Normally I would have the Leafs hockey game on too, but this past week I participated in a bizarre mission. I would do the impossible. I began a journey to attempt what few teens would even imagine. An exercise in deprivation, I stopped watching television.

 

I’m writing an article on TV Turnoff Week, a seven-day campaign to get people thinking more critically about the media and its role in their lives. It involves making a pledge not to watch any television. This year it takes place April 21-27.

 

Since Turnoff Week began in 1995, more than 30 million people have chosen to cut off their television intake for a week. In 2002, 6.4 million people participated in 16,000 organized turnoffs.

 

In Canada, TV Turnoff is being promoted by Adbusters Media Foundation. Campaign manager Brant Cheetham says there are benefits to cutting out TV for a week.

 

“Our hope is that when people do go back, to watching TV after the week, they’ll be a little bit more selective and feel free to turn the TV off instead watching something that they don’t particularly want to.”

 

Cheetham says people have become too distracted by TV.

 

“People are growing up today with TV as a major part of their world. What sort of sacrifices do people make in order to make TV such a big part?

 

This got me thinking; what was I giving up in order to make time for TV? My curiosity piqued, I decide to jump headfirst into the research for the article and do my own TV turnoff week ­ a month before the official campaign.

 

As a 16-year-old, TV has always filled in the blank spaces in my days. Of course, I’m not alone. According to Statistics Canada, Canadians watch television an average of 21.2 hours per week.

 

After delaying the start of my TV fast for a couple of days, it’s time to take the test. Can I banish all my TV habits for one week? I keep an honest journal of what I thought would be the highlights ­ or the lowlights ­ of a miserable week.

 

Tuesday, 4:30 pm: I go over to the house of my “little sister” Alejandre, who I mentor. I figure this would be a good way to start the week ­ it gets me away from the comfy green couch that has a way of drawing me in front of the TV for hours.

 

Right off the bat, I hit a snag. Alejandre wants to watch her favorite art show. But I am saved when her mom tells her we won’t have time to go to the mall unless her homework is done first.

 

Wednesday, 2:45 pm: I’m at school. My friend Andrea bets me $10 that I can’t go the week without TV. No problem, I tell myself. This deal is just icing on the cake. Then I remember the Academy Awards take place on the weekend. I only watch them for the fabulous outfits, but this year my friends are having an Oscar party. I guess I’ll have to stay home and read.

 

3:25 pm: I’m at the gym with my friend Emily. We’re engaging in our usual pre-workout ritual, having a snack in the change room lounge, trying not to run into any naked guidance counselors from our school (who also frequent this gym). I shut off the TV in the lounge. But another woman sits down to use the phone and turns it back on. I face a different direction.

 

I head for the bicycle to work out. I can’t pass time like I usually do, watching "Oprah" or "Fresh Prince," so I go to the sorry looking magazine stand and pick up a coverless celebrity gossip rag. I think trashy Britney gossip will be more entertaining than the selection of gardening magazines.

 

I have my Discman, but I’ve been listening to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for three years now and I don’t have any other CDs with me. Suddenly I realize how boring the gym is. I mean, I’m riding a bike that isn’t even taking me anywhere. The only thing to look at is an Absolut ad just outside the window.

 

6:45 pm: I’m at home with my brother Aaron and my mom. Aaron always has the TV on during dinner, and it takes stern convincing to get him to do otherwise. He tells me to lie for the article, and just give Andrea $10 for the week. But I stay strong. It’s only day two.

 

Just as my mother’s conversation about buying newspaper twine takes an exciting turn, Aaron tells me to pass him the converter and get out. Yikes.

 

7:55 pm. I find it very hard to unwind after dinner without TV. I end up chatting with friends on MSN.

 

This gets me thinking about Internet use versus television watching. Is spending time on the Internet ­ aside from researching ­ defeating the purpose of TV Turnoff Week? I tell myself that although one can waste tons of time surfing the Web, it’s not nearly as passive as staring at a TV screen. Even chatting online requires interaction.

 

10:20 pm: The war in Iraq has started, and I’m in the living room as my mom turns on the news. I remind her I won’t watch TV and I leave the room. A look that says ‘this is unbelievable’ comes across her face. “This isn’t some frivolous sitcom!” she yells.

 

It feels silly to keep my TV turnoff plan when there is breaking news. But I also know that there are other sources for news.

 

Thursday, 11:30 pm: I go with a friend to a series of student drama productions. The plays are amazing. It’s late now and I’m ready to go to sleep without TV ­ no problem.

 

Friday, 9:05 am: My first period class is biology. The teacher has set up a television, and turns on program on viruses on the Learning Channel. At first I think this is breaking my TV turnoff week pledge, which I have been faithful to for three days already. But I discuss it with a friend and we agree this does not count.

 

Saturday, 10:00 pm: TV turnoff has lost its fun-and-games appeal. I find myself in an awkward situation. I’m on a date and we are not hitting it off especially well. It’s still early, and there is no way I’m going to ask him to come over to my house ­ for fear of the painful conversation, horrible silences and awkwardness that might drag on without TV. The date ends early.

 

Sunday, 11:46 pm: My eyes are closing as I struggle to finish the last pages of A Prayer for Owen Meany. It feels good to finish this 617-page book, especially since I’d written three essays on it a month ago.

 

Monday, 6:35 pm: It is a relief again, not to watch television. This time I am catching up on Frankenstein for my English class. I take a break from Mary Shelly and spend some time on the Internet looking into summer jobs. I’ve had to do that for a while now. It is already my last day without TV and I barely notice the time.

 

One week later, the experiment is over and I am a free woman again. Remarkably, I choose not to watch any television the first night after breaking my TV fast. I remember the words of Brant Cheetham, the Adbusters guy. Maybe he was right. Maybe I have become more selective about what and when I watch.

 

By Wednesday, however, I’ve gone back to watching television. And it turns out not too much has changed when it comes to my choice of programs. Bad TV is waiting for me when I’m tired, irritated, or don’t want to think.

 

Watching TV takes no effort. But this past week has shown me that turning off the TV to do other things doesn’t take much more effort, either

 

And the real world outside the tube can be just as rewarding.