Believe it or not, I grew up in a house without a TV. We only got a TV when my older sister gave one as a gift to my parents. That was just a couple of years back.

Unimaginable to many, we never really got bored even without a TV. My sister and I grew up with books and there’s always the neighbour’s house every time we felt like watching cartoons or MacGyver. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t occasionally pester my parents to get one. My mother was always adamant about not getting one though and we never won.

Growing up without a TV had its advantages: we always got our homework done soon as we got home since there was no TV to lure us; we fell in love with books, which honed our imaginations and I guess our writing skills as well; we learned how to be more creative since we couldn’t just plop down in front of the TV to while away time; and we grew very close with the family across the street since we spent “TV time” with them.

It also had its disadvantages though. One of the things I hated about it was not being able to get some jokes because I rarely saw the TV commercials my classmates were so fond of imitating and couldn’t join in their lengthy discussions about their favorite TV shows. This is probably why I usually pay more attention to commercials than most people. It also sharpened my memory so that after watching one episode of a TV series I would be able to memorize the characters I saw and deduce the plot so it would seem like I watched the show pretty regularly.

As I see my dad and mom enjoying the TV in our old house I realized that TV has more perks than I used to give it credit. My parents now spend more time together since they love to watch DVD copies of TV series that we bring home (they don’t have an antenna or cable and just watch DVDs) and get animated when I ask them about the latest episode of Prison Break that they saw. My little cousin who lives with us also got into Taekwondo after seeing old Jet Li films. I have come to realize that TV time can translate into quality time with your family. Forget about what people say about important shows and what you can learn from TV. They are really nice perks but I belive that the fun it can inject in a family is its biggest advantage. I am still a firm believer of controlled TV time and now that I have my own family we still don’t have a TV…yet. We plan on buying one pretty soon though.

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4 Responses

  1. Nikki!

    18|May|2007

    Congrats, Hannah!

    Nice read. =D Keep it up! Enjoy talaga ako sa mga sinusulat mo. =)

  2. Jay Gotera

    19|May|2007

    A house without a TV???
    Gosh, it’s like a house without a window. Good you didn’t develop claustrophobia.
    In my place, all people are TV addicts — we got TV in all the rooms — bedrooms, sala, even the kitchen! And the TVs come with DVD players and hifi sound systems. I’m thinking of installing a water-proofed one on the bathroom! :)

  3. hannahgrace

    20|May|2007

    Thanks Nikki!

    @Jay - LOL. That’s the reaction I’m used to. I don’t believe in TVs in each bedroom though but only in the family room because too many TV sets won’t encourage family time and sharing. :p

    My mom would also get mad if I got one installed in the bathroom because she thinks I spend too much time in there already!!!

  4. Kei

    22|May|2007

    Ditto! TV is really a source of sooo many topics for a good family chit-chat.

    When I was in highschool, I used to be a follower of Thalia’s telenovelas, but there came a time that I was not able to watch regularly because of my school load. My lola was still alive then, and I always ask her to retell the story for me. Since she had speech problem (she’s like a girl version of Kuya Cesar), it would often take hours before she can relay the whole episode to me. Haha! But I patiently listen, because I know that she tries to remember every detail of the program so it would seem like I have also watched the episode. :D

    Nice post Hannah! Congrats! Way to go! =)


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