Turn Off Your TV Week - April 21 - 27

Don't let the boob tube rule your brain! Just Say No to TV, and celebrate Turn Off Your TV week April 21 through 27.

Sure, we all "don't watch a lot of TV," except that we do. It sneaks up on us. A whopping 66% of us watch TV regularly during dinner. According to a report by Reuters, the total average TV time per household in 2005-06 was eight hours and 14 minutes per day.

Like anything, it will be hard at first. What will you do without your Will and Grace re-runs while you eat your microwaved burrito? Or the Today Show while you apply your mascara?

But it will get easier. You'll remember that you meant to send your Grandma a card. You might pick up that book you were in the middle of last summer. You'll call a friend and go play frisbee. Earth Day this year falls smack dab in the middle of national Turn Off Your TV Week. Celebrate both by planting some trees... or if you live in the city, potting some plants.

Or maybe, just maybe, you'll go to the gym. After all, the rise of TV's popularity coincided with the rise in obesity. This is a second chance at that New Year's resolution!

I'm looking forward to the challenge. If my mom was right, my "square eyes" (commonly acquired by watching the television) will go away by the end of the week! Perhaps a few pounds will too...

Take a break from the television - you'll be surprised by what you accomplish. Or where your mind wanders. Or the friends and family you'll suddenly have time for. And let us know what you do instead of watching TV!

Don't let this be you!

"American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping. By the age of 70 they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives watching TV."

-- The Kaiser Family Foundation


Broken television courtesy of Jerk in the Box.
Square eye photo courtesy of Roll the Dice. Take a close look at his iris...
Couch potato photo courtesy of Brymo.