There are still a lot of reasons why having a TV could be considered not a waste of money, especially if you have a family. A TV is used to add to the home esthetics and is also a big part of entertainment in most homes. However, for someone living alone, this might not be a priority. A single person might prefer having a cellphone as use for entertainment purposes.
I can compare TV to Facebook, as both have interesting contents and if we start watching we might end up losing a lot of time. So yeah, it's a waste of time, and on top of that we are paying for it haha. Some also call it entertainment, but it does prevent me from doing other things I have to do.
If you have subscribed to cable TV bur do nor have time to watch TV programs or do not watchb TV, it is just a waste of money. As long ad you watch TV, I don't think it is a waste of money. TV is a great recreational tool. In fact it is one of the least expensive entertainment platform. If you go to a movie, you will be spending the entire month cable bill. It is better to avoid going to the movie rather than not having TV.
@luri I agree with you on this, regular channels don't have any interesting nor worth while programs, in comparisons to cable tv and subscriptions.
At my home, we get little time to watch TV during weekdays. But, whenever we do, we make it a family event. Thus, we get to spend time with one another while watching TV. For smartphone, it can never happen. Whatever is there, is meant for an individual at a given point of time, and any entertainment is not complete until it is shared. This is the main difference between TV and smartphone. Thus, TV is an essential part of family entertainment till the date, and is a strategic investment.
We have moved out our TV at home for a few years, and it did save us from paying the TV subscription and space at home too. Most importantly, it actually saves me time from watching TV, but spending the time more intentionally elsewhere, especially with kids. We removed the TV not because of saving money, but because we do not allow our kids to watch TV, and hence it actually benefits me and my husband too.
Not really in my opinion, I find many good shows I probably wouldn't find on the internet just by channel surfing. Also, some movies and shows might be a bit hard to watch on the web if not just taking down for copyright reasons.
Removing TV completely!!! That's bit hard for us here. I wonder how you guys manage. Isn't your kids demand for TV anymore? May be you all are used to of it. Yes wasting more time behind TV is not good. But I guess they are certain good things and program too on TV which might help kids and adults too.
It is not a great experience to watch movies using smartphones all the time. Television is essential for my family since we do watch shows together. Smartphone is limited in terms of size and not suitable to watch blockbuster movies. Besides, it is not good for our eyes to look at the smartphone screen for long hours.
The traditional TV has its advantages other than the shows. You may be right in saying that you have the tv programs on your phone but you are missing the whole picture. The tv is one way of bonding with the family. With the big screen, it gives you a better viewing experience. And although the tv consumes more electricity, think that not only 1 person can watch the tv at the same time so it becomes economical when there are many people watching the tv in your home.
I want to watch TV shows and movies hands free. Netflix is more fun when the screen is large. Holding a smart phone for a long time can cause strain or even the dreaded carpal tunnel. So Tv is not a waste of money for me. I only change television once a decade.
My husband and I actually spend more time on computers, so it's actually fine for us to remove the TV. We didn't struggle it at all, since the TV was not turned on since my eldest was around. We decided not to let our kids watch TV before my eldest was born, so they didn't crave for TV. They also understand the reasons that we do not allow them to watch TV, so they don't request for it too, though they still watch a little bit here and there when we go outside. There are many TVs in the restaurants or waiting areas outside. While there are many good programs on TV, there are also many hands-on activities for kids to do without watching TV, so I am fine with removing the TV. Moreover, I started to let my children use computer to watch some educational programs once in a while. With the computer programs, the kids can have more interactions instead of just receiving the message passively as compared to watching the TV. Well, this is really personal choice. If you are interested, you can search for articles about the harm for kids to watch TV. My husband and I read some before my eldest was born, so we made that decision.
@kaka135 That's really good. Yes computers can surely take place of TV if we are talking about some education related program. We can easily download such learning videos and show them to the kids. Yes like that way it will also full fill the need of TV for kids for learning necessary things. If you guys are not spending more time behind TV from starting then I can understand that how you are managing it. Really great and yes good for kids too.
I was a smartphone addict and I ended up with having myopia. That is to say, if you have a smartphone and you use it instead of TV, it doesn't mean that everyone uses their smartphones for the same purpose. If something is available on a bigger screen easily, why does one prefer to watch it on comparatively a smaller screen and have their eyesight weak! Moreover, everyone does not own smartphones. So, a television is worth watching and absolutely not a wastage of money!
I am pretty sure that I can look at a cable bill and think back to what I got out of it, and most times it would not be worth it. That is how they get ya though I guess, but I did cut that cord a couple years back.
That is why I avoid small screen too. I am not saying to watch more TV, but whatever we see it should be on big enough screen because small screen can give more stress to our eyes. So better to go with bigger screen. Also data needed for streaming video and that might eat lots of data. So better to go with TV then mobile screen because of these two factors.
I think you can absorb a great deal of information from TV that you can't find elsewhere. While I agree it isn't the healthiest habit to indulge in, and can be a waste of time, it is what most of us have been doing for years, and it would be hard to go without it.
I think @Ray1 and @naruto100 summed it up well. Those are two very good reasons not to watch on the phone. The latter especially for me. Not only would it strain my eyes, but I don't think it would be very enjoyable for me at all. I joined two paid streaming services. I think I can use either on the phone, but I really have no interest in doing so. Also, consider the value of the purchase of a TV. If you get a bargain on one, and it lasts you for years, it's a good deal. You (and probably other people as well) will get many hours of enjoyment from it. How much would similar entertainment cost elsewhere?
Yes, I also agree that if I would to watch any TV programs, I would prefer to go for a big screen. If I really want to save on TV, I would prefer to watch it using my computer screen, rather than on the mobile phone. I don't spend too much time on my mobile phone, as I am still not used to read using such a small screen though it's very convenient.
