British campaigners are to mark a global anti-television week in novel fashion, they announced on Monday — sending out a stream of activists armed with gadgets that switch off any sets within a 7m radius.
The campaign, organised in Britain by a group called White Dot, said its aim for TV Turn-Off Week, which started on Monday, is to remove television “pollution” from public areas such as pubs and bars.
A band of volunteers will be unleashed carrying the United States-made TV-B-Gone gadget, which transmits a stream of infrared codes to turn off more than 1 000 television models within range, the group said.
“We are going to be going into pubs and either turning off the TV and leaving information or asking people, ‘I just turned off the television. Did you notice?’,” said David Burke, of White Dot.
“People may think it is intrusive for an anti-television campaigner to go into a public house [bar] and turn off the television, but a lot of people find the television intrusive.”
The intention is not to disable sets in the middle of a football match, or other such events, he said.
“We’re not going to ruin everyone’s good time. I’m happy to admit there’s lots of good television. We’re just saying you don’t have to listen to television blaring in the corner of the room.” — AFP