Television watching survey?

May 16, 2004 5:23 PM

As an informal survey of the bizarre demographic which is Metafilter:

Television.

How many hours a day (if any) do you watch and has it increased in the past year? Or declined? I have a sense that there is an undercurrent of rebellion against TV watching, but I'm a longstanding non-TV watcher. Am I off base or not?
posted by troutfishing to MetaFilter-related at 5:23 PM (132 comments total)

i turn the infernal device on for entertainment. it spends FAR more hours gathering dust and off than it has ever spent on. i remain convinced tv is the reason americans are so fucking gullible.
posted by quonsar at 5:27 PM on May 16, 2004

Decreased. By a huge margin.
posted by Quartermass at 5:27 PM on May 16, 2004

as I got more involved with the internet in recent years, my viewing declined. Now that I have a pvr, and can reliably watch what I want when I feel like watching it, instead of channel surfing dumbly, the number of hours I watch tv in any given week has increased, but probably not to pre-internet levels.
posted by crunchland at 5:39 PM on May 16, 2004

I've watched a lot of TV as a kid but now I just don't watch TV except for the news, the (not many) sports games I'm really interested in, and the occasional episode of a favorite TV show (CSI or Law & Order, Boomtown when it was on -- damn the executives who decided to kill Boomtown -- and, rarely, for old times sake a few minutes only of early-X Files reruns, cause I find them desperately funny in an involuntary-funny way).

I mostly use my TV as a monitor for DVD's -- that I watch often.

and -- much less often than a year or two ago -- as a monitor for my PS2.

I can watch TV for hours on end only in case of huge breaking news. then I can watch it for hours, but only then.
posted by matteo at 5:49 PM on May 16, 2004

I watch TV all the time.

I also have a PVR and I love it because I can never watch enough TV.

And I'm not gullible.
posted by ajpresto at 5:50 PM on May 16, 2004

Turned the tv off in 2001. It's a good thing.
posted by JohnR at 5:59 PM on May 16, 2004

I've watched at least five or six hours of television per day for probably the last ten years. I enjoy television and feel no shame in admitting it.

There's nothing more tiresome that the assholes who get off on the fact that they don't watch TV.
posted by eastlakestandard at 5:59 PM on May 16, 2004

I got rid of my TV in 1996.

There's nothing more tiresome than the assholes who get off on the fact that they watch TV for hours each day. ;-P
posted by mischief at 6:06 PM on May 16, 2004

Since i became addicted to the incomparable 6Music [which i receive via cable tv], the vision part is less intrusive. However, I still watch a huge amount of news and documentaries, plus the comedies for which british tv is justly famous - Father Ted, Black Books, Smack the Pony, Shameless oh, and of course that yank medical soap, er, whats it called ... Jonathan Ross has some scoops, such as Mozzer's first tv interview in 17 years last Friday, and Have I got News for You is almost as as sarcastically explosive today as it was in Angus Deayton's heyday.

So that means I'm down to about an average of 6 hours a day, but I'm giving up tomorrow, I swear.
posted by dash_slot- at 6:08 PM on May 16, 2004

Web killed my TV habits.
posted by inksyndicate at 6:12 PM on May 16, 2004

BBC 6Music.

Cos, ya know, ya need it, really.
posted by dash_slot- at 6:12 PM on May 16, 2004

I don't have cable, nor do I ave an antenna hooked up to my TV. I just use it to watch to occaisonal DVD, of which I rent about 2 per month.
posted by skwm at 6:14 PM on May 16, 2004

Decreased. A lot. For the past year or so, I've honestly never watched more TV than a passing glance as I walk through the room it's in.

(For what it's worth, my family does not have cable/satellite/etc. Just good ol' public broadcasting.)
posted by thebabelfish at 6:18 PM on May 16, 2004

I sense there's an undercurrent of rebellion against eating babies, but I'm a longstanding non-baby eater.

So what's next up on "Let's Survey a Room Full of People that I Know Will Agree With Me?"
posted by Stan Chin at 6:22 PM on May 16, 2004

On any given day, I watch about a couple of hours of TV. When I'm away at school, I don't watch as much, and I spend more time on-line. When I'm at home, the reverse is true (my parents have satellite tv.)

Reruns : Seinfeld, X-Files, Buffy

New Shows : 24, Law and Order (all three variants, but Criminal Intent is my favorite)
posted by invisible ink at 6:23 PM on May 16, 2004

It was on the increase while I caught up with past episodes of L&O and L&O: SVU; now it's down again. I'm guesstimating that I watch maybe 3-3 1/2 hrs per week. Like matteo, I spend more time watching DVDs than TV.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:24 PM on May 16, 2004

There was a year or two there, when I was an active poster before, when i pretty much watched one DVD or taped movie per day on my TV, but watched no other TV whatsoever. Then I started watching the Sopranos, Buffy, and Six Feet Under. Now I have a TV but use it for almost nothing. That could be because my DVD player hasn't arrived from LA yet. But I think my regular TV watching is done until I can afford tivo or something similar.
posted by bingo at 6:25 PM on May 16, 2004

Not that I consider it a "rebellion," but my daily average is snug with the number zero, and has been for a good 4 years or more.
posted by scarabic at 6:30 PM on May 16, 2004

Does using my laptop to view video torrents count as television?

'cause despite having a very decent tv, I don't have cable tv and rarely watch dvds. Instead, I find myself browsing the web. Recently, though, I've become rather taken with BitTorrent. So my wife and I are now spending an hour a day watching stuff like Scrubs, Trailer Park Boys, Seinfeld, KiTH, etc.

I'd probably actually happily pay a buck a show, if it used a good codec and had no commercials. I'll bet a lot of people would. It's an idea the networks should think about: provide torrent servers 'round the world and get a buck a show. I bet they'd make a killing, and no more need for advertisers and their sensibility to even the most ludicrous "moral minority" complaint.

We'd have far better entertainment, and cheaper.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:40 PM on May 16, 2004

More Web, less TV. One or two programs in a week may get my attention, but I'm referring to free-to-air TV, which may be a significant factor. If I got a whole lot of documentary or history channels there might be more that would attract my interest.

I also use the TV as a low resolution secondary monitor for music visualisations and DVD movies. A software DVD player can be set to ignore “User Operations Prevention” codes for ‘warnings’, ‘previews’ and other forced viewing, so my hardware DVD player sits idle.
posted by snarfodox at 6:45 PM on May 16, 2004

Increased. I didn't watch anything for a few years and felt totally out of touch with the world, even the things you learn from commercials and channel flipping add to one's cultural literacy and give you something to small talk about. I signed up for non-basic cable and now I have at least 7 channels of nothing but documentaries. Discovery Times, History International and the Science Channel are my current faves and I watch about 3 or 4 hours a day. Also, BBC America when there is nothing else on, and the Daily show right before bed. The only network show I watch with any regularity is CSI (Vegas Baby, not that Miami crap, although the NY one looks a little better) The 2-day delay between web news and network news drives me crazy although I do watch Vesti (russian news) because I'm trying to learn Russian.

And I'm usually on the web at the same time.
posted by milovoo at 6:53 PM on May 16, 2004

It's weird how pissy some people are about this, I think it's a good question.

It may be an idiot box, but the longer you stay away the more unibomber-ish you become.
(or whatever the polar opposite is, if you lean the other way)
So, when you start feeling the urge to purchase a cabin in an uninhabited locale to write your manifesto, consider returning to the fold.
posted by milovoo at 7:07 PM on May 16, 2004

I rent a movie once or twice a week. Nova, 60 Minutes (if This American Life sucks or is a repeat), Frontline, and the local news. I like films more than broadcast TV. However, every Sunday night I do get a bit nostalgic for the X-Files. So not very much. I don't have cable.
posted by pieoverdone at 7:08 PM on May 16, 2004

My TV watching now consists of watching the latest Trailer Park Boys episodes off of BitTorrent and the occasional Simpsons, but that's it.
posted by Space Coyote at 7:09 PM on May 16, 2004

My viewing fell off steadily until it became not worth it to pay for cable. Recently I hooked up an antenna and get a few local stations. I probably watch about an hour of tv a week.

However, I do not understand how people can be proud of not participating in the dominant form of discourse of our society.
posted by Capn at 7:24 PM on May 16, 2004

definitely decreased, especially recently with the end of buffy & angel. but i love tv, when it's good, and always keep my eye on what's upcoming. the independent film channel, pbs/tvo, the various discovery channels, and tmn (6 movie channels/one network, in canada) catch my attention. the only regular american network show that i enjoy is "without a trace", as i do love a mystery, but i miss it more often than not. lately i've watched the canadian home and garden channel, mostly because i just began house hunting & they have a lot of shows about such. basically in the last 7 years i have only regularly watched - as in never missed an episode - 2 hours of weekly tv (buffy & angel). the rest is random and generally watched while i'm doing something else (bills, phone calls, treadmill, polishing the silver, etc). so all in all, including dvds, i'd say maybe 6 hours a week.

it was much more when i used to use the tv for news, which i haven't done for years. i prefer the tv to be for fun, not agony. when i want to agonize over the state of the world i go online.
posted by t r a c y at 7:32 PM on May 16, 2004

No TV in the house since 1998. Grew up watching lots, the web and Internet were prime factor in the change.

I have noticed that TV has an emotional reward for watching .. a happy ending, a conclusion that makes sense, things are logical, the world makes sense. It is a very comfortable escape.
posted by stbalbach at 7:35 PM on May 16, 2004

I haven't lived with a TV since 1996, though I occasionally see a little when I visit my parents. Not much even then though. They don't have cable and I get too frustrated with the idiocy of most programs and the blaring, repetitive commercials. I would love a chance to see Six Feet Under, though.
posted by orange swan at 7:35 PM on May 16, 2004

I shut my TV off in 1987 and never turned it back on. That is to say, to watch tv. I use it daily to watch DVDs. With the exception of South Park, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, 24, and Sopranos, I haven't seen anything "new" on tv since the mid-80s. When I've been at a friends house or in a bar or whatever and the TV is on, I'm always shocked at just how fucking dreadful TV is, especially the popular shows (Buffy, X Files, Friends, Seinfeld, Star Trek offshoots, OZ, etc.). They are bloody awful. Exposition city.
posted by dobbs at 7:41 PM on May 16, 2004

No TV since about 1994.
posted by Voivod at 7:47 PM on May 16, 2004

Wait so you guys don't even turn on the TV to see something huge like say a collapse of a landmark or an incredibly good program on the origins of the universe? That's a little too horse blinder-ish isn't it?

Also aren't you being a little too snooty to not watch TV yet watch movies? What do movies add or remove from your life that occassional TV viewing doesn't? I'd wager that smart TV viewing enhances life more than any amont of movie viewing could do.
posted by riffola at 7:53 PM on May 16, 2004

"I sure picked the wrong week to give up television".

Right now, a proportionately ridiculously high portion of my income comes from writing about television, in fact, I seem to be more TV-friendly than the site's other contributors (most of whom are affiliated with Television Without Pity). So, I have a lot of pity for Television, sometimes even sympathy for the devilish box.

In fact, this week I will probably force Cable upon my father's apartment in support of my career (at my own expense, of course), and I am slowly trying to expand my interests (I'm working on a review of a book authored by a known TV writer). My non-job-related viewing is still dominated by my aging dad's questionable taste (right now, while writing this, I am being audibly bombarded by a "Married With Children" rerun), but it helps to remind me the value of the truly good stuff.
posted by wendell at 7:56 PM on May 16, 2004

I pretty much stopped watching TV regularly in the mid-80s. My TV has gone years at a time between being tuned to a TV channel (as opposed to being used for DVDs). Except when I was a kid, I've never, ever had the TV on just to have it on and flipping through the channels. That so many people do that sorta weirds me out, although it shouldn't.

But since 2002, I can't really claim to not watch TV anymore. Then, I had digital cable for a while, and I watched a fair bit of HBO (on demand). And that's when I discovered Buffy in reruns on FX. So I did watch Buffy broadcast.

Then, last year, out of extreme boredome and discovery of bittorrent, I decided to download some shows that I'd heard about. I think I started with Farscape.

Since then, I've watched entire series from start to finish either downloaded or rented on DVD. It's pretty neat that way. There's a couple of shows I could be watching broadcast, but continue to dowload them instead. I have a very low tolerance threshhold for advertisements.

Right now, I watch each week: Angel, Sopranos, Deadwood, Joan of Arcadia, and Alias. I'll also watch The Wire when it comes back on. I've seen every episode of Farscape and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. (And all the series mentioned above.)

For the first time pretty much in my adult life, I feel like I'm somewhat aware of television culture. But actually watching broadcast TV is very strange to me.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:02 PM on May 16, 2004

**warning** not a scientific survey **warning**

I don't watch TV, but I don't feel especially judgemental about those who do. The medium just doesn't intersect well with my personal weaknesses, and the commercials make me want to drive hot pokers through my eyes and ears. Yet, I've known plenty of people who seem to be constitutionally innoculated against what I perceive as it's shortcomings.

In the last 4 years, I seem to have stopped watching completely. I'm thinking of picking up educational/funny TV watching again though. The best TV is very, very good.
posted by troutfishing at 8:11 PM on May 16, 2004

Plummeted. I now see only the programmes I absolutely want to watch: no vegging out infront of the telly anymore; and I record almost all of the programmes I do view, having selected them carefully from the tv guide at the start of the week.

There seems to be less of the sort of thing that I like on now: All the StarTrek series (became crap and) petered out, Farscape, Buffy, Angel, X-Files et al, all gone with nothing to replace them.

The sparse appearance of good stuff like The Sopranos, 6 Feet Under, 15 Storeys High (and my only commitment to 'popular' tv that is The Bill) (and maybe Frasier) is all that keeps me watching.

The internet, my own thoughts, books, music, radio (in no particular order) all have a greater place in my life now than television does.
posted by Blue Stone at 8:16 PM on May 16, 2004

For me, the Web has reduced by TV viewing by at least 50% in the last year or so to about 6 hours per week and, now that broadband is finally available at my home, I would say that this will reduce even more in the future. Still, I would not voluntarily live without TV, as when it is good, it is very good. You need a fine filter, that's all.

I am inclined to agree with quonsar that TV has contributed to the gullibility of not only Americans, but the world in general. I an often appalled by people who assume that anything they see on TV must be true and would not dream of even wondering if there was an alternative view.
posted by dg at 8:24 PM on May 16, 2004

My TV is used for movies and video games. I do watch tv shows - mostly Deadwood and Penn & Teller's BS - but I can generally download anything worth watching. It's not a snooty thing for me, it's self preservation. I know that if I got cable, my life would be *over* - I already waste too much time consuming with the movies and the games and the webernets and the glavin. But, you know, I really don't feel like I'm missing much, not having the box blaring random crap at me all day. The gym I was going to for a while had the big rack of televisions, with half a dozen entertainment and news channels playing constantly. So. Much. Crap. And it's psychological crack; you can't look away. So doomed.
posted by majcher at 8:27 PM on May 16, 2004

Also aren't you being a little too snooty to not watch TV yet watch movies?

I think they're completely different and comparing them is, for the most part, silly. For me, what I find most interesting about narrative is character. The major difference between character in TV and Film is that in film, meaning is conveyed by how main characters change (or in rare instances, don't change). In movies, peripheral characters serve as reflections on main character. In television, it's just the opposite. Main characters in television never change. Alex Keaton (Keating?) is always Alex Keaton. Buffy is always Buffy. If any characters change (or are affected by happenings in a story) in television, it's the minor characters who we may not even see again. I don't understand how people can find this interesting.

This is one of the reasons that some of HBO's shows are so much appreciated. We can witness the growth of the characters on Sopranos and Six Feet Under. They're more like real people than the characters on Friends or Sienfeld. They have subtext; a basement. We can become part of their world rather than just examine it. No one on Friends has anything below the surface.

In addition, films show us a story. TV tells us a story. That's my biggest complaint about tv. It's all fucking exposition. My ex roommate is a fan of Buffy and Star Trek and used to watch them on DVD. They consist, entirely, of characters telling other characters the story for the sake of the audience. When this happens in films, it's derided. When it happens in television, it's a hit. I can't watch more than 10 minutes of it without wanting to scream and am literally dumbfounded for why anyone tunes in.

Network television is the lowest form of narrative. Comic books, flip books, even a good dirty joke, has more in common with good story than 99% of television.

As to your comment about "don't you even tune in for news or documentaries or whatever..." no. Where I live, to my knowledge, I can't get the Nature Chanel or HBO or the Independent Film Channel or anything of the sort unless I'm willing to first pay for Network TV--cable, which is like $50 a month. I'll drop the $50 on anything else and be better off.
posted by dobbs at 8:31 PM on May 16, 2004

I watch Sopranos on Sunday night (1 hour) and NASCAR on Sunday afternoon (4 hours +/-) if it's on. Anything other than that is the Weather Channel or CNN/MSNBC/FOX news in that order.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:48 PM on May 16, 2004

Oh, and to actuall answer the question, my viewing has neither increased nor decreased.

However, when broadband access became available in my area (5 years ago), my TV viewing decreased markedly, from probably 30 hours/week (multiple programs) to the current level of 5 hours/week (two programs).
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:52 PM on May 16, 2004

Can't afford cable, and found I lost most of my interest in television after a few months. Do still veg out in front of the tube, though, playing XBOX or watching 3-4 DVDs a week.

However, I do not understand how people can be proud of not participating in the dominant form of discourse of our society.

Television isn't a discourse, really. If you have television, you can't participate in a discourse, all you can do is watch other people. The internet is the dominant form of discourse in our country, if you don't count talking to people in person.

If television were a discourse, what would it be?
"Buy this product!"
"Ok!"

In my case, I can't be proud of not watching television, because I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. But I could see someone having a valid reason to feel some pride in breaking a habit that is reinforced by all of society, if they set that as a goal for themselves and then accomplished it. How is it different than doing anything else that is difficult? Is it just that you feel they're looking down at you?
posted by Hildago at 8:52 PM on May 16, 2004

Additionally (since I have nothing else to do at the moment) we usually watch one or two new DVD movies per weekend as a family. This week we chose Big Fish (very entertaining, I highly recommend it) and Matrix Revolutions (so-so, nice if you want to exercise your surround-sound equipment).
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:55 PM on May 16, 2004

I watch... NASCAR on Sunday afternoon (4 hours +/-) if it's on.

Dude. Tape it, watch it in fast forward. You miss nothing, and suddenly it looks like they're driving six hundred miles an hour.
posted by Hildago at 8:56 PM on May 16, 2004

Somebody stopped paying for cable and I didn't feel like paying so no more TV for about a year for me. I still get the local channels and public television so I watch the news and PBS a bit, but per week is probably in the 2-5 hours range.
posted by crazy finger at 9:02 PM on May 16, 2004

10 hours per week

Sopranos: 1 hour weekly
Simpsons: 1 hour weekly (Sunday night 30minutes and assorted 2-10 minute clips many other nights.
Nightline/Letterman: 3 hours weekly
The Shield: 1 hour weekly
Assorted other crap, mostly HBO shows/specials: 4 hours a week.
posted by cell divide at 9:09 PM on May 16, 2004

Oh and I should have sad, sports are not included in that list. They account for an additional 4-5 hours per week depending on what season it is.
posted by cell divide at 9:10 PM on May 16, 2004

Decreased dramatically since I got rid of cable a few months ago (I mostly miss The Sopranos and the many-splendored forensic science/dead body shows), which I did because a) I wanted to save the money each month, b) I realized that I wasn't reading as much as I used to (in large part because I don't have a commute on a train anymore) and c) I have 250+ DVDs in my Netflix queue and I realized I was never going to get around to seeing all of Kurasawa's films if I spent all my time watching sitcoms I only vaguely enjoyed.

I now probably watch between 0-2 hours a day (in contrast to the estimated 2-6 hours a day I used to watch); I also watch 1-5 DVDs a week.
posted by scody at 9:21 PM on May 16, 2004

I watch... NASCAR on Sunday afternoon (4 hours +/-) if it's on.
Oh, yeah, I watch the V8 Supercars when they are running as well. If you like NASCAR, you should get a look at this category - kind of like NASCAR, but with cars that can turn corners, have brakes and are not afraid of the rain.
posted by dg at 9:26 PM on May 16, 2004

I haven't really been a TV viewer for about 10 years, and have generally been driven crazy by those roommates I've had who were. I don't need no stinkin' tube: I have books and the internet and mathematics to steal my life!

Most of my TV conversations start with 'So I was watching C-SPAN the other night... (As my present roommates have cable.)
posted by kaibutsu at 9:29 PM on May 16, 2004

None. Since Sept 2003.
posted by Dark Messiah at 9:35 PM on May 16, 2004

I often have the TV on as background noise when I'm up late, or early...but if the boy is awake it's usually tuned to a satellite music channel. I've never actually calculated how much I watch because I tend to record things I think I'll want to see...and then generally forget to watch it until I have a big popcorn laden marathon of media madness.

But we watch Sesame Street in the morning, and sometimes Blues Clues in the afternoon...some news...but I get most of that info from the web, some talking heads, but usually on PBS on Sunday...and if I can swing it, I'll catch parts of both NASCAR races...oooh, and 2 prime time shows a week, because I've been following the story arcs and I want to see what happens next. There's other stuff that if I see it on the channel guide I might watch...but generally, TV isn't interactive enough to hold my interest for long. I've been spoiled by my computer.
posted by dejah420 at 10:02 PM on May 16, 2004

About four hours a week, mainly BBC News, NOW, BT'd Six Feet Under, the occasional random Star Trek rerun. Slowly creeping up since I got this PVR (but still no cable.) Commercials drive me batty. Lots and lots of DVDs.
posted by muckster at 10:19 PM on May 16, 2004

Practically none.

I do technically use it, to watch some select movies.

Also, occasionally when I've dinner in hand and I feel like multitasking, TV is the only passively "stimulating" activity available. That usually conforms out to a routine, since half the time, I'm switching back to the TV Guide channel and I almost always end up with CNN.
posted by Gyan at 10:23 PM on May 16, 2004

Having been away from American TV for many, many years now, I can confirm that a lot of popcult stuff is is really kind of difficult to grok without it. "Talk to the hand?" I have absolutely no idea what this really signifies; although I can understand the basic message, this phrase has no "atmosphere" for me. Paris Hilton? I finally had to look her up to figure out what the big deal was, or who, exactly, she's supposed to be. I still don't really get it."Queer Eye"? Another one I had to research in order to understand a whole pile of references and comments.

Even if you don't actively make it a point to tune in and view specific programs, if you have the medium the message is getting through. As for me, I watch a couple of movies a week, and I watch a couple of imported American or British shows. I really, really miss cable and all the documentaries, specifically. I miss things like PBS specials and serials. If I am in the mood for TV, I miss the ability to just turn it on and almost always find something interesting to watch. I so miss Jeopardy! I don't, and never have watched a lot of television, but I wish I had the number of alternatives that most of you take for granted.
posted by taz at 10:51 PM on May 16, 2004

0 hours per day. That is to say, no t.v. since 1985 when we moved to the tiny coastal town where we now live, where t.v. reception was impossible without a big old antenna, which our house didn't have; cable, which came in about 5 years later, or satellite downlink, a few years after that, which was prohibitively expensive. Yes, we rent movies, not obsessively, maybe 1 or 2 a week, sometimes none - we are of modest means, you could say. We read a lot, and then there's the internet, of course.
posted by Lynsey at 10:57 PM on May 16, 2004

0 hours per day.

Occasionally I remember that Frontline or Nova exists and bore my wife into a nap.
posted by mwhybark at 11:16 PM on May 16, 2004

I am addicted to not watching television. It would be as hard to start a regular regimen as it would be for me, say, to start flossing. Or jogging. Actually, since I've had jogging regimen as recently as a year ago, probably harder. I've been out of the TV habit completely since I got disgusted with the X-Files at the end of 1998.

It's really not that I hate the medium entirely -- though I agree with quonsar in that most of what's on it is simply the opiate of the masses, I occasionally find something well-worth watching. But I rarely even think of it. If it weren't for the various people I've lived with over the last 6 years, I doubt I would have watched it at all. Well... maybe once. A few months ago I came home from work exhausted but wired. I had nothing to read, and having just spent 12 hours staring into a computer screen, I didn't want to use the internet. I didn't want to pick up the guitar, and my friends had all gone to bed. So... TV it was. I turned on the box and made myself watch all of "Tango and Cash" on TBN. With my brain suitably full of the sacharrine (if quintessential) movie cliche, I finally retired.
posted by weston at 11:22 PM on May 16, 2004

It may be an idiot box, but the longer you stay away the more unibomber-ish you become.

i cannot think of a better reason to turn the fucker off. hell, by your reasoning (which is actually spot on!) 2-3 years without tv, and i could be the new osama bin laden. and if you actually beleive that shit you just posted, you probably ARE the next unibomber. tv is for lamebrains. go buy something, it doesn't matter what.
posted by quonsar at 11:34 PM on May 16, 2004

Why does this thread exist?

Didn't we used to line up to kick Miguel's ass when he posted excuses for chat like this?

I'm not so much annoyed as bemused. Crikey.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:35 PM on May 16, 2004

I can't stand japanese TV, and I get (from an anonymous source) the Daily Show and South Park. Thats about it.

I do see quite a few bad movies though.
posted by lkc at 11:40 PM on May 16, 2004

If I'm home, the tv is on. It's mostly for background noise, and there are very few shows that I'll actually give my full attention. In the past year, my actual viewing has increased though, as I've been working at a video chain, and get free rentals. On the other hand, I suppose that also means that I've been watching less tv and more dvds, if you're making that distinction.
posted by Ruki at 12:53 AM on May 17, 2004

10 hours/week +/-. Neither an increase nor decrease from last year. I get info primarily from the 'net, less invasion from the evil marketing sector. And there is generally a 2-3 day lag between web content and local paper printed content.

TWC (no reruns! ;)
PBS (antique Road Show, The Office)
Discovery/TLC
Occasional silliness like Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Ellen Degeneres' opening monologue
continuous music stations

Never CNN/Headline Glam news channels, reality shows, Oprah/talk show noise bullshit.

Have to add that my favorite TV news station is NWI out of Toronto. I find it broad and balanced, a nice alternative to litigious-news-only found in the states. Hope Gore doesn't screw it up completely, but my gut says otherwise.
posted by yoga at 4:20 AM on May 17, 2004

10 hours/week +/-

TWC (no reruns! ;)
PBS (antique Road Show, The Office)
Discovery/TLC
Occasional silliness like Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Ellen Degeneres' opening monologue
continuous music stations

Never CNN/Headline Glam news channels, reality shows, Oprah/talk show noise bullshit.

Have to add that my favorite TV news station is NWI out of Toronto. I find it broad and balanced, a nice alternative to litigious-news-only found in the states. Hope Gore doesn't screw it up completely, but my gut says otherwise. Anyone know if a similar new Canadian news channels will take its place?
posted by yoga at 4:23 AM on May 17, 2004

Apologies for the double post.
posted by yoga at 4:24 AM on May 17, 2004

A couple hours per week, though I often miss it completely. I still watch the Simpson's when it's not a repeat and I leave it on through Malcom in the Middle but I don't think I've actually seen it in ages. I usually end up nordic tracking around then so even though the tv is on I'm really listening to my iPod.
posted by substrate at 4:42 AM on May 17, 2004

Greatly declined in hours.

I grew up as part of the "television generation" in the 60's, and I have to say; tv sucks nowadays. No decent shows (except The Simpsons, The Sopranos, and maybe Surviver). No Saturday morning cartoons worth a bucket of warm spit.

Hey... you kids! Get outta my yard!
posted by jpburns at 4:44 AM on May 17, 2004

... Oh... and I miss Buffy.
posted by jpburns at 4:53 AM on May 17, 2004

I watch the morning news while I getting ready for work, and I'll turn on the TV at 6:30 for evening headlines if I'm in the house. But other than that, I almost never watch broadcast TV (and I don't have cable). My Gamecube and DVD player get a workout, though.
posted by Prospero at 5:03 AM on May 17, 2004

Um... "I'm getting".
posted by Prospero at 5:04 AM on May 17, 2004

I have a TV for videogame purposes, but any television I watch is from DVD. I sadly just cannot live without my Jack B's -- Bristow and Bauer. Oh, and the boys of Queer as Folk. But that's it. Honest.

Oh, all right, I'm in love with The Food Network. Now leeme alone!
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:28 AM on May 17, 2004

Do not have a TV in my house.
See TV once every 2 weeks in my parents house .........
The Television Licence inspector, didnt believe that I didnt have one and searched the downstairs of my house!
posted by kenaman at 5:33 AM on May 17, 2004

I used to put BBC News on while I was getting ready for work in the mornings, and occasionally I'd watch The Simpsons or Have I Got News For You, but it was only about once a month I'd actually sit down and channel flick (generally only the BBC channels, because adverts are aggravating). However, I moved to a new flat recently where the telly and the aerial socket are on opposite sides of the room, and I just don't care enough to go and buy a longer cable. So now our TV just shows DVDs and lots and lots of video games, and acts as primary monitor for the "fun" PC; its archive of episodic TV makes a great accompaniment to dinner.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 5:39 AM on May 17, 2004

When I got a divorce and was living by myself for the first time in my life, I loaded up on cable because I knew I would find it comforting. I don't watch as much now as I used to, but I still watch quite a bit, maybe 3 hours a day on average, especially when it's baseball season. Also, the digital cable came with all these music channels, so they're on a lot, which I can't really call "watching" -- the tv becomes a radio, I guess.

I am addicted to muting commercials. The mute button is really one of the greatest technological advances of the 20th century.

TV has contributed to the gullibility of not only Americans, but the world in general. I an often appalled by people who assume that anything they see on TV must be true and would not dream of even wondering if there was an alternative view.

My experience with people like that makes me believe that even if they didn't have a tv to tell them what to think, they'd get told what to think by something else and still never wonder if there is an alternative view.
posted by JanetLand at 5:52 AM on May 17, 2004

I watch a lot of hockey this time of year. Some pro football, college basketball and baseball the rest of the year. The last episodic show I watched regularly was Homicide in 1996.
posted by mookieproof at 6:04 AM on May 17, 2004

I have CNN or CSpan on at work all day, but that doesn't count.

I used to watch a lot of TV, (Homicide was officially the Best Show Ever, mookie) but now I'm online much more. The only must see TV for me in the last few years has been the Simpsons on Sunday night followed by the HBO show du moment: SFU, Sopranos, SATC or Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Anyway, TV is officially over now that Lenny is leaving Law and Order Wednesday.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:20 AM on May 17, 2004

I used to watch it obsessively, but now I watch essentially only Angel, and that's about over. I do however netflix my way through Homicide and a few other shows. I suppose that counts.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:43 AM on May 17, 2004

If I'm home, the tv is on. It's mostly for background noise, and there are very few shows that I'll actually give my full attention.

dangerous and stupid. you just open your subconscious mind and let in anything the damn television tells you, freely and uncritically.
posted by quonsar at 7:02 AM on May 17, 2004

That's why I try to only keep Hardcore Pornography playing in the background. Let me show you on this doll where I touch my inner child.
posted by Stan Chin at 7:57 AM on May 17, 2004

No cable, no antenna -- I don't watch TV at home, because it's more convenient not to.

We do Netflix, so I watch 5-10 movies a month, where "movie" in some cases means "part of a season of a TV show that probably got cancelled by FOX or runs on HBO."

And I play a lot of video games, but not as many as I used to.

And I hate being percieved as That Guy Who Doesn't Watch TV.

But then some ass at work will say, "yeah it was just like, that, that -- hey, Josh, you know that Budweiser ad with the singing vulva?"

And I'll be all like, "nope, sorry."

And they're like, "oh, come on, you know, it's the one with the -- c'mon, the vulva's all like, 'fly me tooooo the mooooooooon' OMFGLOL"

And eventually to prove that I'm not a communist or dead I have to establish that the reason I haven't seen it is that I don't actually watch TV on a regular basis anymore, it just sorta happened, it's not a philosophical thing, etc, etc.
posted by cortex at 8:11 AM on May 17, 2004

I don't ever watch television at home. Sometimes I check out a program at friends' houses, but that amounts to an hour a week, at most.
posted by rocketman at 8:17 AM on May 17, 2004

I watch less TV than I used to, the internet, but I'll sometimes flip it on, if I'm in the mood to veg out. I used to closely follow a few shows, like Homicide and Law & Order but one is gone and the other has become really preachy lately.

I'll watch History Channel and Food Channel type stuff a lot now. If I feel the need for traditional TV, I'll watch reruns of 70's stuff like M*A*S*H or All In The Family, since that was the peak of the more serious TV form. Or I'll swing in the opposite direction and check out Gilligans Island or Bewitched on TV Land. Television was at it's best in many ways when it made no pretense of "quality" and just wanted to give you an hour of mindless fun.
posted by jonmc at 8:44 AM on May 17, 2004

This generalization about 'television' is incredibly illogical and lame. One doesn't lump every film ever made together as simply 'do you watch film?' just because they were released on celluloid. Is Seinfeld the same as CNN the same as Twink Peaks the same as the BBC? C'mon. So the question doesn't even mean anything worthwhile even if it's answered.

Sheesh.

But you know, I watch every Red Sox game I can get my eyes on. But living in Seattle, I usually watch the Mariners blow 4-run leads a lot too.
posted by xmutex at 8:46 AM on May 17, 2004

I gave my TV away in 2001. At that point it was gathering dust for some time. I've worked in film & tv production since finishing art school now for five years, the last thing I want to do is watch more tv. I do not miss it, nor do I feel I'm out of the cultural loop by any means.
If anything, I feel most of what I've missed is culturally moronic, and trivial at best. I do miss news and some documentaries, however I could always rent or download them. I don't miss it overall..........."Thhheee Simmmsssons". Doah!
posted by orbit at 8:53 AM on May 17, 2004

the same as Twink Peaks

That would David Lynch's foray into gay porn, right? Lotta man-on-monster action, Black Jack gum facials, that kinda thing? And that Log Lady....
posted by jonmc at 9:14 AM on May 17, 2004

Gave up tv completely when I was going through my divorce six years ago. (We used it as a tool to ignore each other constantly and the idea of tv became repulsive to me.) Now, I watch a few shows: Alias, Will & Grace, sports (mostly football), and the recently-discovered Now with Bill Moyers. And on Sundays, lately, we'll put on some golf and read the NYTimes. It's a great way to relax — although, with the weather finally getting nice here in NYC, we'll get outside whenever we can.

I pretty much think of TV the same way as I do desserts: unnecessary, periodically great, too much can be bad for your health.
posted by papercake at 9:21 AM on May 17, 2004

I shut my TV off in 1987 and never turned it back on. That is to say, to watch tv. I use it daily to watch DVDs. With the exception of South Park, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, 24, and Sopranos, I haven't seen anything "new" on tv since the mid-80s. When I've been at a friends house or in a bar or whatever and the TV is on, I'm always shocked at just how fucking dreadful TV is, especially the popular shows (Buffy, X Files, Friends, Seinfeld, Star Trek offshoots, OZ, etc.). They are bloody awful. Exposition city.

Only thing I'm going to say about this entire thread (since the comments were entirely predictable), is that this comment made me laugh for a good twenty seconds. You listed five of the more pop-culture shows in the last decade and then expressed your disdain for "popular" television.

As for your later Buffy argument, I'm not going to touch it except to say that you've clearly never watched more than maybe an episode (or two at best), or you'd understand that the character/story arcs on that series were far more involved than almost anything on television, except perhaps Six Feet Under (which is similar). In fact, the network execs continually tried to get them to cut back on the involved story lines in order to make it more appealing to traditional television viewing audiences.
posted by The God Complex at 9:33 AM on May 17, 2004

My past week was typical. Friday evening I watched a couple of forgettable shows on Sci-Fi, "Touching Evil," and an hour of stand-up on Comedy Central. Saturday I watched probably another hour. I did watch a couple of DVDs, but I did that on my computer. If this keeps up, I'm going to just cancel my satellite subscription and sell the TiVo and the television.
posted by kindall at 10:11 AM on May 17, 2004

My live-in landlady gets up around 6 am and watches Gunsmoke, followed by C-Span all morning long, then a little more Gunsmoke in the afternoon. She's 72 and it's LOUD. She's a hell of a gal generally, but the incessant TV watching is hard to get used to. Then she'll just turn it off and go out and garden for five hours. I don't watch TV except for Simpsons when we're home, but I get a lot of it through osmiosis. We watch a lot of movies though. The library I work at has a big video & DVD collection and we're methodically working our way through it. I get a lot of crap at work come the sports season [whichever one] for not swearing any team loyalty so sometimes I read the sports pages so I can be fluent enough to not get ridiculed out of here. I went through about a decade of no-tv-owning when I lived in Seattle and it's like a drug to me now: hard to avoid in bars, totally mind-numbing, hard to not sort of "come to" a few hours later on the couch and think "what the hell just happened?" sort of like what papercake said.
posted by jessamyn at 10:28 AM on May 17, 2004

Fox News has saved television. I also watch lots of US TV and I love it (European channels are usually horrible beyond description). I appreciate the TV format and, as soon as HDTV is really feasible from the financial POV, I think great things will be happen. People like David Lynch are really enthusiastic about what can be done for TV.
posted by 111 at 10:32 AM on May 17, 2004

Obligatory defense- I do agree with xmutex, and I think that "stupid and dangerous" is a bit of an oversimplication, though I can see quonsar's point. For example, if this question was about books, would someone who reads a lot, and has increased their book intake in the past year, be praised regardless if their library contained nothing but Ann Coulter or Al Franken, or if they had the complete dead white man canon, or only Steven King books, or... As with every other medium, there's good books and bad books, and good tv and bad tv. While I readily admit to occasionally watching some truly crap tv, I don't think something like the FNC should be lumped in with something like the Discovery Channel.

Hmm. On preview however, I think I'll shut the tv off for a while. Oh my.
posted by Ruki at 10:34 AM on May 17, 2004

Fox News has saved television [...] People like David Lynch are really enthusiastic about what can be done for TV.

Conflict ... must ... resist ... attempt ... to ... tear ...self ... apart ...
posted by Blue Stone at 10:43 AM on May 17, 2004

Conflict ... must ... resist ... attempt ... to ... tear ...self ... apart ...
posted by Blue Stone at 10:43 AM PST on May 17

What, you don't like David Lynch?
posted by 111 at 10:47 AM on May 17, 2004

I use my TV a lot in winter for video games when it is too cold to be doing anything outside. I occasionally watch a DVD, fairly often in winter but I have not had the DVD player on in about two months since the weather turned warm. I watch some sports, mostly during college football season.

I used to watch a lot of tv, not much these days. I either have outgrown it or it is simply all-around worse than it used to be. I tend to turn it on when I am bored, find nothing on and turn it back off.

I do watch Crossing Jordan and Angel, although I tape them since I hate commercials. Fantasy or science fiction oriented stuff like Buffy/Angel/Farscape with an ongoing storyline appeals to me more than anything else and there isn't much like that on TeeVee. I liked Andromeda in season one but soon after it went to crap and I quit watching.

I might watch West Wing or one of the Law & Orders if there is nothing else for me to do. I liked The D.A. but I only saw a couple of episodes when someone else watched it. I might watch it if it comes back this fall.

I watch programs about nature (severe weather, wildlife, etc) when I turn on the TV and find one by chance.

In summer I tend to have the TV on very little at all. I have it on the Weather Channel more than anything else.

I need background noise but TV is either distracting or just annoying, so when I am sitting in front of the computer or doing something else inside I almost always have my stereo on.
posted by bargle at 10:50 AM on May 17, 2004

I don't have a TV.

it's like a drug to me now: hard to avoid in bars, totally mind-numbing, hard to not sort of "come to" a few hours later on the couch and think "what the hell just happened?"

That sounds like my experience with it. If there's a TV on in the room, I cannot tear my eyes away from it. It sucks up my attention whether I want it to or not. I hate that feeling.

I think there is a process of habituation with TV-watching, because I've heard similar descriptions from other people who don't watch TV regularly, but people who *do* spend a lot of time watching don't seem to have the same problem. Some people just leave it running all day, as background noise - I can't imagine how I would ever get anything done, but people must learn how to block it out, or at least to pay less attention to it.

Of course now I imagine some cranky centenarian wondering how I can stand to leave music playing all day.
posted by Mars Saxman at 10:56 AM on May 17, 2004

oh, and yeah: I mostly don't watch TV because I *cannot* *stand* ads. I stopped listening to radio for the same reason. Anyone who has watched TV with me will attest that I spend the commercial breaks dissecting and criticizing flaws in the ads, no matter how minute; this tends to confuse experienced tv-watchers, who have apparently learned not to notice the ads. But I have to do it, or I feel like the advertisers are winning.
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:02 AM on May 17, 2004

no broadcast television, but the DVD player gets a near daily workout. that's been the case for about 10 years now, basically since I finished high school and started doing in interesting things with my life.
posted by badstone at 11:05 AM on May 17, 2004

When I first moved, I couldn't afford cable - my budget forced me to choose betwen cable TV and cable internet... so guess which won.

I can easily afford it now, but years of non-watching has made it very difficult for me to justify the cost of getting an entire cable package for just the few channels that appeal to me. Luckily, all the shows I've liked are being put on DVD, so I just wait for box sets.
posted by Sangre Azul at 11:09 AM on May 17, 2004

I don't watch TV shows at all, and haven't for the past five years. I do watch a lot of DVDs and play Playstation 2 games, though, so it's not as if I don't have a TV. I just decided that it'd be better to use the TV to watch stuff that I really want to see, as opposed to whatever's on.
posted by vorfeed at 11:12 AM on May 17, 2004

One doesn't lump every film ever made together as simply 'do you watch film?' just because they were released on celluloid.

i do.

american obsession with entertainment is disgusting.
posted by quonsar at 11:24 AM on May 17, 2004

You listed five of the more pop-culture shows in the last decade and then expressed your disdain for "popular" television.

I listed 5 television shows from the past 17 YEARS of tv, yes. Two of those shows (simpsons and south park) I've seen and understand their appeal, but I don't go out of my way to watch them. By "seen" I mean watched more than maybe 12 times (by choice) in those 17 years.

I've seen all of the Sopranos and Six Feet Under that are on DVD for the reasons in my second post--they have strong characters; the writers have a firm grasp of story/narrative.

As for your later Buffy argument, I'm not going to touch it except to say that you've clearly never watched more than maybe an episode (or two at best), or you'd understand that the character/story arcs on that series were far more involved than almost anything on television, except perhaps Six Feet Under (which is similar).

Your comparison is ridiculous.

Unfortunately, I've seen more Buffy than I've seen of, say, South Park. As I mentioned, my ex roommate is a fan of the show. I've seen none of the early seasons but probably about a dozen of the shows from seasons 5-7. Frankly, I say bullocks to your comment about character arcs. The relationships between the characters (who was dating who; who liked who, etc.) changed, yes, but that's hardly growth. Writers deciding to make a character different for an episode or "from here on out" simply to make the show more interesting hardly constitutes growth.

I'm by no means an expert on the show (obviously) but I think that I gave it a fair shot. I watched it the first time for the same reason I tried Sopranos and Six Feet Under. I was told the writing was good. I was told repeatedly about an episode called, I think, Hush. ("There's no dialogue in it!", "The story is told completely with visuals!" etc etc.). Bullocks. The episode was just as shallow and exposition-filled as any other. The "silent" part of the show was a fraction of the overall running time and rather than let the audience follow what was going on in the story, the characters stopped and told each other what we had already figured out for ourselves. The show panders and condescends to audiences at every turn, never allowing them to fill in plot or character on their own for fear we'll be "lost".

In fact, the network execs continually tried to get them to cut back on the involved story lines in order to make it more appealing to traditional television viewing audiences.

The key phrase there is "network execs". I mean, give me a break. If they thought you'd tune in to 60 minutes of characters talking about paste they'd air it.

By no means am I delusional enough to think my opinions on the show will sway anyone who's already a fan. Buffy (and ST:NG and X Files) fans are rabid with enthusiasm over their shows. But, to me, the reason Buffy is "the best of tv" to so many people is because they're comparing it to bigger piles of shit. I've never seen them but I'm betting it ain't hard to drown out Everybody Loves Raymond and Will & Grace.

Try this: sit down and watch any one episode of Buffy and any one episode of Six Feet Under. Count the number of times any character in both show "explains" the story or their character with dialogue. If it happens less than a dozen times in any episode of Buffy I would be shocked; same goes if it happens more than twice (if that) in the HBO show. When I've asked other Buffy fans to do this, they've refused, because, well, "that's not the point".

To me, the point is that when you surround yourself with television as your main choice of entertainment you start to expect to be condescended to by your favorite characters. And they don't disappoint. They'll do it every week till you stop noticing.
posted by dobbs at 11:25 AM on May 17, 2004

this tends to confuse experienced tv-watchers, who have apparently learned not to notice the ads.

wrong interpretation. they've simply learned to uncritically accept the ads. when my tv is on (hey - there's a time and a place for everything) i consistently talk back to the ads. if i'm alone, this consists of utterances like "hey, fuck you proctor and gamble!" or "kiss my ass, microsoft". when others are present i tend to get all evangelical about it. so, who's stopping by for prime time tonight?
posted by quonsar at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2004

You wrongly assume that I don't watch and enjoy Six Feet Under and that I'm incapable of making distinctions between the two without having to choose one style of television over another. This is why you appear to be both pretentious and overbearing.

But, to me, the reason Buffy is "the best of tv" to so many people is because they're comparing it to bigger piles of shit. I've never seen them but I'm betting it ain't hard to drown out Everybody Loves Raymond and Will & Grace.

See above for the reason I will not bother arguing this point with you. You've already found out all you could possibly find out about fans of television shows you dislike by assuming any number of things. The truth of the matter is that you're arguing about different genres and attempting to apply the same critiques to both, something that is at best pointless.

But I've argued this point for too long and will cease and desist, lamenting that I didn't follow my initial impulse and ignore this thread entirely.
posted by The God Complex at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2004

tgc, it's ALL the same genre.

*hypnotize - suggest the purchase of something - hypnoitize some more*

you mistake the "content" as something meaningful.
posted by quonsar at 12:02 PM on May 17, 2004

David Mamet wrote at least one episode of Hill Street Blues.
posted by matteo at 12:17 PM on May 17, 2004

Sopranos, Six Feet Under, West Wing, Bill Moyers, Mets games whenever I think I can handle the trauma. Plus the occasional Nova or whatever (can't resist Mayan inscriptions). Don't know when or why I stopped watching The Simpsons, but I did.

I spend the commercial breaks dissecting and criticizing flaws in the ads... I have to do it, or I feel like the advertisers are winning.

Dude, if you're paying attention at all, the advertisers are winning. I click the sound off the instant the show pauses, talk to my wife or read for the next couple of minutes, and switch it back on when the show resumes. I have very finely honed instincts about the length of ad breaks (developed back when I used to watch commercial TV a lot more).

I realized that I wasn't reading as much as I used to (in large part because I don't have a commute on a train anymore)

I now commute by train, and therefore read more than I used to.
posted by languagehat at 12:38 PM on May 17, 2004

when my tv is on (hey - there's a time and a place for everything) i consistently talk back to the ads.

Congratulations quonsar, you've outdone yourself; this is weird even for your traditionally unorthodox standards.
posted by 111 at 12:43 PM on May 17, 2004

You wrongly assume that I don't watch and enjoy Six Feet Under

I assumed no such thing. In fact, I assumed you'd seen more episodes than I as I've only seen the first season.

You're the one who dismissed me with "you've probably seen one (at most two) episodes" and when I tell you that's not the case and cite specific examples of what I'm talking about (entertainment built on exposition), you're equally dismissive. Make up your mind.

The truth of the matter is that you're arguing about different genres

I was comparing them because they appeal to large numbers of people, not because I think their content equivelant. It was you who directly compared Buffy and Six Feet Under as "just as good".

This is why you appear to be both pretentious and overbearing.

I've been accused of being overbearing many times, especially in online forums. I won't argue the point. Pretentious? Hardly. I simply disagree with your analysis of the show as you do of mine. I tried to explain why I think what I think, more than once, with examples; you merely told me I was wrong.

The God Complex, indeed. :)
posted by dobbs at 12:45 PM on May 17, 2004

Turned it off after the Sept 11 hype. I'd already begun hating agenda programs pushing uninformed vaccination, formula feeding, processed foods, fear based crap, "doing it in the name of safety" etc. Where were the intelligent programs and mindless amusement sitcoms?

It's used now for 1-2 movie rentals a month and workout videos. I do miss BBC America's "The Office" though.
posted by Feisty at 2:43 PM on May 17, 2004

I find it really hard to believe that there are so many neoluddites here, but then again it explains the attraction to flash movies.

"look, those little people are moving, it's just like real-life"
posted by milovoo at 3:13 PM on May 17, 2004

I mostly use my tv now to watch dvds of television and other bits and pieces I've recorded. I tend to watch the old favourites (er, friends, HIGNFY etc) but one by one they're deserting me.
posted by feelinglistless at 3:37 PM on May 17, 2004

milovoo (and others) -

why does the fact that some people don't like TV threaten you so much? your defensiveness about something so innocuous is kinda bizarre. i can understand how watching television might be mandatory if you live in a small town with no alternatives for entertainment and information, but many people live in cities and have plenty of options. e.g. - I can attend actual lectures and go to museums as an alternative so your beloved Discovery Channel. what is it about that sort of activity that is so terrible? as others have said, television advertisements are incredibly insulting and annoying, what am I missing by avoiding them?
posted by badstone at 3:51 PM on May 17, 2004

i don't even own a tv. i torrent the daily show and adult swim on occasion, but that's pretty much it.
posted by Hackworth at 4:13 PM on May 17, 2004

OK, I'm the outlier: I turn on CNN when I get up between 10 AM and noon, and it's on most of the day while I work. At some point in the afternoon - usually after Crossfire - I can't take it any more and if there's something fun on - the Powerpuff Girls, Naked Chef, Molto Mario, whatever - I'll switch. One way or another, though, the TV's on till I leave the house for food and drink, and on again once I'm home working the night away, since my Replay will have stored my favorite prime-time shows to keep me awake during the late-night barrens.

So, that sucker's on probably 12-15 hours on your average day. But please understand, my attention isn't on the TV almost ever. I'm working (or as likely I'm Shrooking my 56 favorite RSS feeds) and my back-brain is parsing the sound from the TV like some kind of renegade Echelon node. When it raises a semaphore - "Huh? What'd he say?" - my forebrain reaches for the Replay remote and hits its excellent skip-7-seconds-back button.


But as to troutfishing's original question, I have a second data point the inverse of me: my best friend dumped his (52-inch rear projection) TV months ago and just BitTorrents Angel and The Simpsons.


i remain convinced tv is the reason americans are so fucking gullible. - quonsar

Nah, I'm pretty sure it's Christianity.


Let me show you on this doll where I touch my inner child. - Stan Chin

That's fucking funny.
posted by nicwolff at 4:41 PM on May 17, 2004

>>when my tv is on (hey - there's a time and a place for everything) i consistently talk back to the ads.

>Congratulations quonsar, you've outdone yourself; this is weird even for your traditionally unorthodox standards.

I do the same, on those rare occasions that I join the wife in front of the box. And the ads are in Korean, which makes it that much more futile.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:47 PM on May 17, 2004

I do the same, on those rare occasions that I join the wife in front of the box. And the ads are in Korean, which makes it that much more futile.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:47 PM PST on May 17

I'd love to perform a little Clockwork Orange-like experiment with quonsar and stavros, forcing them both to watch Bush speeches for hours and hours on TV. With quonsar I could show one hour of Bush and one hour consisting of unedited Paris Hilton interviews.
I suspect they'd secretly enjoy it.
posted by 111 at 5:14 PM on May 17, 2004

For me it's the cartoon network or cspan2, and it's on roughly 24 hours a day.
I really need it to be in the background, even with the sound off, or I get antsy.
posted by dong_resin at 5:53 PM on May 17, 2004

I'd gladly go over and watch tv with either quonsar or the wonderchicken, but only if Stan Chin would stick his head in every so often and mouth off.

'cause you know, you can't just be serious all the time.

My tv is on during football season. And for some of the VH1 stuff, and a new South Park or two when I get home early enough on a Wednesday night. Damn you, participatory democracy!
posted by yhbc at 6:32 PM on May 17, 2004

I have it on all the time when i'm home, but it's more as background noise and something else to glance at rather than watching. Usually a basic cable station, and rarely the networks.
posted by amberglow at 6:56 PM on May 17, 2004

My post question was actually a little disingenuous - I knew that the major networks are in slowfall panic about declining TV viewership.

But mefi chatterers are supposed to be "influentials", and so I was curious if the trend might be accelerating or not.

I'd say it is.

But on a more philosophical note, I wonder about the relationship between TV consumption and creativity. I think a certain level of good quality TV can enhance creativity, but could there be a point beyond which, at a certain level, TV watching then reduces creativity ?

Or thought ? TV watching is close to the #1 Alzheimer's risk factor, but there could be many reasons behind that correlation.

As with many things - this depends a lot on personality. I've known many "ambient TV" types such as Amberglow, and I hardly think they suffer from the constant TV presence. In such cases, I get the impression that the always-on TV works a bit like Valium - for relaxation.
posted by troutfishing at 7:45 PM on May 17, 2004

Oh, and - on those rare occasions when I actually deign to watch them, I talk back to TV's . I talk back to radios too.

But - hey - I'm an animist of sorts. I think everything is, at a certain level, alive.

Also I'm very polite to my refrigerator, and I'm unfailingly encouraging to my car. Only an idiot is rude to his/her car. I used to fix autos for a living, and I can attest to the fact that they're quite sensitive.
posted by troutfishing at 7:53 PM on May 17, 2004

milovoo (and others) - why does the fact that some people don't like TV threaten you so much?

Sorry, I was just teasing. I actually think it's sort of admirable. Like I said, I had no TV for quite a few years, but these days I have a whacked-out work schedule so I can't get to lectures and such. I do think the people who claim that all TV sucks are painting it with too broad a brush, as there certainly are some gems out there somewhere, although I admit they are few and far apart. I also think the insipid commercials are just a symptom of the dumbing-down of the culture, not the cause.
posted by milovoo at 8:02 PM on May 17, 2004

I turn the television on when I get up and it's on until I go to sleep. I don't pay close attention to it for more than a couple of hours a day, and even then it's on-and-off. I either read during commercials or pay close attention to the commercials.

Sometimes I read a book during a show I'm watching, or look at the internet. I have a hard time painting or drawing without the white noise of televison going unwatched in the background. At the same time as I'm writing this, PBS is showing a really good locally-made documentary about Madison's pedestrian mall, State Street, and I'm listening to it. In fifteen minutes, I'm going to change the channel and listen to "Star Trek: Voyager".

I also enjoy picking apart ads, and I like talking to people about them. Like:

Have you noticed that Kentucky Fried Chicken is going through some kind of public-relations problem right now? That's the sense that I get from their commercials; they've been changing what "KFC" stands for from ad to ad for months, sometimes using more than one slogan per ad. How pathetic and desperate!

Like my dad told me a long time ago: "if they advertise it, that means that you don't really need it." Watching that advice in action is gratifying.

I am unashamed to admit that I enjoy - and am equally repulsed by - shows like "The Swan" and "American Idol". I don't mind knowing what's going on in the latest flesh-carving shows, and I like being able to talk about and deconstruct them.

I had (free) cable about a year ago, and I miss being able to watch Looney Tunes. I don't think there are a lot of good shows that are on right now - though I will watch any Law & Order show if I stumble across it - but I mainly justify having the television on all the time by telling myself that I don't exclusively watch it. I am always busy doing or thinking about something else while it's on.

And - this is especially important - I don't believe television. I think this is one of the things that anti-television people might think about television-using people: that we believe everything we see. Not all of us do. My brain does not shut off while I watch television. More than half the reason I like television is that it's bullshit and lies.

That's why I especially love watching televangelists late at night.
posted by interrobang at 9:47 PM on May 17, 2004

Sometimes I watch an hour or two of Law and Order reruns before bed. That's about it. Ever since Buffy ended my TV watching has decreased dramatically. The Blazers sucking this season helped, too.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 12:03 AM on May 18, 2004

Our TV became a DVD and PS2 playback sometime last year. Don't really miss it either.
posted by twine42 at 2:20 AM on May 18, 2004

Since this thread has become so long, I can't resist offering a thought that doesn't really have to do with the original question:

Media is fun! I like to tune in to most of it. There's almost nothing that doesn't interest me in some way: print, video, film, radio, television, internet... art, music, letters, phone, graffiti; it's all good - as long you have a strong sense of self. The idea that anybody should say that any of these forms of communication is bad for me because I can't handle their insidious power makes me laugh. A lot.
posted by taz at 4:47 AM on May 18, 2004

TV watching is close to the #1 Alzheimer's risk factor..

Eh?

Are you serious? - what do you mean?
posted by dash_slot- at 4:48 AM on May 18, 2004

If you arent shouting back at the telly or muting it frequently, you're being force fed what they (network execs, producers, pr gurus) want you to consume.

Turn on the radio now and again, because, ya know - you're worth it.....
posted by dash_slot- at 4:50 AM on May 18, 2004

dash_slot - It might not be #1, and it's a proven correlation, not a proven cause.

Still : TV 'link' to Alzheimer's ( BBC, March 6, 2001 )

" "The brain is an organ like any other organ which ages in regard to how its used. So learning is important for the brain - that's the purpose, like the heart pumps and the muscles constrict.

"The brain has been honed by evolutionary forces to be active, and learning is an important part of life.

"When you watch TV, you can be in a semi-conscious state where you really are not doing any learning."

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested that people who were relatively inactive had a 250% increased risk of developing Alzheimer's. "

So the real causes, the article suggests, are physical inactivity and mental passivity.
posted by troutfishing at 7:05 AM on May 18, 2004

Totally aside from content, the physical experience of watching tv is totally different from that of watching movies. As others have said, it's easy to zone out while watching tv and come to hours later with little sense of where the time has gone; this was actually of great help to me at a difficult time of my life when I needed to vegetate, but normally it's undesirable. I don't understand the science involved, but in this eloquent article on "The Death of Film," the great critic Godfrey Cheshire says:

Ebert is concerned that the technological revolution is being rushed into place without the industry having done (or made public) any studies about its likely effects, especially on the psychological level. He mentioned data (cited in Jerry Mander’s famous polemic Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television) indicating that film creates a beta state of alert reverie in the brain, where tv provokes an alpha state of passive suggestibility.

I'd like to know more about that. (Hmm... maybe an Ask MeFi question...)
posted by languagehat at 8:39 AM on May 18, 2004

I'd like to know more about that.

If by 'that' you mean the physical effects of television, check out pages 157 - 191 of Jerry Mander's book. He explains, among other things, the evolutionary reasons why (as Mars says) If there's a TV on in the room, I cannot tear my eyes away from it. Few of us can.

Unlike people who argue good and bad, Mander sees the whole system as malignant, for four specific reasons. Which mostly make sense to me, although there's a lot to be said for studying up on, in interrobang's great phrase, "bullshit and lies." Or just mindless nonsense, although (starting about the time of Cheers) it now seems like entire (supposedly humorous) shows just consist of snide insults and personal put-downs. Nasty, instead of pointless.

My TV watching just skyrocketed temporarily (to an hour a week) because a friend I worked with many years ago — we were newspaper editors then — actually created a show called Century City. Which (after my sister taped it for me, since I don't have TV or VCR) I watched three times, out of curiosity, before it got bounced from the schedule. So now I'm back to my regular viewing routine, which is finding TV impossible to ignore in the bar while playing music on Open Mike Nights. The silent images above the bandstand flash so furiously that I can believe they cause seizures in certain people.

Talk about physical addiction: TVs now are fixtures in convenience stores, bus or train stations or airports, on buses, bars, restaurants . . . just about everywhere you go. People can't seem to do without them.

My comments on TV watching from two years ago also still stand.
posted by lelilo at 12:43 PM on May 18, 2004

I haven't had broadcast or cable TV for years, except in shared living situations in college. We have *a* TV, hooked up to the DVD player, NES, and Atari 2600, all used rarely. There is only one show I keep up with, and that's the Sopranos - at first by videotape and now by torrenting.

I can't say I don't watch TV though, because I do if I'm visiting my parents or grandmother. I've been pretty righteous about not watching TV in the past. I read Jerry Mander's book as a teenager and cut down my viewing; TV is sort of alien to me, like local news - can't watch that, it looks so fake - but I'm much more ambivalent now than I used to be. I've had more opportunity to watch this year than I've had in a long time; there's some good stuff out there right now, and the ability to see old favorite shows again on DVD; PVRs kick ass since I really don't like commercials or being on the show's schedule instead of viewing it on mine.

I've found I love reading recaps on TWoP, especially about stuff I would never bother watching like bad reality shows. I love reading Entertainment Weekly and getting that pop-culture fix: it's addictive. There are definitely a few shows I really enjoy watching - Reno911!, Queer Eye, Iron Chef, the occasional Trading Spaces. A lot of my enjoyment comes from social viewing, being able to discuss or snark on a show. Reading recaps and lurking forums is a sad way of getting a social fix, but there it is anyway.

Still, I don't like my baby son watching anything - nothing will convince me there's much benefit to children watching TV, especially very little ones (except for the opportunity it gives Mommy to do the dishes, which I feel guilty about, so I don't do that - but I understand why other parents do). And I find if we go visiting and the TV is on, my husband will focus right in on it no matter what's on, to the point he'll stop paying attention to the conversation. I find this very annoying, and so does he, but he says he can't take his eyes off it when he's around it. I don't like going to someone's house just to hang out and chat and instead having the evening revolve around the TV, only talking during commercials, unless we're going there specifically to watch something together.

There's two main reasons I continue not to have TV - I can't justify the expense just to get the few shows I would enjoy watching when I can torrent them instead - a lot of the time I just don't bother, and I don't miss it when I don't have it; I know if we had it it'd be on a lot more than I'd want it to be. It's hard for me not to veg out in front of the tube when I'm feeling down and then I feel crummier afterwards anyway.

Unfortunately, not having TV has been, in the past few years, replaced with too much Intarweb. I need to cut down on that, too.
posted by Melinika at 3:35 PM on May 18, 2004

I am in my mid-twenties. I typically watch 3-5 hours of television a week. This is a decline from a typical 10-20 hours a week five years ago. This is because I am no longer entertained by random programming - i have shows that i watch every week, faithfully, without missing an episode, and that's it. (The real question for this demographic is: what is your TVhours:PChours ratio compared to 1, 2, 5, and 10 years ago ... that would be telling.)
posted by krisis at 10:19 PM on May 18, 2004