Ten Ways to Unplug Yourself April 2, 2008

April 21-27, 2008 is TV Turnoff Week. Unplug your television, your DVD player, your computer, your PlayStation, your Wii for seven days.

During my lifetime, computers, cellphones, DVD players, the Internet were invented – everything my children take for granted - and I’m not that old. Our society has gone from active participation to passive entertainment. When I was young, we were expected to go outside and play. When was the last time you saw a bunch of kids playing tag or a pick-up game of baseball all by themselves? In a few short years, our children have become fat and sedentary. More than 12.5 million children — 17.1% of children and adolescents 2 to 19 years of age — are overweight in the U.S., up from 13 % in 1999. According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s office, the causes of overweight are lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits.

We can blame fast food giants like MacDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Jack in the Box or Wendy’s for creating “fat food”. We can blame MTV, ABC, or CNN for producing shows that are no better than mental pablum. Or we can look to ourselves and take back our lives and our health. Corporations will only sell what we buy. Television producers will only air what we watch.

If you rely on your television or computer to relax, for companionship or to ward off boredom, you may become dependent on it. To see whether media rules your life, take the Media Addiction Quiz.

Things to do instead of watch TV, surf the Internet or play a video game:

1. Move – Take a walk, take a hike, ride your bike, walk your dog, go to the gym, take your children to the park. Plant a garden.
2. Talk - Visit a friend, talk to your children, call your Mom or Dad. Call your sweetie. Call someone you haven’t seen for years. Sit on the front porch or steps, fix yourself a glass of iced tea and wave to your neighbors as they go by.
3. Play- Get out a board game, cards, chess or checkers. Play charades or pictionary. Play tag or hide and seek with your children. Teach your children a game or have them teach you.
4. Create- Draw or paint a picture, learn how to knit, crochet or sew, tie a fly, or make jewelry. Get out the fingerpaints or macaroni and glue and have fun with the kids. Paint your kitchen. Design a mural for your child’s room. Take up scrapbooking. Organize family pictures.
5. Write - Start your first novel, finish your last one. Write a poem, a love letter, a thank you note, a magazine article, a blog.
6. Read – Visit the library, read a book, a newspaper or magazine. Research your family’s genealogy.
7. Volunteer – Help a friend move, volunteer at a local non-profit, walk your neighbor’s dog.
8. Cook- Prepare a tasty meal, bake bread, make a pizza, make a pie. Have friends over to make their own calzone. Try a new recipe. Try a new fruit or vegetable. Sit down with family or friends to eat and enjoy. Open a bottle of wine. Try #2 at the same time. Go to a restaurant if you don’t want to cook (fast food doesn’t count).
9. Listen - Put on your favorite CD, sing along. Play an instrument if you know how. Learn how to play an instrument. Go to a cafe and listen to music.
10. Learn - Try your hand at a crossword puzzle, word jumble or Sudoku. Learn a language. Do your homework. Go to a museum, an art gallery or historical society – take your children along.

And most of all, have fun.

Resources:

• Center for Screen-time Awareness
• Office of the Surgeon General
• TV Turnoff Week (Adbusters)
• White Dot

Related Posts:

• Go Outside and Play! 
• Slow Down Week January 13-19, 2008 
• TV Turnoff Week 2008 April 21th - 27th 

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