How Reducing/Eliminating/Being More Selective With Your TV, etc. Viewing Could Benefit You and Improve Your Impact for Others

Possibilities you might consider:
(Some might apply and some might not, possibly depending on your situation and on what you do instead.)

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Being more engaged in and making better use of your life.

How your TV viewing might be interfering:

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Less inclination to do (and develop) some activities that would be refreshing and/or have long-run benefit for you/others because your TV viewing has accustomed you to the type and level of stimulation prompted by your TV viewing and easy distraction from undesired feelings (as well as to a TV viewing level of activity when not working).

Building/maintaining a habit of viewing television.

Not focusing as well at work, school, etc. due to thinking about what you saw on TV.

Increased discontentment/anxiety with not having more of what money buys (as displayed by both shows and commercials) leading you to sacrifice too much (how you spend your life, relationships, contributing, etc.) to have more of what money buys. (Perhaps also, sacrificing to buy some products that lead to more harm than benefit even if they were free).

A less positive/wholesome atmosphere in your home, providing less support for a frame of mind that helps you and others in your home be better prepared to thrive and respond to situations well.

Not being as prepared to live life as positively and to respond as well to various situations you encounter as you would be if instead of watching TV entertainment you used more refreshing and beneficial diversion. A few possibilities might be playing sports for recreation, positive conversation, walking, being in/observing nature, crafts, puzzles, playing a musical instrument (maybe an electronic piano keyboard with headphones), and family games.

Distraction from and less development of, so less inclination towards, better ways to use your time (your life). Possibilities might include diversion that’s more refreshing and beneficial, exercise, volunteering/helping people, learning, developing skills, inspirational/motivational/self-improvement type reading/listening, and reflection (such as on things like choices you made and motivations you had, how to improve, and how to respond to opportunities and risks). One hour of TV viewing per day, 365 hours a year, is the equivalent of over nine 40-hour work weeks a year. Consider what could be and the positive impact you could have over a year by using well the equivalent of nine 40-hour work weeks.

Watching and getting entertainment from suffering/grief/hardship in TV entertainment and not being able to do anything to respond to the situation you are observing, influencing towards an association of sympathy with entertainment and no potential personal call to action.

Lower regard for potential positive and negative impact on people from how you live your life in non-dramatic type ways, influenced by TV characters behaving in ways that indicate they don’t have a high regard for potential positive and negative impact on people from choices in non-dramatic situations.

Diminished health due to watching TV influencing less healthy eating and displacing physical activity.

Less interest and engagement in the opportunities and experiences of real everyday life.

Becoming intrigued by the TV style excitement, hero status, etc. of TV style heroes and desire for such excitement, hero status, etc. partially displacing and interfering with wanting and working effectively to contribute to the well-being of other people out of genuine concern for others – and partially displacing (and impeding the development of) appreciation of and excitement about contributing to the well-being of others (rather than excitement about being a hero).

More positive relationships (family, work, community, etc.) / a better sense of connection with others / less loneliness.

How your TV viewing might be interfering:

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Weaker relationships due to your TV viewing reducing shared experiences that better support your shared values, perhaps taking a walk, playing games/sports, making crafts, volunteering, and conversation (about things like each other’s day, concerns, opportunities, etc., rather than about characters in a show) – things that also involve paying more attention to each other and your interactions.

Not participating as respectfully in relationships at times, influenced by TV modeling ways to participate in relationships that are intended to entertain viewers (high drama conversation, sarcastic remarks, etc.).

Not managing and responding to your emotions as well due to becoming accustomed to managing and responding to your emotions for entertainment, or at least in the context of entertainment, with you having no impact on outcomes – rather than working to manage and respond to your emotions for better outcomes.

Distraction from and less development of practices that could be more refreshing and help you take a better approach to relationships; a few possibilities might be walking, being in/observing nature, and reflection (such as on things like choices you made and motivations you had, how to improve, and how to respond to opportunities and risks).

An attitude of aggressive behavior as the way to conduct yourself to deal with conflicts, people’s faults, and feeling angry.

Developing a craving for TV style drama and regarding creating it as the way to conduct yourself, influencing you towards creating that type of drama, causing hurt in your own and other people’s lives and harming your relationships.

Various harmful behaviors to distract yourself from levels of loneliness, anxiety, etc. that are higher (long-run average) due to direct and/or indirect influences of your TV viewing – behaviors that are harmful to your relationships.

Less respect in your communication and attitudes influenced by being entertained by disrespectful material, making it more likely positive attitudes are undermined.

Less positive environments at work, home, and elsewhere due to your TV viewing negatively influencing your habits, communication, outlook, etc., negatively affecting your influence on the environments you are in.

By watching a show communicating to family members (and/or to yourself) a level of approval or at least acceptance of the material you’re viewing. (While expressing concern about what is in a show could reduce/avoid some of that communication, you might still consider possible communication from choosing to watch it.)

Less respectful, wholesome, and responsible attitudes and behavior related to sexuality, harming relationships. Your attitudes affected by harmful attitudes/behavior that might be presented as well as by participating in viewing/using entertainment with scenes made by filming actors engaging in sexual activity for pay (as part of performing the script) to be used for entertainment to make more money from it.

Being more comfortable being yourself, less anxiety, and better sleep.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Less comfort with your personality and other people seeing it, due to becoming accustomed to not showing your personality as much watching TV as in playing sports/games for recreation, making crafts, the type and level of conversation that is more likely without a TV on, etc.

Trying to an extent, without necessarily being aware of it, to present/have a personality like that of TV characters, whose personality related behavior is scripted to fit TV purposes.

Less experience with recreational situations in which you make skill mistakes (displaced by watching TV), creating less opportunity to reflect on (and improve regarding) how making mistakes (considered apart from actual negative impact on others as might occur more with skill mistakes at work) affects what you think of you and concern about what others think of you, as well as your attitudes and various aspects of how you respond to mistakes.

Becoming accustomed to experiencing feelings like fear, anxiety, etc. in the context of entertainment with what is leading to those feelings not being real danger – influencing you towards experiencing those feelings when not supported, as well as a distorted response to them, not responding in a helpful way as much and responding in an unproductive way more.

A less positive/wholesome atmosphere in your home, providing less support for a low anxiety frame of mind.

Increased discontentment/anxiety with not having more of what money buys (as displayed by both shows and commercials) and sacrificing too much (how you spend your life, relationships, contributing, enough sleep, etc.) to have more of what money buys, further increasing discontentment/anxiety.

A background mental framework with more violence and disrespect influencing towards more background anxiety and less happiness.

Sleep related issues due to increased anxiety, thinking about shows, taking time away from sleep, and interfering with a sleep schedule.

More resiliency in living in harmony with your values / more consistently avoiding choices in conflict with your values.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Less use of careful consideration due to becoming accustomed to applying consideration in the way and to the extent you’re inclined to in the context of watching entertainment and you having no impact on outcomes (as the show will progress the same regardless).

Displacing real-life experiences such as playing a sport, learning a craft, talking/interacting with people, etc. involving making/implementing real-life attitude and conduct choices with various emotions – experiences which can prepare you (if you reflect on them well) for living well with emotions in both typical and especially challenging and/or more obviously highly important situations that might arise.

Watching TV entertainment displacing diversion that is more refreshing and better supports a mental framework for helping you be better prepared to respond well to various situations you encounter. A few possibilities might be playing sports for recreation, positive conversation, walking, being in/observing nature, crafts, and family games.

Approaching responsibilities/situations with more mental clutter, possibly more tense, etc.

Being less prepared to live your life (make choices) in harmony with what you feel is right/best, avoiding giving in to self-deception, when you feel like doing otherwise, due to practice with making decisions in conflict with what you feel is right/best regarding watching TV, in order to be distracted from undesired feelings, to be entertained, and/or to fit in socially.

Improvement in your perspective.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Negatively affected thinking about real situations from the intrigue, drama, etc. of TV.

Subconsciously forming general impressions (regarding possibly many different types of things) from what you see/hear in entertainment shows in which situations are whatever the people involved with making the show decide for them to be and in which what happens happens because that’s what the people involved with making the show decide will happen (for entertainment, financial, and other reasons).

Underestimating (and/or disregarding) the potential for injury from dangerous activity.

Distraction from and less development of ways to use your time that could be more helpful for your perspective. Possibilities might include volunteering/helping people (maybe especially in ways or places you haven’t before), inspirational/motivational/self-improvement type reading/listening, learning, reflection (such as on things like choices you made and various motivations you had), and types of diversion (such as perhaps playing a sport for recreation, positive conversation, walking, being in/observing nature, crafts, and family games) that could be more helpful for your perspective in a very general way.

A background perspective negatively affected by substantial violence and disrespect in TV entertainment.

Less inclination towards news and information that isn’t sensational or entertaining due to being accustomed to sensational/entertaining TV material.

Your underlying feelings that relate to approaches you are taking (in general and with various situations) mixing with and being affected by underlying feelings prompted by your TV viewing, making it more difficult to as productively consider your underlying feelings for potential clues related to approaches you are taking for responding in ways that benefit you and others.

Being more focused on your own personal wants and less on appreciation and on the well-being of others influenced by TV ads directing your focus to your wants, TV content with characters who have glamorous lavish lifestyles prompting focus on your wants, and the habit of potentially compromising your attitudes and contribution in pursuit of your own entertainment.

Better more resilient attitudes related to violence and concerning people, supporting better choices, particularly in extremely high stress and extremely challenging situations.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

An attitude in the direction of violence/aggression as the way to conduct yourself to deal with conflicts, people’s faults, and feeling angry.

Less objection to maliciousness towards people with negative attitudes/behavior influenced by dismissing your objection to maliciousness when TV heroes engage in it towards villains. (You might consider that people of various classifications and affiliations, your friends, and yourself have sometimes been / might sometimes be viewed to an extent as having negative attitudes/behavior or as corrupt, unethical, etc., with various degrees of legitimacy.)

A driving motive of fighting/defeating people with negative attitudes/behavior overshadowing wanting and working to help people, influenced by an emphasis in TV shows on fighting/defeating people.

Reduced genuine concern for the well-being of others, influenced by you suppressing/quieting/altering your concern regarding TV characters in order to enjoy the show more, developing a pattern of suppressing/quieting/altering your concern which could affect you regarding real people.

Being more likely to make an out-of-place laugh at another’s ironic injury and develop related attitudes.

Associating violence with entertainment/excitement/thrill due to getting entertainment/excitement/thrill from the violence in TV entertainment.

More respectful/responsible attitudes and behavior related to sexuality.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Less respectful, wholesome, and responsible attitudes and behavior related to sexuality, harming your relationships and decreasing the well-being of yourself and people you affect. Your attitudes affected by harmful attitudes/behavior that might be presented as well as by participating in viewing/using entertainment with scenes made by filming actors engaging in sexual activity for pay (as part of performing the script) to be used for entertainment to make more money from it.

An attitude to the effect that participating in disrespect makes people adults, or that participating in disrespect is fine for adults – due to taking an approach to that effect regarding your TV viewing.

Less respect in your communication and attitudes influenced by being entertained by disrespectful material, making it more likely positive attitudes are undermined.

Wide ranging improvement in your attitudes.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Lowering the value you place on your attitudes and on the impact your life has on the lives of others due to choosing, in pursuit of TV entertainment, to risk harm to your attitudes and to bypass opportunities to contribute (or be better prepared to contribute) to the lives of others.

Both in deciding to watch a show and as you watch it, lowering your values due to increasing your acceptance of the disrespectful material in the show in order to decrease your sense of conflict between what is in the show and your choice to use it for entertainment.

Viewing shows that have some issues but aren’t as bad as other things out there decreasing your resistance to later viewing worse material, as well as still having direct negative influences.

Communicating to yourself a level of approval or at least acceptance of the material you’re viewing.

Supporting an attitude with your approach to TV viewing of not recognizing/accepting as well that improvements in society (people’s lives) and in your own life can come from improvements in yourself / what you do or don’t do.

Viewing harmful material on the grounds that there are worse things out there that other people view supporting having to an extent and applying more broadly a goal of just being better than your perception of many others, rather than on working to be your best which doesn’t require/involve ranking yourself relative to others. (The presence of worse material doesn’t decrease the harmful influence of material that isn’t as bad – and you don’t have to choose one or the other.)

Especially after having reduced/eliminated/been more selective with TV viewing for long enough to have extensively developed positive alternatives and to have adjusted to them, and for the benefits of having done so to be more fully experienced, being happy with having done so.

While some of the items below might not apply at all, please consider if your TV viewing might be influencing you (perhaps very gradually) in the direction of some of them.

Building/maintaining a habit of viewing television (and/or setting an example and influencing the same in others in the home).

Distraction from developing (and therefore having less inclination towards) diversion that might be more refreshing. A few possibilities might be playing sports for recreation, positive conversation, walking, being in/observing nature, crafts, puzzles, playing a musical instrument (maybe an electronic piano keyboard with headphones), and family games.

Distraction from developing better ways to use your time (your life). Possibilities might include diversion that’s more refreshing and beneficial, exercise, volunteering/helping people, learning, developing skills, inspirational/motivational/self-improvement type reading/listening, and reflection (such as on things like choices you made and motivations you had, how to improve, and how to respond to opportunities and risks).

Watching TV to distract yourself from loneliness, anxiety, etc. which watching TV could influence more of in the long run.

Not having experienced the benefits of having developed an approach for, practiced, and adjusted to living something better concerning your TV viewing (which could be worth the sacrifice involved with making the change).

How Reducing/​Eliminating/​Being More Selective With Your TV, etc. Viewing Could Benefit You and Improve Your Impact for Others

How Reducing/Eliminating/Being More Selective With Your TV, etc. Viewing Could Benefit You and Improve Your Impact for Others