freedom and real life rather than the sort I see on TV.
I haven’t missed it. Hardly at all, we’ve watched some films on computers and a couple of progammes online, but most of the time just not thought about it (not even enough to blog about it). (more…)
Got any more?
But I’m missing it from being just your plain old ordinary ‘amazing’ to the ‘even more amazing’ High Definition amazing. I had no idea there were grades of amazingness, but it seems there are. Because the next time I’m witnessing an historic event, like say the pictured inauguration of America’s first black president, it will become even more memorable because I’m so impressed by the picture quality. Is it just me or is that a load of rubbish? (although they may be right about the Aussie wicket thing)
But of course some people do love their TV, it is their comfort, their drug, their soothing noise in the background, the faithful provider of constant news, information and entertainment. Until the advent of the internet no one informed you of gossip better than the TV. It is their source of morality and the big difference between Big Brother and reality is that there’s no TV in the Big Brother House making it very unreal and not in a good way.
But now the more amazing TV is apparently, ‘for everyone’ and Sky calls you to ‘believe in better.’ Believe in better. Absolutely, couldn’t agree more. People should believe in better. They should believe in a better world where children don’t die for lack of food, water, safety, medicine. They should believe in a better environment, just societies and trains that work. People should believe in the better that resides in the teachings of Jesus. But believing in better doesn’t mean going out and buying a better TV and subscribing to Sky. Sorry, it just doesn’t.
So if you’re curious to know what I’m ranting about – watch the video here
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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