ABSTRACT
Two-thirds of people I interviewed, people who responded to a note in a newsletter, or to a posting on a Web site asking for “TV-free homes,” actually owned a television set. Most of them used their television occasionally to watch a DVD or videotaped movie, and some even rented programs that originally aired on television. (See chapter 14: Battling the Industry.) Of these 40 nonviewing homes with a television set, 7 reported that two DVDs or videos were watched per week, 11 reported that one was watched per week, 16 reported that one was watched every other week, and the remaining 6 homes reported that they watched less than that, or as little as one per year. As a researcher I decided early on that my criterion for viewing vs. nonviewing would simply be whether or not the person thought of themselves as living without television, so I never asked specifically when they responded to my ad. I did not screen or inspect homes for a television set. But when it came up, I simply asked, “Well, do you think you live without television?”
