I've been considering for some weeks whether I can simply go "cold turkey" on paid, mainstream media for a period of time.
When I consider this, I have enough backlog of reading and (legitimately free, e.g. SICP and the like) online videos in my mental queue to do so. I might -- really -- be better off for doing so.
I haven't formulated a well-worded proposal and scenario/approach to share, but I would suggest working towards an opt-in mainstream media blackout -- or brownout, for those who can't opt-out altogether (and that includes me as far as needing to keep up with the news and maintain an ISP connection that doesn't have a viable alternative).
This will seem too extreme to many. But I encourage you to stop and think for a minute or five what a month or two's "brownout" would look like for you, and for media companies currently trying to ramrod through SOPA et al.
Let them see what it really looks like when their U.S. (and other) revenue stream "dries up", for real -- as opposed to their claims of losses. Particularly right when they're foisting this crap on us.
I've been considering for some weeks whether I can simply go "cold turkey" on paid, mainstream media for a period of time.
I don't see why not. I haven't owned a TV in 18 months. I haven't bought a magazine in over five years. I probably haven't been to a movie theater in over five years either. A TV was useful when I was so sick that I needed passive mental stimulation to keep from going completely batshit insane while I laid around trying to rest and get myself well.
What purpose does most mainstream media really serve for you? I don't ask that pejoratively. It's a serious question to help you analyze what needs you are looking to meet and what alternatives you can seek out. I would be happy to help you try to answer such questions. I think my life is far better without spending so much time having my mind filled with what is usually crap.
Sorry to hear that. I no longer visit relatives that I'm not on the same page with and I don't really do Christmas anymore. The whole thing sounds soul sucking, not just the TV.
It really is surprising how bothersome TV can be when you're not used to it. I could hear my younger self calling me a pansy when I used the word gruelling in my previous comment. Of course it's not in the same league as real suffering like the illness you mentioned.
Though I do have to catch myself from being too much of a smug doesn't-own-a-TV guy. There's still plenty of distraction in my life that enters mostly via this computer. At least it is more wholesome and not actively evil.
As I understand it, constant loud noise is a torture technique. They use it against soldiers and stuff. Nothing "pansy" about finding it hard to take. Humans weren't designed for "modern" environments. My dad is in his 80's and my mom in her 70's. They both spent at least part of their childhood on a farm. They keep their household a lot quieter than is typical of a lot of modern homes. I think a lot of stuff that gets labeled "ADHD" and so on is really normal reaction to a crazy distracting environment humans weren't designed for. But that's a whole 'nother ball of wax, I suppose.
> and that includes me as far as needing to keep up with the news
You don't actually "need" to keep up with the news. It's not a sin not to, nobody's forcing you, and if something really important happens, it'll filter down to you via your friends.
I did this a decade ago and it was really refreshing. I did start following the news again at some point, but if you plan on just a month or two, there's nothing except a self-appointed "duty" why you "need" to keep up with the news.
Not that following the news is a bad thing or anything (rather the contrary) and maybe it is the most important form of media consumption, but it's not that important either, especially if you got a reasonably active social life.
Well, actually I do, for... let's call it reasons of "due diligence". I have obligations and responsibilities that could go wrong if I'm not sufficiently informed.
The problem is that they control our culture. Boycotting some of these companies involves removing ourselves from many of the shared experiences which allow us to identify with the society and time that we live in. Until our artists figure out a viable way to extract themselves from this machine (through methods such as Louis CK's experiment, perhaps?) I don't see this kind of boycott ever gaining the critical mass it would need to make an impact.
I can't determine just where in the resulting sub-threads to repy, so I'm just replying to myself.
Scope of, um, "boycott": I have lots of material at hand that I've already purchased. That can provide many hours of interest/entertainment. My purpose is not to "empty my life" of such things; it is to reduce the immediate cash flow of these companies. I'll read the book I've already purchased, or rewatch the DVD I liked enough to buy in the first place. Or... go to the library.
Libraries have been receiving somewhat short shrift in the last decade (in the U.S.), although I've read of an uptick in patronage since the economic crisis hit. I support the library model, and I'm not opposed to some purchases being made by libraries who then share the work in a socially and legally codified manner. Libraries have mostly "been on our side", and the side-effect of my boycott lending support to my local libraries would be a welcome one, to me.
"Honest" publishers. I also don't want to lump "everone" into the same boat. I've long been a pretty good patron of O'Reilly Publishing, and I have some works from Manning, Pragmatic Programmers, etc. lying around. All these companies sell me quality works (well, if I pick well) and are willing to give me digital formats free of DRM. Tim's been more than fair in allowing me to "upgrade" my existing printed books to digital format. Such fairness I reciprocate by continuing to support their businesses.
My relationship with media: Actually, this is where I become a bit... "rhetorical", if not disingenuous. I don't actually purchase that much, myself. My cable tv service level is basic, because the pricing works out the same as it would be with Internet-alone and because broadcast reception was poor and vanished altogether when the roof was replaced. Yes, I'm stuck with a cable company for my Internet. Like much of the country, I don't really have a choice. The one competitor -- if they've finally fixed their "last mile" problem to my particular location -- is a major telco whose policies and behavior if anything are actually worse. So, I'm screwed, on this point, as I can't do without the connection.
I don't purchase much music. I mostly listen to what I have.
DVD's, I also only purchase a handful every few years.
My one other consistent source of active spending is Netflix. I feel for them, being stuck between the entertainment industry, the cable companies and telco's, and viewers -- their users. Their position reminds me in the abstract of the recurrent admonition: "Don't be a share-cropper." However... those dollars are flowing to the entertainment industry. In the form of Netflix subscriber levels and revenue, they represent a distinct and readily -- frequently -- measured metric. And Netflix recent bumblings have chilled me somewhat in my support -- in part, regardless of how much I like them, I've come to perceive just how badly, fundamentally, their model is broken when viewed in the current context.
So... do I drop to a minimum level, or pull the plug altogether? They maintain one's existing queue's for 18 months, so I wouldn't have to reconstruct those -- and they are also save-able as a simple web page. They make it pretty easy to leave -- to their credit.
I guess a primary concern about my relationship to media is that I find myself too often settling for the crappy distraction of the basic cable service, because it's there and is immediate. I don't discover some interesting new music because I'm not purchasing the latest equipment and streaming and giving Jobs, now Cook, his pound of flesh, etc.
As it is, I let too much crap into my life. And yes, Mz, I know the situation of seeking, needing simple, mindless distraction from discomfort.
Here's the thing, though. That movie, that song, is still available next year. Still new -- with that initial joy of discovery -- to me. And sometimes, the slight remove means I can skip the crap and let the cream filter to the top before I partake.
It's hard to be social, I guess, when you're disconnected. And part of being young is to be social, if not more actively so nonetheless in a different, more novel mode engendering new contacts and relationships.
But the current situation -- SOPA et al. -- threatens a lot of that novelty. The coolest stuff mostly doesn't come from the maw of Disney -- not once you're old enough to make your own purchases. And we're not talking forever. We're talking some weeks or months. Which could be novel in itself.
Don't purchase that album or DVD. Go see a local band. Check out the theater. I'm fortunate in that where I live, there's tons of it at reasonable price being put on by people of every generation.
I apologize for placing such an early morning hazed ramble on HN. But, at a first pass, there's my response. Make it about choice, and quality. Make it novel and something to do. Turn the "absence" into a positive, or several positives. And take a swing at the knees of these bastards who want to spend us into their suck.
When I consider this, I have enough backlog of reading and (legitimately free, e.g. SICP and the like) online videos in my mental queue to do so. I might -- really -- be better off for doing so.
I haven't formulated a well-worded proposal and scenario/approach to share, but I would suggest working towards an opt-in mainstream media blackout -- or brownout, for those who can't opt-out altogether (and that includes me as far as needing to keep up with the news and maintain an ISP connection that doesn't have a viable alternative).
This will seem too extreme to many. But I encourage you to stop and think for a minute or five what a month or two's "brownout" would look like for you, and for media companies currently trying to ramrod through SOPA et al.
Let them see what it really looks like when their U.S. (and other) revenue stream "dries up", for real -- as opposed to their claims of losses. Particularly right when they're foisting this crap on us.