One of the things my husband and I told ourselves about getting rid of cable is that it would cut down on the amount of time we spent watching TV. As previously mentioned, I am a big fan of flipping channels and settling on whatever random program catches my fancy _ a habit that, until recently, left me comfortably ensconced in front of the TV screen for a minimum of four hours a night.
I can hear the collective sharp intake of breath from English teachers, coaches and anti-television advocates at this statement. Four hours of TV every night? No exercise, no reading, no Scrabble games?
(Also, I think this admission makes it clear that my husband and I have no children. I'm led to understand that, were we to become parents, we might enjoy considerably less time lounging around in front of the TV.)
The ills of "screen time" _ be it television, computer, handheld device or whatever you fancy _ are well-documented. While most of the available literature seems to be aimed at parents, admonishing them to limit little Jimmy and Susie's screen time, there are plenty of people out there chastising adults for our seeming addiction to electronic devices of all shapes and sizes.
The Center for Screen-Time Awareness, formerly known as TV-Turnoff Network, is a nonprofit organization that encourages people to "(take) control of electronic media" rather than "allowing it to control them." The organization is best known for TV Turnoff Week, during which it encourages all households to go without TV for seven days.
According to the Center's website, "excessive use of screens for recreational purposes leads to a more sedentary and solitary lifestyle, and that is unhealthy for all of us, both mentally and physically."
A recent study conducted at the New South Wales Centre for Overweight and Obesity at the University of Sydney found a direct correlation between screen time and physical fitness _ or lack thereof. While researchers found the data to be stronger among girls than boys, they determined that young people who spent two hours or more per day in front of a screen _ large or small _ were less likely to be fit.
If this is true _ and it seems to be corroborated by plenty of other research _ I could be in big trouble. Although I'm not a teenage girl, I already spend my workdays in a sedentary state, sitting at a computer desk for 71/2 hours with minimal interruptions (i.e., trips to the vending machine). Then I go home and _ what else? _ get back in front of a computer, or watch TV.
So I thought less couch-potato time might end up being a beneficial by-product of going cable-free. With significant limits on what programs my husband and I could watch and when we could watch them, I would surely find other ways to entertain myself. I foresaw a winter filled with knitting, baking, housework and other industrious activities.
Not so, it turns out. While I have completed several knitting projects, I tend to do most of my knitting while watching TV. I'll admit that this does result in the occasional dropped stitch, but I have a laissez-faire attitude about such things and consider them to be part of the charm of handmade goods.
I have done some baking and even a smidge of housework, but for the most part, my screen time habits haven't changed much. We do watch TV, but I find myself spending more time on the computer. I think the Center for Screen-Time Awareness would consider it a wash.
Responding to the recent Australian study, physical activity researcher James Sallis offered some explanation as to why kids can't tear themselves away from the screen.
"It's like candy to a baby," Sallis told the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. "Lots of color, motion and flash to get them mesmerized."
I may not be as susceptible to the allure of flashing lights as the children in the study, but I do find the lure of the screen hard to resist. And thanks to Hulu.com, my current favorite website for watching TV episodes, I'll be glued to the screen on Tuesday night along with the rest of the nation, watching the 44th president of the United States as he is inaugurated into office.
Daily Star Community Editor Emily Popek is chronicling her cable-free lifestyle in "TV 2.0," a weekly column.
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