ABSTRACT
There was a time I naively imagined that those who gave up television had wonderful stories about doing so. Perhaps they got fed up with biased news and threw the set in the trash that night. Maybe the children’s programming had gotten so violent that they dramatically carted the set off to the dump. Although there were a few participants’ tales approaching those of my imagination, most were mundane. Of the 120 interviews I conducted with over 60 families, only seven stories culminated in dramatic events. The rest were rather boring as stories go; however, they did offer insight into the processes by which viewers give up television. By examining the process across various individuals and families, three
methods of giving up television emerged. In some cases, which I have called attrition, individuals gave up television with no initial intent to do so. Rather, it faded from their lives. In other cases, individuals and families intended to give up television. The process was effortful and motivated by specific reasons, such as a belief that television was interfering with a couple’s relationship or that the content of television was perceived as inappropriate for themselves or their children. I have called this kicking the habit. Lastly, in the case of environmental reasons, some event, such as a set breaking, caused the home to become television free; however, the set was not replaced because those involved decided that being without it was preferable. Next, we’ll look at each of these three processes in greater detail.
