TV: It’s Turn Off Your TV Week

I almost forgot to announce that yesterday marked the beginning of “Turn off your TV Week,” sponsored by adbusters.org. There are a number of ways to participate but the simplest way is to unplug the TV for the week. And why not? We have family and friends that would love the extra time, we have bookshelves full of books to be read, maybe there’s a phone call or letter you’ve been meaning to write, places we’ve been meaning to volunteer at, or that mid-week small group you keep missing. Whatever it is there are many positive activities you can put in place of watching TV this week.

Here’s what Adbusters has to say:

The idea is simple: take your TV, your DVD player, your video iPod, your XBOX 360, your laptop, your PSP, and say goodbye to them all for seven days. Simple, but not at all easy. Like millions of others before you, you’ll be shocked at just how difficult – yet also how life-changing – a week spent unplugged can really be.

But there’s a lot more to TV Turnoff Week than shaking up your relationship with passive entertainment. It’s all about saying no to being bombarded with unwelcome and unhealthy commercial messages. It’s about saying no to unfettered corporate media concentration and to the democratic deficit that results. And it’s about challenging the heavily distorted reflection of the world that we see on the screen, a reflection that is keeping us ill-informed and unaware of the very real political and environmental crises that we all currently face.

While I won’t be able to get rid of the laptop this week due to my school work and getting ready for Europe I will be staying away from the TV (and less time in front of the computer) and taking the opportunity to spend that time with my wife and friends. I hope you’ll consider joining in this act this week in some way, and if you do and would like to tell us about it at the bottom that would rock!

Watch the “Product is You” commercial. And you can also download extras here.

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