Life without TV: filling those four hours with more satisfying leisure.

A new survey reveals that hundreds of Americans are surviving and thriving without television, and that their reasons for turning off television are simple, manageable and compelling. By turning off television and taking back their time, they gained more communication with children and spouses, improved marriages, experienced less conflict among siblings and increased community involvement. They also became more active. Although more than 4,000 studies have been conducted on the effects of television, the study I conducted that I'll discuss in this article was the first to examine the lifestyles of hundreds of TV-free families.

On average, Americans watch TV more than four hours a day. According to researchers John Robinson and Geoff Godbey, that fact means that Americans spend 40 percent of their leisure time sitting and watching instead of doing something for themselves, their families or their communities. Whether in living rooms, waiting rooms, fitness centers, bars, children's bedrooms, day care centers, hospitals or on the ceiling of dentist offices or airplanes, television is widely accepted on a daily basis. Favorite newscasters begin the day, children come home from school to a host of character "friends," families eat dinner with their chosen stars and evening television entertainment in separate rooms is more common than not. More than half of all children over the age of eight have a TV in their room. Late at night, one-quarter of the population drifts off to sleep accompanied by late night talk shows at least three nights a week.

More than half of all Americans claim that television is their primary form of entertainment. It's no surprise, then, that neighbors are more often strangers than friends and, compared to the past, fewer petitions are signed, fewer organizations are joined, fewer social gatherings are organized and even socializing in families occurs less often. Harvard professor and social capital researcher Robert Putnam claims, "Americans watch `Friends'; they don't have any."

Aside from occupational duties and sleep, television is the nation's most time-consuming activity. Similar to adult viewers, children spend more time watching television than they spend in any other activity except sleeping. School children spend 900 hours per year in school and 1,154 hours per year watching television. This high volume of television watching represents the major source of information and entertainment for Americans where information is gleaned, both accurate and inaccurate, about how people act, behave, look and feel.

Time spent watching television also affects Americans because it represents time not spent in other activities, such as social interaction, community involvement, sports and reading.

Effects of TV Time

Numerous studies demonstrate that, without a doubt, frequent television viewing contributes to a number of issues, including fractured family time, poor reading and academic performance, increased violence, sedentary lifestyles and obesity.

Family Cohesion: With television turned on in the average American household for seven hours and 40 minutes per day, and 40 percent of Americans saying they watch TV "always or often" during dinner, it's no surprise that many families don't talk anymore.

Academic Achievement: Studies involving more than 400,000 students find that television is bad for academic achievement. Ten years ago, children who watched more than 10 hours of television per week fared worse academically than those who watched less, yet American children continue to watch more than twice that amount. In 2000, the National Assessment of Educational Progress again found that the students who watch the most TV suffered academically.

TV and Violence: Not surprisingly, the relationship of television to escalating violence is also reported. One study, tracking more than 700 adolescents into adulthood over 17 years, reported that adolescents who watched more than one hour of television a day are four times more likely to commit aggressive and violent acts as adults than those who watched less than one hour a day. An average American child will witness more than 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders by the time she's 18. Eight out of ten Hollywood executives believe there's a link between TV violence and real-life violence, 73 percent of Americans believe that TV and movies are responsible for juvenile crime and 91 percent of children say they feel upset or scared by violence on television. Yet producers don't react to public opinion by cutting back on violence. Even though there was a 20 percent reduction in American homicides between 1995 and 1996, there was a seven-fold increase of network news coverage of homicide between 1993 and 1996.

Physical Activity: Finally, most Americans don't get enough physical exercise. Inactivity results when more than half of Americans claim television is their primary form of entertainment. According to Dr. William Dietz, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "The easiest way to reduce inactivity is to turn off the TV set. Almost anything uses more energy than watching TV."

Given these findings, it follows that individuals who watch no television would present more positive general lifestyle profiles than individuals who watch television. Again, 99 percent of Americans spend at least four hours a day sitting and watching. What would society be like if just a portion of those fours hours per day were allotted to more healthful, active pursuits for individuals and their communities?

Who Are TV-Free Families? What Do They Do?

Interestingly, no peer-reviewed research exists that characterizes television-free individuals. Although 1 percent of the U.S. population say they don't watch television, it has been thought to be impossible to gather a viable group of television-free individuals--researchers simply haven't known how to find them! In 2000, while I was researching this topic, even the TV Turnoff Network organization in Washington, D.C., thought that only 20 truly TV-flee families could be contacted from its database.

This lack of potential subjects made me all the more curious. What are the 1 percent of Americans who don't watch television like? What do they do with their extra four hours a day? Can they survive in our pop-culture-drenched world without being outcasts? Are they anti-establishment types? Are they overtly religious? And what experiences do they have that Americans who watch TV miss?

In an attempt to find out, I placed ads in three national magazines inquiring about TV-free families. More than 500 families responded to a questionnaire with 97 closed-ended questions and three essay questions. Because I anticipated small numbers, those who watched less than six hours per week were invited to respond. Among survey participants, more than half were TV-free, and 80 percent watched less than one hour per week. Respondents were heterogeneous, coming from economic and ethnic groups, and represented 45 states.

Here are some of the findings of the survey:

* Two-thirds of the families were involved in community service projects.

* Nearly half of the children were physically active 10 or more hours per week, and only seven of 100 children were 10 or more pounds overweight.

* More than half of the students received "A"s on their report cards.

* TV-free parents have nearly an hour a day of meaningful conversation with their children.

* Eighty percent of the adults believe their marriages are stronger.

* Seventy percent report that their children get along better without TV.

* Computers didn't take over the role of television. Although 93 percent owned computers, the recreational use was less than three hours per week.

* Seventy percent gave themselves a ranking of 8, 9 or 10 in keeping up with news and sports.

* Eighty-five percent of subjects never doubt their decision to turn off the TV.

Poor programming and commercialism were mentioned, but the main reason the TV was turned off was to free up time. Survey demographics reveal that TV-free families aren't overtly religious or anti-establishment types. They did think themselves to be different, but not outcasts, and experienced a variety of benefits resulting from their lifestyle choice.

Play Time

TV-free individuals fill their newly discovered free time with a variety of hobbies, community involvement, conversation, reading, writing, cooking, cleaning and playing. Many took on major home and property improvement projects, and some even went back to college after they got rid of the TV. For parents with young children, turning TV off often increased the chores and childcare responsibilities for the first few days, but soon lowered them after children became more adept at entertaining themselves.

TV-free individuals were pleasantly surprised at the freedom experienced with newly discovered time and more relaxed schedules, wherein life no longer revolved around favorite programs. Benefits included self-enrichment hobbies and activities, more connection with family, and increased community involvement and volunteerism. Although admittedly more disconnected from popular culture, they kept up well with news, current events and sports through radio, newspapers, news magazines and the Internet. Many families, readying themselves to go without television, prepared for the worst and anticipated a short-term turnoff with little support from family. Nearly nine of ten families became so convinced of the value of their decision, however, that they never turned the television back on.

Indeed, 80 percent of TV-free individuals in this study reported a tremendous satisfaction with life. The few things "missed" by not owning a TV pale in comparison to everything gained by a wiser use of those four hours a day. TV-free individuals do continue to have one puzzling question, however: How do others find the time to watch TV?

RELATED ARTICLE: TV-Free Resources.

Turning off the television has implications for a variety of settings outside the home. Imagine the effects on the field of recreation if Americans had a few "extra" hours per day to do something instead of just sitting and watching someone else do something. One place to start is strong support of National TV Turnoff Week. The one-week break from TV has shown lasting overall reduction in viewing habits for those who dare.

National TV Turnoff Week is generally held during the third week of April. Sponsored by the TV Turnoff Network in Washington, D.C., it now affects millions of Americans each spring and involves 67 national organizations, including NRPA. This year, more than 3,700 organizers from schools, libraries, and parks and recreation agencies across the country conducted rallies, activities and special events for 6.5 million participants.

Lists of alternate activities for classes, groups and the general population to celebrate alternatives to television are often passed out, and hundreds of articles, press releases, creative TV Turnoff tactics and converts to the TV-free life have resulted over the years.

Along with operating a Web site that receives more than 180,000 visits per year, the TV Turnoff Network publishes an organizer's kit every spring. This kit contains free clip art, press releases, handouts for participants in schools or community centers, art competitions, pages and pages of suggested events, hundreds of alternative ideas, testimonials, current articles and the latest TV-related research. The kit is extremely helpful for the recreation professional interested in joining the movement to take back those lost fours hours of leisure time. A few well-planned events during TV Turnoff Week sponsored cooperatively with schools and libraries would go a long way toward bringing this important message to the public. Helpful information, community projects and support groups for individuals trying to cut back on TV time lend themselves nicely to a class or workshop format.

For more information, contact the TV Turnoff Network at 800-939-6737, or go to www.tvturnoff.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: Go Cold Turkey.

Most TV-free families I surveyed recommend going cold turkey-simply getting rid of the TV. Proponents of the cold-turkey method suggest that much less conflict ensues with getting rid of it as opposed to limited viewing. Some increase in chores and childcare responsibilities occurs for a few days, but then lowers as all became more adept at entertaining themselves. After all, in the words of a TV-free six-year-old, "Why would you miss TV? There are so many other really fun things to do!" All report that individuals, young and old, immediately fill up the space occupied by television with replacement activities, and that many of these replacement activities blossom into self-enriching hobbies. Families and communities share in benefits when the time previously spent watching is turned into time spent doing.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tossing the Tube.

Here are ideas suggested by the TV Turnoff Network on how to break free of TV. Why not offer them as a handout at your recreation facility?

* Move the television to a less prominent place--armoire, smaller room, basement or closet--where it's less tempting.

* Hide the remote control.

* Keep TV off during dinner.

* Take the TV out of the children's bedrooms.

* Restrict viewing to one half-hour per day, and replace TV time with healthy activities, walking together, games, hobbies, cooking, etc.

* Avoid using TV as a baby sitter. Instead, allow children to help out in cleaning, cooking, laundry and other household chores by turning them into games.

* Don't use TV as a reward or punishment. This increases its power and can lead to more conflict over its use.

* Listen to your favorite music or the radio instead of using the TV as background noise.

* Cancel your cable subscription and use the monthly savings to buy a game or book, put it toward vacations, etc.

* Don't worry if children whine or get bored. Boredom often leads to creativity.

Ten other turn-off tips from America's TV-free families:

* Make a list of all the things you love to do besides watching TV and check them off when each favorite show comes on.

* Simply go outside--you'll no doubt find things to do and watch.

* Consider carefully what you really want to do before jumping into several activities and getting too busy.

* Be patient. If you can live through 20 minutes of whining, you and your children will find something to do.

* Take photos of your children doing creative things and keep them visible.

* Go for a brisk walk during your favorite sitcom. With a pumping heart and deep breathing, you'll feel great when you return.

* Grow a little tougher skin when friends and relatives ask, "What in the world are you doing?" Don't justify, just smile.

* Create your own experiences instead of living vicariously. Your experiences, good or bad, are more memorable than those told about characters on "Friends."

* Keep a journal of your "withdrawal" and note how it gets easier each day.

* Come out of the closet and tell your friends what you're attempting. They might come along and support you more than you think.

Editor's note: This article is based on a presentation that Dr. Brock gave at NRPA's National Congress in 2001. Her topic was received so enthusiastically by attendees that she agreed to prepare this article to offer advice and resources to increase the participation of recreation and park professionals in national TV-turnoff events.

Barbara Brock is a professor of recreation management at Eastern Washington University and lives near Cheney, Wash. She holds degrees from Graceland College, the University of Iowa and Indiana University. To receive a list of reference that Dr. Brock compiled while researching this article, write to Scott Douglas at [e-mail].