Could you go without TV? These people do — and say it makes them 'feel freer.'
For Mina Grace Ward and her family, living a TV-free life started way back in 1994. “A family challenge was broadcast nationwide called ‘TV Turnoff Week.’ I thought it would be fun to give it a go at our house with our then-little boys, so we did it,” remembers Ward. “No telly for a whole week — and it was amazing!”
As her four sons grew up, they repeated TV Turnoff Week each year. In 2009, they decided to give up their TV for good. “It wasn’t lightly considered by any means,” Ward, a California-based author known as Graves' Disease Chef, tells Yahoo Life. “We gave away our big-screen TV in exchange for so much more for our family."
On average, Americans spend three hours per day watching traditional television. When you factor in an eight-hour workday, and an optimal eight hours of sleep, that becomes 40% of your free time. Those three hours don’t even begin to account for the hours of daily screen time spent on phones or other devices.
But not everyone is tuning in. In an era of seemingly endless streaming options, some folks and families are keeping their homes TV-free. Here's what it's like.
Why people turn off their TVs for good
For Jim Kurczodyna and his wife Joelle, who live with their four kids in Illinois and run the site From Scratch Farmstead, the decision to opt for a TV-free life was a reaction to how they grew up. “A big part of it was reflecting back on our own childhoods and the significant amount of time spent in front of the TV,” Kurczodyna says. “When we had kids, we knew we wanted to start off without screens because we figured it would be a lot easier to just make that the norm upfront than to try to remove them later.”
Similarly, Ward’s interest in losing the TV also had roots in her childhood. “I grew up in a house raised by a single mom who worked really hard to raise my siblings and me. The TV became the babysitter to my baby brother and me,” she says. “I didn't want that for our boys. I wanted them to know that we didn't need to always have the TV on.”
For others, they find the lure of the TV to be too strong and so they opt to quit while they’re ahead. Such was the case with Jodi Lynn Karpes, who lives in Florida. “Simply put, I discovered that owning a TV consumed an excessive amount of my free time and drained my energy. I intuitively know that it isn't healthy for me,” she tells Yahoo Life.
And for others still, the choice is more than a simple lifestyle switch. “I’m a Benedictine Oblate,” says etiquette expert Jo Hayes, “which means I live according to the monastic rule of St. Benedict. No TV is part of the monastic lifestyle, helping us to create a prayerful atmosphere in our homes.”
Are there downsides to a TV-free life?
Elle Farrell-Kingsley is an AI and policy researcher and advocate for ethical tech development who has never really had a television. “Small talk can sometimes be tricky when people discuss the latest series or shows,” she admits. “Mentioning you don’t own a TV can make others feel like it’s a critique [on people who do], though it’s just a personal preference.” But, she notes, that hurdle is easily overcome. “I’ve found that finding other interests often leads to great and meaningful conversations instead.”
And in today's modern world, nearly everything can be found online so even families without TVs can find ways to watch something if they really want to. “If there is ever anything we want to watch — the Super Bowl or presidential debates come to mind — there are ways to stream it on the internet for free,” Kurczodyna says. “Or you can usually sign up for a free weeklong trial of some streaming service for free if needed and then cancel it after you watch the thing.”
What about the upsides?
“We spend so much more time engaged with each other when we're not distracted by the noise of a TV,” says Ward of how her family interacts without a TV in the mix. “We play board games. We play bingo. We tell jokes. We spend time as a family the old-school way.”
Kurczodyna adds that no TV means there’s more room for family togetherness. “We read aloud as a family every evening before our kids go to bed, or before nap times,” he says. “Our kids also love audiobooks, which allows them to listen while pursuing other hobbies like sewing or art.”
“For me, skipping TV creates space for hobbies, learning and self-improvement. That extra time has made all the difference in pursuing my goals,” says Farrell-Kingsley, who credits her TV-less life with her ability to explore different interests. “Living without television isn’t about sacrifice,” she says, “it’s just about spending time on things you enjoy!”
“We live in a world that is so full of distraction and temptation," adds Karpes. "For me, removing TV from my home is empowering, smart and opens up opportunities for more meaningful and productive ways to spend my time. The biggest advantage is that I feel freer.”
