A few years ago I moved into my own place for the first time since college (I was 24 then). Since I had always had roommates I never had a reason to own my own TV. Since I now had to furnish a much larger apartment I decided to forgo a TV. What a difference that made. I was more well rested since I did not stay up until midnight zoning out in front of the tube. I ate much better since I took the time to cook a good meal and I didn't snack after dinner nearly as much. My apartment was spotless. I had time to take on a second job just for fun (helping build, then crewing on a replica of an 1812 privateer). I also started to read again. And I spent more time than ever (for me) sailing and kayaking (depending on the wind). The only thing I missed was the news, especially around election time.

The point of all of this is it finally sunk in how much time I was wasting doing nothing. I was also able to drag my friends along with me and get them out of the house more. Now I have a TV again, but I am very concious of how much I watch. TV, computers, and technology are not the problem. It's the people who use them and allow them to become a problem that are.