For the last 30 days I did not turn the television on.  Not once.

Not for local news, not for national news, not for international news.  Not for sports, not for the Stanley cup playoffs in hockey, not for the NBA finals in basketball, and not for golf.   Not for my favorite shows, not for 60 minutes, not for the Sunday morning talk shows, not for Johnny Carson reruns.  And not for any streaming, not for any film on Netflix, not for any film or series on Amazon Prime.  Nothing, nada.

Yesterday was the first time that I turned the TV on in a month.  I must admit that I binged.  I watched BBC News and CNN.  I watched two movies.  I even left it on when I was not watching it.  I think it is addictive.

The other reason the issue of watching TV came up recently is that I am in Croatia and in Dubrovnik in particular.  Many, many tourists – not travelers, there is a difference! – are totally focused on the Game of Thrones, where certain scenes were shot, memorabilia, etc.  I may be the only person in the world who has never once seen a Game of Thrones episode, but it honestly means absolutely nothing to me.

However, I think the interesting question is…what is life like without TV.

I must admit that for the last 30 days I did not miss it all.  In fact, it was a relief in many ways.

First and foremost, I did not have the daily news barking at me continuously.  And somehow the world continued to turn on its axis, and the issues that we were addressing 30 days ago seem to be the issues that we are addressing today.  Not much has changed.

I must point out one exception.  That being yesterday’s announcement that the three professional golf tours have agreed to work together.  THAT is news!!

Not watching TV also was a relief in that I could nestle down with a book or an article on my phone.  I could do this in a prone position, which sometimes – more often than not – lead to an unanticipated nap.  Aren’t naps wonderful?

Not watching TV also led to having more conversations with another human being.  Ian was my roommate for the last 14 days, and I was part of a traveling group of 24 people, and it was delightful to be able to talk about whatever.  The idea of having a real conversation with real people!

But, perhaps most importantly, I found that a sense of calmness came over me.  I was less rushed.  The pace of my life changed a little bit.  It slowed down.

In digging into this I discovered that there has been a great deal of research that has been done on this issue – the benefits of not watching TV.  And the research differs dramatically.

One set of research says that not watching TV is really good for you.  or, to put it another way, watching TV, especially too much TV, can have really bad consequences.

• For example, TV watching requires sitting, which means that you are not active. This in turn can lead to obesity, increased risk of coronary disease and type 2 diabetes, eye strain, chronic neck and back pain, sleep problems, as well as depression and anxiety.
• Perhaps even more importantly TV watching affects the brain in a negative way. It leads to decreased memory, a weakened ability to plan, organize and take action, weaker brain functioning, and other neurological problems.
• In addition, TV watching decreases your free time. You are by definition less social.  It degrades your discipline.  It is a distraction to getting things done.  It can plant negativity in our minds.  It can increase our feeling of inadequacy by showing unrealistic expectations.  Bottom line, TV watching can lower our satisfaction with life.

The other set of research says that watching TV has many positive benefits.

• It is a source of news. it helps with understanding new things and increasing awareness of various cultures.  It provides education with programs challenging the brain like Jeopardy or history shows. Some people learn better by visualizing versus reading.
• Some argue that it helps develop emotional intelligence by allowing us to simulate situations from different perspectives.

• It is a source of entertainment. It is an effective way to relieve stress by distracting us from our daily worries.  It can be relaxing.  It can be a break which in turn leads to good feelings and making one happier.  I smile every time I recall watching an episode of Cheers or Johnny Carson, for example.

But, back to the 30 days of not watching TV — going cold turkey.

Bottom line for me, based upon my recent 30 days without TV, I would like to find a way to limit my TV watching, just like I am trying to limit my intake of sugar.  TV watching is addictive for me, so how do I manage it better than I have been doing.

One idea that I am considering is to limit my TV watching to the exact same number of hours each day that I spend actively exercising.  If I play pickleball or take a hike for 2 hours, then I can watch 2 hours of TV that day.

Your thoughts are welcome.