What is your TV habits?

I was just reading through some old cards and letters, and I found this "thank you" letter from my sister in law. I had embroidered a big table cloth for them, and she was so happy. At the end of th eletter her comment was, "I don't understand how you get time for this". I could not help but find it a bit... funny. I know this might sound awkward, but the reason is as follows...

At my brothers place, the TV is on all the time. Everyone knows exactly what is on TV when, and everyone has something they just "have to see". The first thing that goes on when they come home, is the TV, then the lights. It is on very loud (so the one who is watching TV can hear everything loud and clear in case there are someone NOT watching trying to talk somewhere). If no one is watching, the Tv is still on, even if they are in other rooms in the house. My sister in law seems to ble glued in front of the TV from she gets home from work untill she goes to bed. She sits there with apathic eyes with the coffee cup in her right hand zipping now and then, and stares at whatever soap or "real life something" that happens to be running. For me, it seems like the TV is of great importance in their life, and that it consumes a lot of their time, and espescially in my sister in laws life.

I do not watch TV. In fact, I have not watched TV (if you don't include DVD's and movies from CD) in almost a year. I read news online, and except from that I like documentaries and movies. All of that I rent in a DVD shop or download from the internet, if I feel like watching. I only put it on when I want to watch it, and turn it off when I'm done. I don't watch regular TV at all, we have not even had access to regular TV where we live now (and my boyfriend moved in here in autumn 2002, I in spring 2003). My daughter of soon 2 years old has watched a few viedos, but except from that she has never watched TV.
I actually have better things to do in the evening, and I feel like my brothers family must be insane or something. But then I lived with my sister for 8 months, and even though they are not quite that bad (my sister herself hardly watch TV), the TV was dominating quite a lot in that house too. I started to wonder if it was only me and my friends that do not watch TV, or maybe it's even just me an dthat my friends secretly watch TV? lol, not that it makes any difference, but now I'm curious! So....

How much do YOU watch TV, and what do you watch?

CC

My husband's family is similar to your brother's family. The TV is on all the time, usually at deafening volumes. When I visit, I'm the annoying person constantly asking them to turn it down.

My husband and I don't watch much TV. Sometimes we watch Mad TV and Saturday Night Live on saturdays, but SNL has gone downhill in recent years so we usually don't watch the whole thing. I'm not much for reality shows, but I was really hoping that "Tiny House" on the Geico commercial was real. I was disappointed when it wasn't.

-apislily

I watch TV generally less than 1 hour per day. My hubby watches it whenever he is home, in his recliner with his eyes closed.

Fortunately, my house is divided enough that we do not need to listen to it. If I do watch it is usually something like Law and Order or Court TV. I did watch the second half of the football game. Go Steelers.

Of course I sit in front of a different type of monitor for a larger portion of the day. but at least my eyes are open!

I really think tv is addictive. And I often think that "idiot box" is an appropriate apellation. If I had children, I would get rid of mine. For my part, I wouldn't even have cable if I wasn't getting it free as a fortunate side-effect of my internet connection. Since I do, however, I watch a fair amount of tv. In my case, tho, it is more because my entertainment budget lately has been somewhere between zero and none at all. I don't think there's anything odd about not watching tv. Matter of fact, recently I have been trying to reduce my tv watching and listen to more music, but I admit, there are shows which I consider to be must-see.

Mind you, I hope no one reads this and thinks I am putting them down for watching it, it's very easy to get the habit, not so easy to break it.

Since I operate a MH support center / bakery I don't have much time for TV like place I sit in front of another monitor, I do try to watch some TV on Sunday but with laundry and cleaning I only watch 3 hrs
Angie

Oh tv! Where to begin? Where to end? For all the wonder, achievement, enrichment that it represents, I still regard it as possibly the single most destructive influence allowed to run unchecked in this universe. (second only perhaps to the folly of religeon) Of tv, Bob Dylan said, "if you've never seen one, it's a blessing in disguise." I haven't hooked up a tv for about three years now, and while I confess to missing the mindnumbing narcotic effect of it for those times when my mind is otherwise not serving me, more I feel a kind of thrill at having jumped off of the hamster wheel.

Kill your television. It's only fair. It's killing us.

I was sitting a bit in front of the TV when I was pregnant, the last hour before I went to bed. But that was mostly because I was alone, and I was always doing needlework with the TV on, not really watching. Even now when I watch movies I usually crochet (?) at the same time. But I've never experienced the addictive effect. When I lived in a house where we had an antenna to the TV, I sometimes started watching a serie that I liked. Problem was I usually forgot it fo rthe next 4 months, an dthen it was over ages ago. I like watching documentaries, but at some point I get totally fed up by being fed information, I have to do something myself. I lik ereading, learning, achieving, creating... not sitting still and do nothing but blinking.

Nu wel, I don't mind others doing it, but it's like, don't complain about lack of time if you can spend three hours a day in front of the TV. If I had that many hours to spend on just anything, there's surely a lot of things I woul drather do But thats my choice

CC

I am one of those whose T.V. is on if I'm awake. When I get up in the morning its one of the first things I do is turn it on. I don't actively watch it all day sometimes its on and I'm reading or cleaning or whatever but its still on. I just got basic cable and so the fact I can change the channel is still a new thing for me so I enjoy several different shows. Most of the time at night its on USA because Law and Order is on also Monk. During the day its usually the food channel because I don't watch soap operas. To me its company and lets me pause and do something. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my T.V.

Janniebug

I never turn on the TV, and we didn't have any channels except for three that we could get with an antenna, and not very well, but there were programs we wanted to see that we couldn't get, so we got sattelite. Since then, my husband usually has the TV on when he is home. It's nice when it isn't on, like today. I'd rather put on some music, but can't with the TV on. The kids don't usually turn on the TV, but they would watch movies all the time if they could. Especially if the kids are home alone, they think they have to watch movies (on tape or DVD). I keep arranging the couch so it isn't facing the TV directly, and my husband keeps turning it back. He doesn't even stay in the living room, but complains from the bedroom if we turn off the TV.

i get two channels.......i watch the news in the a.m. and then i never miss Sunday night because i watch "Arrested Development" and "Desperate Housewives"............it provides an escape for me.

I love tv. It's probably why I look the way I look.

Often, especially if I am home alone, it is on simply as background noise. I listen to television as much as I watch television. I also ALWAYS have the closed captioning on. So I read tv more than I watch it. I'm always reading, so this way I can do both. In fact, during commercials, I usually mute the tv and read. Commercials are too loud and obnoxious for me.

As far as tv and kids...tv should not be a babysitter. I believe in moderation. Some tv is good for kids. Depending on the show and the kids. I had a friend in high school whose parents didn't own a television. She simply went to friend's houses to watch tv. She knew more about shows on tv than most kids with televisions.

I guess I am just one of those annoying people who like their tv. It doesn't run my life, but I enjoy having it around. I also use my tv as my stereo. Since I don't have a stereo, I just turn the digital cable to a music station and I am set.

Yeah, that is more like I did when I was pregnant. I was alone and needed company, so I often turned on the TV, but I rarely looked at it. I could even sit straight in front of it and just be busy with embroidery or writing or something. But my sister in law is actually sitting there watching, all the time. It's not that I see anything wrong in it, but on the other hand I get a bit confused when she's always complaining of the lack of time they have. I'd say I'd rather use the time I DO have more constructively But maybe it just gives her the peace of mind she needs, it's not really my buisness. I just get annoyed by TV anyway (ugh, commercials, stupid people, more stupid people, sad news, ignorant people etcetc). Oh well. Maybe I live in the past or something, hehe. I've certainly skipped out on a whole lot of things that other people in my age have done because I had "other more important things to do".

It depends for me. Lots of times it is on for a low backround noise, but I am not really watching it. I would rather be on the internet. When I do watch it is usually something educational...Law and Order...Discovery Channel..History Channel. I had watching programs that have no purpose...like sitcoms or something.

Jessica