“We Don’t Have a TV Set”

That sentence used to be one that I've let slip quite a few times during the last 8 years or so. Depending on who I was talking to it either trickered an awestruck gaze telling me "That's a real man! How can he possibly spend his evenings and weekends without falling dead from boredom?" Or the other person would just respond: "We don't have one either. How can other people possibly spend their evenings and weekends watching TV?"

To be frank, claiming not to watch TV has stopped feeling right for me. Not that we have a TV set now, but:

• I spend most of my "working" time online - checking news, mails, feeds, forums etc
• I manage to get the most recent episodes of my favourite TV shows as soon as they are available somewhere (don't ask!). And I do watch them every other night.

That's why Paul Graham really struck a chord with me when I read his most recent essay on Distractions.

I now have to confess: I'm an addict to new media and high-tec distractions.