When I was a young boy, I remembered having a huge wooden television. This monster had a big old dial that you have to turn in order to change the channel. Technology changed fast. It was just a few years later and Cable television became the luxury standard replacing antennas. PBS was a channel we watched if we wanted to learn something and Fox was just entertainment. In the recent years, I've noticed a trend that I didn't like. Reality TV blew up and the shit started going downhill. Every channel became crap. MTV stopped playing music. News channels stopped reporting objectively and worked on feeding us propaganda. I got fed up with the garbage. It was mindless. I've quit watching television for about 5 months now. I get most of my information online anyways. The cable subscription wasn't worth it. It was time to quit.

While I was fine quitting, my girlfriend had a harder time adjusting. Her addiction to MTV's fake "reality" shows took a toll on her. She was now watching them online. While she argues that I spend hours on the computer, I defend it saying that it is better than tv since I can choose what to read and watch. I like having the control and I like learning about different topics since quitting television.

With my new found knowledge, I have quit eating at fast food restaurants. I have also quit playing video games and I have switch to Linux. After watching "Supersize Me", I have been eating healthier and I started a new hobby. Working on electric bikes.

I went deeper into politics and how the world works. Though the truth hurts, I am grateful that I had the chance to learn about the many facets of life. I learned that knowledge is very important. We have to take responsibility for our own education.

Did you know that television can hypnotize you? They emit these "alpha waves" that move up and down the screen at different intervals. You can't see them with the naked eye. You can only see them with the help of a video camera recording it. Very interesting.

These alpha waves sometimes intensify during key events such as commercials. I notice that I do not enjoy watching the same television shows on my computer as much compared to when I watched them on the television. I am not sure what changed. They are the same shows right? Maybe it's the eye-catching commercials that draw us in. Catch phrases like, "Watch Survivorman as he makes fire with an LED flashlight!" That's some convincing advertisement.

While watching tv, the time just flies by! Minutes turn into hours and hours turn into days. Next thing you know, a season is over and all you've been doing is watching the tube. It really is useless. Getting some fresh air and quitting tv is the best thing I've ever done. I've freed my mind a little more. No longer am I a consumer bot. Maybe you should quit too. I'm sure it would help you.