Help us stop watching too much TV

Marilyn54 said:

By way of introduction, my husband and I have been married 30 years - mostly happily. I have a practical question which prompted me to check out Christian Forums again. My husband and I tend to default to watching TV in our leisure times. We try to be particular about what we watch, but I think both of us are uncomfortable with a lot of themes in the shows. What I am wondering is, how have any of you found other things to do together rather than watching TV? Personal fatigue is often an issue with one or both of us. It's just too easy to sit and watch.

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My wife and I got rid of our television about 12 years ago and have never regretted it for one moment.
If we want to watch something, we either go online, or we get a second hand dvd.
We very quickly found that the TV addiction disappeared completely. TV is no longer a feature of our lives.

We never trawl the channels seeking to be entertained by some garbage till bedtime. We simply stick a dvd in, and if it's not to our desire, it gets switched off pretty quick and we read a book instead.
As there's only the two of us, we don't even have a TV screen taking up wall space, we just use the laptop.

We have a better grasp of news and current affairs from the internet than biased msm news channels.

There's an off button on the remote. Use it. Read a book, play a game. We don't have cable, we have streaming services which makes us far more choosy about what we watch.
Right now the TV is on almost 24/7 but my husband has terminal cancer that has spread to his brain so he doesn't really have the ability to play games/cards or read. The voices on the TV keep him from feeling alone overnight when I go to bed.

welcome to CF!

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I don't watch much, but my husband does. I'd like to play board games, scrabble, or similar if he liked games at all. Maybe even make a craft thing together.

I followed this thread because I was also looking for ideas of things to do other than TV when one or both of us are physically unable to get out and do a lot else due to fatigue. I'm disappointed that some of the comments seem to be so condescending - but, such is the internet, I guess.

I agree that playing board games or card games can be a fun thing to do. Another might be getting an inexpensive karaoke system - I've seen them sold for under $100 - and just singing from your couch for a night. It can be a lot of fun. If you both have laptops, maybe you could play an online RPG game together.

I've lived without a TV for most of my life, having had all the TV anyone could want in my youth. I'm still surrounded by people who have TVs so I can how easy it is to fall into the pattern of watching. There is a well documented addictive nature of the screen light's actions on our eyes that I have to constantly battle since I work in front of a screen at work, and many suggestions that watching close to bedtime interferes with good sleep. (And yes, I'm in front of the screen again right now in order to keep in touch with other believers.) I can say that in situations like long car trips or in the evenings with the kids, the kids and I have good memories of taking turns reading to one another. We went through a lot of good books, including long sections of the Bible, through the years. When I look back on those days, I'd have to say that the book togetherness was more effective than the sometime screen togetherness times, maybe because it's so much easier to pause and talk about what's being read, maybe because it programmed my voice into their heads in that pleasant setting rather than the voice from the screen. You've raised a good question and I hope you find good answers that work in your situation and in your walk with God.

Hi Marilyn,

Welcome to the forum!!

Your instincts are definitely serving you well on this topic. It's important that you enjoy undivided attention from each other each week in an interactive way in order to keep the "in love" vibes strong. TV per se is not the issue; it's that you're missing something when that is the default option for much of your time together.

It would be great to get out of the house during some of your undivided attention time, so you feel like you are doing something special together.

Here are some ideas for time, considering that fatigue is a factor:

--Sit on a park bench tossing bread to ducks while having a conversation exploring a topic of mutual interest.
--Pack up a picnic to enjoy together on a nice evening
--Take a drive to enjoy a scenic point, route or even the landscaping in the various homes you past
--Go to a place where there is dancing; order a glass of wine and enjoy the romantic, fun vibes. Perhaps get a few slow dances in for yourselves, too!!
--Sign up for a gentle yoga class together.
--If you can, go for a slow stroll on evenings when the weather is amenable - even if the stroll is short.
--Do an exercise DVD together, selecting an exertion level appropriate to your capabilities.
--Volunteer at a NICU unit together to hold babies, or at a nursing home to play cards with the residents.
--If you have a shared expertise, minister to others over the internet together. There are sections here on CF for almost anything. Are you a prepper? Got that here. A flat earther? Got that here. Can you share some of your life's wisdom with new Christians? There's a forum for that here, too. Want to fellowship with people your age bracket? Got that here too.
--Select a topic of mutual interest and purchase some books to study together and discuss.
--Find a Bible reading plan and read aloud to each other every day, discussing things that jump out at you in verses.
--Play some card games or board games together.

Hopefully this will help warm up your imagination for some types of things that might be mutually entertaining for you.

It's great to see you here, and I hope you enjoy your experience on this site.

Blessings,
E.

If I had my way, we wouldn't have tv. lol Or smartphones. Or tablets. Etc... We started out without a tv and did great until our oldest son turned around 5 and then things went downhill.
Anyway, we've both made very serious efforts to not watch so much tv this year. We read books, separately and listen to a Christian radio station. Or, instead of watching a "programmed" tv show we might watch a documentary or something of interest of our choosing off of youtube. If anything we've become very selective about what we watch. Instead of dumbing down the mind, intrigue it. I find watching tv does make me lazy. Like that's what its purpose is. To deliberately cause laziness. Maybe it's just me. I feel better just not watching it and finding something more constructive to do with my energy.

We used the tv to unwind but God wanted us to turn to Him instead. We enjoy Bible studies, listen to a sermon, praise and worship.

My wife and I used to be really addicted to TV. Lately our DVR has been piling up because we dont watch TV like we used to. Mostly we watch it at night before we go to bed for 2-3 hours. To pass the time outside of TV we like to watch sermons, listen to Christian books on audible, read the bible outside on our porch stuff like that. We also play video games together a lot and that really passes the time too. When I was growing up I watched a lot of TV but not so much anymore.

We took up ballroom dancing as an empty nest hobby. Now we go to the studio many nights for private or group classes or to practice instead of sitting on the couch. Great exercise and a fun thing to do together! Also trying just reading. I know you aren't reading the same thing but watching TV next to someone is hardly more much interactive.

Glad you are fighting the TV urge! I cut out TV (though I'm not saying you have to cut it out completely) and it was one of the best productivity improvements ever.