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CTC Readers' Poll:
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| Editor's
Note: We received a record number of responses to this question
-- 154 of them in all! Here is how the responses to the poll broke down:
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"Yes, we have satellite TV.
It is my husband’s chief source of entertainment in the evenings.
We don’t rent videos or DVDs or have any of those game systems and
I haven’t been to the movie theater in years, so we don’t really
spend money on other forms of entertainment. I like to read or
crochet or surf the web or cook, so the TV isn’t even turned on if
my husband isn’t home (he travels with his job). But I
don’t have any trouble justifying the expense because he enjoys
watching – and he watches pretty wholesome stuff – the History
Channel, Food Network, HGTV, sports, etc. We don’t subscribe
to any of the premium channels (I don’t think I’m old enough to
watch most of that stuff!)" ~ Cindy
"No, we do not have cable tv.
We had it many years ago for approx. 6 months. In that time
I noticed that we no longer needed to go to the library, because
no one was reading. I noticed that at the end of 6 months
there were many jobs around the house that hadn't gotten done,
because everyone was in front of the tv. I noticed that we
gained weight and had gotten lazy. So no, even though our
children are grown and gone we do not have cable and most likely
never will." ~ Sandy
"Our family subscribes to digital cable. As homeschoolers, we find a wealth of quality educational programming on the cable market that makes it worth the expense. Because we have a DVR, we are not slaves to the schedule of these programs, and can pause and rewind them to discuss points or review information. We watch very little network television, but find many of the channels available on cable worth the expense. We don't sacrifice other things to justify this expense. If it came down to a choice, our cable connection would be among the first things to eliminate in our household." ~ DB
"We do have cable TV and consider
ourselves frugal. I would love to cancel my subscription to it.
However, I would find it almost impossible to convince my husband and
kids that we could live without it. I long for a simpler day when
cable and cell phones did not exist!
We have had cable TV since it first came out and was not so expensive. They seem to have us hooked for good! We do not go out a lot to movies or buy other expensive entertainment so I justify the cost in terms of that." ~ Charisse, Frugal Mom in Ohio "I for one do not pay for cable or satellite TV. Maybe when the day comes that I can subscribe to the channels I want and not get other channels I don’t want with it, I may. But otherwise it is too expensive a resource for just something to do. There is nothing on TV that isn't available at the library, video store, online, or at home. I enjoy a few shows on the local networks, but I can only watch one channel at a time, and even at that, I watch far more 'junk' than I feel I should. So, now I do not and probably never will pay for extra channels." ~ PK
"We
do not have cable TV or satellite TV. I have six kids
and I realized that my DH and I were always stressed in the
evening (dinner, homework, kid's activities and then there were
shows we wanted to watch on TV). We decided to get rid of
the satellite connection and only watch movies (from our
personal collection) on Saturday evening. Saturday
evening we make special as family movie night. Our evenings
are more focused on family meals and helping our kid's with
homework and are much more peaceful. Our children no longer
can watch worthless cartoons and shows with lots of commercials.
This was difficult at first because our lives were so centered
around what was on TV. We had alot of: what do I do with my
spare time? Now we spend more time as a family. The
kids play together. Instead of whining about wanting new
toys seen on TV; they actually play with the toys they already
have. They color and read and are much more creative and
happy. Getting rid of the satellite hookup was good for
my family and my finances." ~ Sharlene
"I don't fit 'typical American' for many reasons, the first being that I am Canadian! :) We don't even have TV in our home. I have six children and want them to develop without TV. Watching the occasional DVD on our computer is more than enough 'watching.' I want them to be 'doing'!" ~ Esther
"I personally am not much
of a TV watcher but husband and daughter are! I have learned to
go with their 'visual' learning habits and honor them. Because
we homeschool, History Channel, Discovery Channel and A&E
(all within suitability) all are great learning tools for my
visually-oriented daughter and husband. I could live without
cable but my husband sees it as a much needed expense. It's not
worth arguing over!" ~ Colleen in GA
"I have satellite TV. In many somewhat isolated parts of southern New Mexico and surely as well in the other western states, there is only 1 'local' channel, from a town 75 miles away, that comes in quite poorly to my TV, and just barely poorly. Please consider geographic circumstances before you judge all 85% of us with paid television services as being extravagant in this spending choice. Of course there are other things I would prefer to spend the satellite subscription money on. But the amount of my monthly satellite bill would hardly cover even one day trip per month of travel to and entertainment in another town, or the cost of several magazine subscriptions to keep up with all sides of the world's goings-on, or compare to the time and effort that it would take to find daily entertainment and world news information on the Internet." ~ Nikki
"Although I am based in
the U.K I felt I had to respond to your your question about
Satellite TV, and warn others of my experience. I came to the
Lord after I was married, and sadly my husband remains an
unbeliever, although through God's amazing grace we generally
get along fine. One of the single biggest mistakes I have made
as a Christian is allowing Satellite TV into my home, giving
in to just the type of social pressures you mention in your
question. This costs us £30 a month, plus the TV license of
about £130 per year, plus electric. The company also
wanted about £9 each month for a maintenance contract on the
equipment, which I refused. This is a lot of money- I
don't know exactly but about 900 plus US dollars each year!
What started as a luxury has become a 'necessity' to my
husband and children, who spend many hours viewing. My husband
watches the sports channels constantly and as a result often
spends his evening in a different room from the rest of the
family. The overwhelming influence of the godlessness on many
of the children's and teen programs mean that as a parent you
have to be really vigilant and constantly on guard against it.
The nature programs promote evolution, the sitcoms promote
loose morality etc. There are a few good programs, but it
takes real effort to police viewing and cope with the
arguments that 'everyone else is allowed to watch it'!. In
addition the company we are with have 'freeview' adult
channels, which I had to have removed. I also use the
parental controls to full effect.
I agreed to
get Satellite TV naively, and did not seek the Lord's counsel
as I should have done. I now cannot get my husbands agreement
to cancel, which has caused friction. I am a stay-at-home
Mum, and my husband has made it absolutely clear that he
would expect me to work to pay for certain things, like
Satellite TV, rather than do without if we ever became
short of money. I feel that I have allowed ungodly
negative influences into my home, and the money spent is an
utter waste. Overall Satellite TV has had a detrimental effect
on my family life. Given that we are called to a
separated life and to 'keeping oneself from being polluted by
the world' (James 1:27), I would caution any
believer considering getting Cable or Satellite to do so
very prayerfully, with much discernment and guidance from the
Lord, and be certain that the rules are agreed by both partners
beforehand. I have had to seek forgiveness from the Lord for
this decision, and Satellite TV has been a snare and a
stumbling block to me and my family. I would therefore want to
warn anyone who is serious about honoring the Lord in their
lives to be really careful. If you haven't got it - don't get
it !!!" ~ Anonymous
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