Do you?

ScorpioHR · August 2005

I am curious, please respond to the following. I have one television and doubt it is on more than 2 days total (hours) in a YEAR. It is pretty much sitting there for company or major events in the world. I read an article when I was in my early 40's (no questions about when that was, thankyouverymuch) about the amount of time humans spent sitting watching the tube and the stats blew me away. I stopped watching it. Is Big brother a show about older siblings? Does Trump go on tv and style his do? I have no clue!!!!

So, how many hours a week do you sit and watch t.v.? Do you watch educational/current news shows or sitcoms? And finally, what is the point? Is it relaxing???

So many questions, any answers x:-/

Happy NBC, ABC, CBS etc etc etc

scorpio

Disclaimer: None of my posts are intended to discombobulate any persons. Should this happen, I would suggest taking a "mental health day" and getting over it.

LivindonSouth · August 2005

I rarely will watch the major networks. I will watch Fox and occasionally CNN or CBSNBC, but rarely. On the weekends if I'm not working in the yard or road trippin', I like to watch the food channel and learn stuff. I think my addiction to "what is happening at the moment" or what I might miss stems from things like the outbreak of the first Gulf War and the Rodney King beating and the OJ Simpson flight in the white Bronco and a couple of years ago, the Challenger disaster real early in the morning. I was just sitting there alone being nice to myself and suddenly there it was, each of them. One was at 2 a.m., another at about midnight, one at mid-day and the last about 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I have a psychosis about it now and feel if I turn off the set I will miss the report of my own death. I go to sleep with the set on and wake up with it on. But, I put stock in very little of it. BTW, there are six sets in my house and no HBO or BET

Disclaimer: This message is not intended to offend or attack. It is posted as personal opinion. If you find yourself offended or uncomfortable, email me and let me know why.

mushroomHR · August 2005

I've been watching All My Children since day one (now I PVR it). Then I became addicted to Bill O'Reilly, Greta VanSusteren, and the CSI shows. They took JAG off the air so I only watch about six hours a week except for July when I'm glued to the TV watching every minute of the Tour de France. If I had more time I'd watch all the news programs like 20/20, Dateline, etc. but there just isn't enough time in the evening to do that. The soap opera and CSI are relaxing. The news shows are informative, and the Tour de France is fascinating. I also manage to squeeze in about an hour of exercising a day so I don't think my TV watching is excessive. Most of the programs are recorded on my PVR so I can glide through the commercials which cuts down on viewing time.

Hunter1 · August 2005

Unfortunately, we have seven tv sets in our house. (Actually we have eight, but one has been relegated to the basement) My wife cannot be in a room without turning on the tv. Even when she reads, which she does voraciously, she has to have the tv on in the background. I watch too much, probably a couple hours a day, but generally never during the day except during football season, that's my one sports addiction.

Dutch2 · August 2005

We also have six TV's in the home. Only two are connected to the dish in the back yard. The others are used by the boys for video games. Guess I watch about an hour each evening. I must admit that we are really into StarGate. It is usually on when I arrive home in the evenings and I watch the last half of the re-run while helping prepare dinner. We do not recieve any of the big 3 networks and have not for the past 8 - 10 years. I was enjoying the re-runs of Everyone Loves Raymond until one day the light suddenly came on and I realized that the mom and dad on the show were my mom and dad. Havne't cared for it since.
Happy viewing...

jmcaa · August 2005

Well, I actually "watch" about maybe 2-3 hours of TV a day....every morning as I'm getting ready for work and some at night. I usually watch about 20 minutes of the news, etc.

BUT, our TV in the living room is ON from 5:30 am to about 11-11:30 pm. Once, we went out of town for a couple of days and there had been a storm so the TV had turned off....well, when we got home our two cats were fighting (hissing, etc.) So now we leave the TV on all the time just so they have company. They rarely fight now! They like to have some type of noise in the house.

When I'm at work, I just imagine them sitting at home relaxing watching their "soaps."

KathyHR · August 2005

We have the TV on entirely too much. The kiddies have to have it on for the background noise so when they get home from work whatever room they're in has one on. We have 8 TV's but three of them are in one room! But it's the finished part of the basement which is a "sports bar". It has the big screen, a flat screen behind the bar and one mounted up in the corner by the pool table. My hubbie would like more but he only ran wire to those 3 places before he put the drywall up. And yeah, he's had all of them on at one time with the volume down on two. I never know which remote to use when I'm down there. The other one in the basement is by his workbench but it doesn't have cable or satellite. Yep, we've got both. You can only get MSG hockey on satellite & there wasn't even any hockey this year, but did he cancel it, nooo. Oh well, they finally settled so there will be hockey this upcoming season.

ray a · August 2005

Scorpio, you're past your early 40s? I'm shocked! I thought for sure you were only about 38.

We have 2 TV's and both are rarely used. Recently bought a nice oak entertainment center for the one, and I wonder why since we use it so little. I mostly watch sports when I do watch, football, basketball and baseball. Oh, and car racing and tennis, too. I actually enjoy the PBS pledge drives because they often air good concerts.

I get my fair and balanced political commentary from reading Don's posts.

ScorpioHR · August 2005

Wow, this has been very enlightening for me. Obviously I am missing a lot of good tv shows and, I did not know it! When a tv is on I tend to watch Nightline, 60 minutes etc. I cannot handle the tv on as "background noise" which it seems a few people mentioned. I cannot read with the tv on, breaks my concentration. I do about 2 1/2 hours a day of yoga and meditation is best done in the "quiet"!! So, I guess I will stick to my few hours a year. Thanks for all the input. Part of my reason for asking was a conversation with a friend of mine who is in the therapy/pyschology/new age kind of place and made a statement I was not sure I agreed with. The comment made was "people spend a great deal of time "escaping" from life by watching tv". Hmm, in reading the posts I wonder if it is escaping or relaxing? We all relax in different ways. ooooooooommmmmmnnnaaaammmmmoooo
th-up

scorpio

Disclaimer: None of my posts are intended to discombobulate any persons. Should this happen, I would suggest taking a "mental health day" and getting over it.

HRinNH · August 2005

Time for tv? What's that????

If I watch an hour of tv a week, that's a lot for me (unless there's a good movie on). My husband and I have very different tastes in programs anyway and I can't stand it when he channel surfs. We have 3 tvs in our house...2 too many in my humble opinion. :-)

Cheryl C.

TN HR · August 2005

We have two. One is in the family room and the other one in the upstairs study. The kids watch about 1-2 hours per day, usually after baths and right before bed time. My wife and I usually watch about 30 minutes of news in the morning. In the evenings we read. Saturdays, the TVs do not come on until after sunset, and that's if we have any Netflix movies to watch. Sundays we watch NASCAR or NFL, depending on the season.

dchr9203 · August 2005

Too much! Probably 12-15; couple hours each night and then the weekends. Then I'm frustrated with myself because there were so many other things I could have accomplished by leaving it turned off. Appease my conscious by cross stitching while I'm watching; guess I think I'm being productive. Its a nasty habit that I've set a goal to break. Trouble is, hubby's addiction is way worse than mine and its all out war of the TV's when their on in every room and I'm going through shutting them off except for the room he's camped out in the recliner in!

DeidreFR5 · August 2005

My husband didn't own a tv when I met him - got one only because I couldn't image not having one. When we are home early enough I like to watch national news and jeopardy. The only other show I watch regularly is CSI. When I am home alone, I keep it on as company - which I hear a good number of my female friends also do.

lorrie · August 2005

When my first husband and I divorced, I gladly let him have our one tv and the video games. I did eventually buy another one and I admit I now have one in my bedroom and the kitchen, in addition to the family room. We only have basic cable, which in our town means about 20 channels. When my husband is home and watching, I will catch parts of shows as I do other things (like read). I usually have the news on while I am getting ready for work each morning. There are only a few shows that I actually stop and watch, and Big Brother is one of them. (I'm not big on the reality shows, but for some reason I am drawn to this.)

HRinFL · August 2005

We have four TVs - one in our room, on in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in my son's room. My son's TV does not have cable and does not get used to watch TV. We let him watch one video a day, whether it be a thirty minute Thomas video, or a Disney movie, etc. Otherwise, it is off, or occasionally he will play his V-Smile on it. I don't mind these games because they ar educational, they teach letters, numbers, matching objects that are similar, etc. The rest of the time he draws, makes up new "inventions," or plays in the living room with his toys. When I work in the yard or garage, he rides his bike or his battery operated Jeep - this is his favorite thing to do. A few nights a week, I get out and we throw the basedball around, look for lizards, "fiddle" in the garage.

I watch the news for traffic and weather in the morning since I am on the road a majority of my time. In the evenings, I will watch FoxNews, I don't like the liberal bias of the network news. I watch 24 and American Idol (I know) and will occasionally watch Everybody Loves Raymond, the History Channel, or the Discovery Channel (I like American Chopper and American Hot Rod). During football season, I am glued to the TV - collegiate and professional, doesn't matter. That is the season I watch most of my TV. During the summer, I try to stay out of the FL heat during the mid-day, so I may watch the Food Network (my wife and I like to get recipe ideas). I am an avid reader, and prefer to read over watching the "tube."

Gillian3 · August 2005

Average probably 2 hours a day (evenings), including weekends. Mostly the news, Discovery and History channels and a bit of PBS.

deniseE · August 2005

We have 3...one in our room, living room, and in the basement (our son plays his video games there). I don't WATCH much TV...1/2 hour of news at night and one of the morning shows is on as we get ready for work.

But when we are watching, generally, it's something historical or educational. I love the forensic science shows...and how people come up with creative ideas to solve problems. My hubby really enjoys the Myth Busters I think they are on discovery. I sometimes think that had these shows been on when I was a kid, I would have followed a different career path. I just didn't realize it was out there.

Our baby watches WAY too much. My mom, who watches her 3 days a week, has gotten her hooked on the baby einsteins and the little people videos. She does play and interact and chatter through the whole thing, but I'd just as soon she rarely watch...cat's out of the bag, I guess.

I can't sit still and watch, I have to be doing other things at the same time. My husband refuses to take me to the movies for that reason.....

: )

LivindonSouth · August 2005

I'm surprised at the number of us who like CSI and forensics type stuff. I'm in that group too. I could watch those shows and maybe a good law show all night once in a while.

I will not watch national news shows on the big three and it gripes me to no end when I notice that my wife has flipped from Fox on Saturday early to the bobble-head-blondes on CNN.

HRinFL · August 2005

I never really got into CSI, but I did watch Law & Order for a few years. Never got into the spin=offs, I liked the original series. BUt without Jerry, I lost interest. Watterson's character is not personable enough for me to carry the show, although I think he is a good actor.

Anyone watching the new show where lawyers are trying real cases and competing to be named the best litigator? Don't remember the name or the network, but it looks like it has the potential to be entertaining.

Whatever · August 2005

About an hour a day-The news on CNN or MSNBC when I get home from work and the Daily Show. The only "non-educational" show I watch regularly is Monk.

Gillian3 · August 2005

Forgot about the Daily Show - we catch that one about 60% of the time.

National Guard · August 2005

We do about 2 hours of tv "surfing" about 4 times a week. It all depends on what the kids' schedules are. During little league baseball - not much tv since we are down at the ball park most nights, same for basketball season and football season! My husband has control of the remote 90% of the time; he can never watch one show all the way to the end! Hence the 2 hours of tv surfing. Any show on tv only has a life span as long as it takes to get to the first commercial then you guessed it, the channel is changed, never to be returned to. Any of the shows that do have a half life are: American Choppers, Little League World Series on ESPN2 during the month of August; Tour de France, The Iron Chef, Hitler Channel(I mean History Channel), Discovery, CNN, FOX, and CNBC. Haven't seen a regular/traditional tv show in ages.

SMace · August 2005

I am strangely drawn to the Iron Chef show. Not the American version, but the Japanese one. My wife thinks I'm crazy.

As for the channel surfer, I am one. As Seinfeld said, men are not interested in what is on tv, they are interested in what else is on tv.

National Guard · August 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-03-05 AT 08:47AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I forgot to mention how many tvs are in our house. Three - one in the basement, living room and our bedroom. What amazes me, is that our kids will watch the same exact shows but in different rooms! Soemtimes both my husband and I will come into the living room to watch tv, one of the kids is watching, they complain, we have to shoo them out of there, tell them to go watch the same show down stairs. God forbid they should have to watch the same show in the same room as their sibling! They sigh and go get on the computer instead!

JudyT929 · August 2005

I have one tv and in the evenings when I'm alone, which is most of the time, it is on from 6-9 or 10; I may be outside in the garden or playing with the dogs or cooking or something but the tv is on for company. On Sunday nights I liked Desparate Housewives and Greys Anatomy or the shows on HBO all just for entertainment; the rest of the time I watch decorating and/or home improvement shows on HGTV, Discovery, DIY, Discovery Home etc and I like true crime shows on A&E. I learned a LOT from the decorating/home improvement shows and save myself a lot of money by doing things myself. The true crime stuff just fascinates me and that is the type of books I read too.

Leslie · August 2005

I watch hours and hours - mostly all sports. D-Back games, NASCAR, (not just racing, qualifying too!), any sport in season, plus you can throw in swimming, golf,...I really don't care. I am a sports TV junkie.

Regular shows? Law & Order from time to time, West Wing and ER all the time. I'm in heaven when I have a Monday off - Every Monday is a West Wing Marathon on Bravo. On the 4th of July my SO wanted to go to a movie, heaven forbid, so I had to throw in a tape. If there's no good sports on, I start watching that!

Lest you think I'm some kind of neanderthal, I do try to watch the 10 pm news. If I miss it, I catch up early the next morning while I'm getting ready for work.

HRLASS · August 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-02-05 AT 07:12PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I have one television, in the living room. It does not go on for company except my family, who can't live without it. Since my cheap treat is reading mysteries and true crime, CSI is the TV equivalent and I love it. Also Without a Trace, so Thursdays I'm generally there from 8-10 and then catch the news. As far as I'm concerned (journalism snob), TV news is if you want/need to see something, the newspaper is for information. I generally read the paper before I hit the shower in the morning. If I'm home when they're on, I'm a big fan of British/BBC comedies and mysteries on PBS. Against familial pressure I do not have cable. I had to have it once for a class project and coincidently, that was when they ran the Bewitched marathon - 5 episodes a night for a week. I taped what I needed and cancelled the cable. Unlike most of my friends, I like quiet. I have 2,000 books and that's my preference.

P.S. - PBS favorites are As Time Goes By, Are You Being Served, Waiting for God, Keeping Up Appearances and Mystery.

hhaynal · August 2005

During the summer, my husband and I do not have the time to watch television since most of the time we are out in the yard working. So, during the week, the general lineup is news, news, more news (my hubby is a news addict covering all the local stations....when the stories start to recycle, I tell him enough is enough!). Weekends, even though we may be out in the yard, the tv will be on to watch sports including golf, NASCAR, football. For fun, I must admit I have become addicted to watching some of the home fixer-upper shows on HGTV and TLC. Love to watch Monk! a few of the series on the SciFi channel. I really CAN'T STAND the reality shows! To me, that's senseless programming but the public at large seems to like it. Like the History and PBS channel, like to watch Animal Miracles and some of the other pet programs on the Pet Channel (not the snake and alligator and other creepy crawly stuff, though). Vanna and Pat and Jeopardy.

Guess I watch more tv than I thought, huh? #-o

Whatever · August 2005

(my hubby is a news addict covering all the
>local stations....when the stories start to
>recycle, I tell him enough is enough!).

I'm impressed. Here the local news is almost as big a joke as the NY Post. Major headline stories are of the try to scare you to death sort (why eating out in some restaurants can get you poisoned--stay tuned for this story that could save your life or the lives of those you love, why you should teach your children to cross at the green not inbetween, how safe is your drinking water, how safe is your bottled water, how safe is your boiled water.)

SMace · August 2005

I love the 5:00 pm commercial that says "Something is lurking in your neighborhood that could kill you at any moment. Details at 11:00."

If it's so damn scary, why aren't they telling me now!

BTW, when I was in college in Greenville, NC we would make it a tradition to grab a few beers and watch the local WITN news. It was hilarious. I think we even made a drinking game out of it. Every flub, you had to take a drink.

Oh, those were the days.

Whirlwind · August 2005

I am very much a 1950's TV baby. I grew up in a household where the tube was on 20 hours a day, and started learning to read before kindergarten thanks to Captain Kangaroo.

These days, I watch exactly as much TV as I want to -- no less, no more -- and I don't feel guilty about it. I love good writing, whether it comes in a book, a screenplay, or a television script, so I look for shows that are well-written and well-acted, regardless of the genre. I will occasionally get hooked on a reality show, but I like to think they are the "better ones", like The Amazing Race. Other than that, HGTV and Food Network are sort of my default channels. I prefer to get my news from the newspaper and radio, because I find TV news so repetitive and sensational that it drives me nuts.

Do you?

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