How much TV do you watch?

[gimmethesimplelife]

I ask this question as when I was in the hospital recently I was looking for local news at 5 PM and it dawned on me it had been so long since I had watched TV that I had no idea overall who the local anchors were and which channel I wanted to watch. I know I watched the Oscars this year as the day after the Oscars I went to a lucrative focus group about advertising during the Oscars but other than that......it's been a long time. Can't say that I miss it overall. Can't say I miss the exposure to advertising though I am exposed to it in other areas. Rob

[razz]

Zero TV. I finally cancelled my satellite dish after I analysed how rarely I watched TV and have not missed a thing about it. I get whatever info I want online.

Others love it so this is just an individual choice that needs to be respected, IMO.

[awakenedsoul]

I canceled my t.v. a few years ago to save money. I used to watch Oprah every afternoon. After she went off the air, I didn't really feel like I had any favorite shows anymore. Besides, I found myself wasting hours addicted to court t.v. shows like Judge Judy! I listen to Suze Orman's podcast every week. I love that! Yesterday I watched a 45 minute interview with Justin Timberlake that they did on OWN. I found the full episode on Youtube. I study a lot of show clips on Youtube for my audition research. (I had a call for Bye Bye Birdie a couple of months ago, and watched the movie on line.) I guess Internet has replaced t.v. for me.

[Rogar]

I probably watch 5 or 8 hours a week. A couple or few PBS shows, a little local news and weather, and sometimes in the evening when I'm too beat to read or do much else I'll watch something totally mindless on network commercial TV. Plus a couple of Netflix DVDs a week on top of things.

[CathyA]

I probably watch a little too much. But I don't read (don't know if its an eye problem or what). But I feel like if I have alot of other interests in my life (garden, chickens, water gardens, nature, cooking, etc.) then it's okay.

I'm bummed that they took off Ironside and the old Hawaii 5-0 during the day, because that's when I take my mid-day break from work around the house. I watch some national news in the early mornings, and I watch The Good Wife, Law and Order SVU, and Blue Bloods during the week. I wish I read instead of watching TV, but reading just isn't for me, unfortunately. I many times get up at 5:30-6 a.m. and I watch King of Queens, to start the day off with a laugh.
So.....I guess I watch maybe 2-4 hours/day.

[Teacher Terry]

I watch the same shows as you Cathy. I watch a few hours a day. I love TV & would never get rid of cable.

[Lainey]

On a related note, I have a friend who retired and said her rule was "No daytime TV watching." She's stuck to it and I think it has given her a more fulfilling retirement. Still leaves time to relax in front of the TV in the evening if she wanted to, but even then she'd gotten mostly out of the habit of mindless TV watching.

[Tussiemussies]

Don't watch any as I feel that it effects me . Mentally and spiritually. Once I meditated for quite awhile and felt very . Good, then turned the TV on and . My energy went down. That was it for me!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Very little. Days go by without our TV being turned on. Sunday nights we do watch a 30 minute British comedy, "Last of the Summer Wine". That is the only regular viewing we do. Maybe the Weather Channel when bad weather is near, or local news if something is going on. But mostly that's it.

[Alan]

How much TV do you watch?

I'd say just about enough. I gave up on network TV several years ago with the odd exception of something like 24. I do spend a bit of time each evening watching History International (H2), Nat Geo or Science. Yes, I have cable, and lots of it as that's where all the good stuff lives. I have to stay current with Doctor Who, Turn, The Walking Dead, Longmire, etc.

I know lots of people take issue with advertising on TV, although I've never understood why it effects people so since it can easily be ignored, plus it provides the perfect opportunity to pee.

[iris lily]

If tv didn't exist I wouldn't be able to catch the great cable shows on dvd.

DH and I just finished up Season 1 of Orphan Black tonight. It's not great but it is kind of interesting.

I'm watching House of Cards season 2 with my friend who has streaming Netflix, but I fell asleep on the 4th episode. Someone has to mow down Francis before this becomes a yawn fest.

[pony mom]

I watch a lot less now than ever. PBS/Britcoms/EastEnders and some BBC shows (Top Gear, Graham Norton...can you tell I'm an Anglophile?). Managed to stick with the entire season of Hannibal but gave up on Dancing With The Stars. Don't like being 'tied' to watching shows I think.

On Demand is great for catching up or watching when convenient. Sometimes I'll binge on a show on Hulu. Project Runway will probably suck me in again. I think that there are better quality shows out there now but I'm not bothered by missing them.

Oh, I forgot about Too Cute! on Animal Planet. Who doesn't love that?

[meri]

Zero. We don't have any TV and (with an exception of the year I spent overseas) I have either lived in a household without TV or when I stayed at my parents' I was not allowed to watch it. Never missed it. I think my husband and daughter missed TV for couple of months after his first wife moved out and took the TV with her but they got used to it and agreed not to replace it. We occasionally watch a movie on PC and my daughter also watches some shows online with her friends but that's about it.
I cannot compare but my husband says that they both definitely read much more since the TV is gone. And play a lot of games. I hardly ever win so playing cards might prove to be more expensive than paying for TV but it's definitely worth it.

[Float On]

None.
We have a TV but we only use it when we want to watch a DVD or something on Netflix together as a family and need a screen bigger than the laptops.
I have never in my life had cable or satellite. Grew up on the farm where we got 1 1/2 channels (pre vcr days) so it wasn't even worth watching.

[ToomuchStuff]

Too much lately. Mom has been recording shows for me to watch when I get the call to go dogsit. What I tend to watch is Doctor Who (when the new episodes come out in August), Orphan Black, The Blacklist (one she recorded and got me hooked on), and sometimes Person of Interest.
Since she dvr's everything, and I tend to only watch dvd's at home, commericals between (not the hidden products in), get skipped/ff through. Although not having the tv on, not listening to the radio, and not always checking email, I tend to miss some things (was asked a question about the California shooter, and I said what shooter).

[Florence]

We don't have television reception out here. We had DirecTV but stopped it because we just didn't watch it. We have a Netflix subscription and enjoy some television series that way. I just finished season 4 of Downton Abbey and I am way behind on Call the Midwife.

[iris lily]

I will say that I don't watch enough tv to know:

*Who is Chelsea Lately and why is she always paired with Chelsea Handler in my Yahoo "news" home page (had to look that up today)

* Paris Hilton is not the same person as Perez Hilton (had to look that up last year, it seemed confusing that one name would be mentioned with different pronunciations)

* Who the h&ll ARE these Kardashions, anyway? (had to look that up a few years ago) and I am still unclear how many of them there are--the first one is beautiful and more importantly, photogenic as all get out, but the others? not so much.

Yet I have been focused on cable reality shows at times in my life such as Toddlers and Tiaras, Sister Wives, and Dance Moms and watch snippets of them on YouTube so I am at the bottom of the intellectual tv viewing crowd at times, although I would argue that Abby Lee's dance troupe on Dance Moms have some amazing young dancers. For any fans of Maddie Ziegler, watch her "Chandelier" music video, it went viral.

It's all available on YouTube, one does not need tv. :)

[awakenedsoul]

I just watched a full episode of Master Class (Stevie Nicks) from OWN on Youtube last night. It was great! I love that it's free. My computer has a flat screen, so I put away my old Sony t.v. and DVD player for now. Sometimes I use it for DVD's from the library.
Those reality shows made teaching dance a real challenge. People watch shows like Dance Moms and then think that it's okay to go in and scream at the teacher. I've seen a clip from the show. The girls are gorgeous and talented, but it's a bad example on other levels. Since that was my career, I don't have patience for the drama and antagonism. We would never been hired for a Broadway show if we had acted that way.
I'm loving Youtube.

[Kestrel]

I hardly ever sit and watch TV ... but I love the TV on when I'm in the kitchen cooking, cleaning up, etc. Then I'm "watching" all recorded things -- Law & Order (though I've seen them all many times), shows on History, H2, lots and lots of PBS, etc. Every so often I Pay Attention when something interesting is going on, but mostly it's all background. DH likes music, loud, for his background, but I prefer voices talking. We have DishTV, but would really prefer something that would let us have only those stations that we like (PBS, for instance) ... and get rid of all the shopping/religious channels -- plus lots of others I can't think of right now. What a waste.

[catherine]

When I'm out on business travel, the first thing I do when I check into a hotel is turn on the TV, and I usually keep it on until I go to bed--even though I'm usually not paying that much attention to it. I can be writing a report or browsing the web, but I find some kind of comfort in the human chatter.

When I'm home, I use it to unwind after dinner, around 8pm, and I have to admit to being a reality show junkie. I've watched all 13 seasons of American Idol religiously, and I also look forward to Dancing with the Stars. I joked with DH the other night after those two shows had their finales last week that I wouldn't be watching TV again until next January when they start up again. However, in fact, that's not true, because I love Shark Tank, Pawn Stars, Love It or List It on HGTV, and America's Got Talent.

DH is a big TV watcher so sometimes he hooks me to ridiculous shows like Naked and Afraid (even the title is ridiculous!) and Dance Moms and Deadliest Catch, and he LOVES old movies, so he DVRs a lot of TCM movies. I don't like watching those old movies, oddly. I find them really depressing. Which is weird, because it should be more depressing to watch some of these reality shows.

[Gardenarian]

A little. We watch a movie together once a month or so. We don't have cable or netflix or anything, just dvds from the library. None of us likes to watch movies alone, and our schedules rarely collide.

I find it difficult to watch television; I rarely even link to the Youtube videos that come up (though I am doing a series of guitar lessons on Youtube. Part of my hearing therapy.)

One thing about people who watch TV is that they are much more up on current events than I am. I subscribe to online newspapers, but usually just glance at the headlines. I don't hear about the nearby wildfire or shooting or tragic accident - and actually, if doesn't effect me, I don't miss having that negativity in my life.

[Rosemary]

None. I will occasionally watch a movie with DH (maybe once/month at most), but I have to have a book or some knitting at the same time. I can't just sit there and watch the screen.

[iris lilies]

..., and I also look forward to Dancing with the Stars. I joked with DH the other night after those two shows had their finales last week that I wouldn't be watching TV again until next January when they start up again. ...

hey Catherine, I saw Meryl Davis years ago when she and Charlie were skating in Juniors competition. I had tickets to all events at the US Figure Skating Championships here and made an effort to get to Novice and Intermediate competitions because I hadn't seen ice dancing at those lower levels and it's interesting to see who the young skaters are, you don't see them on tv.

In recent years I stopped following ice skating so I didn't even know that she and Charlie won the Olympics (doh.) And then I caught a glimpse of her on Dancing with the Stars as I channel surfed through tv one evening, and thought "That looks like Meryl whats-her-name, the skater." She has a unique beauty. So I looked her up, and then she won Dancing with the Stars, that's is great!

[catherine]

hey Catherine, I saw Meryl Davis years ago when she and Charlie were skating in Juniors competition. I had tickets to all events at the US Figure Skating Championships here and made an effort to get to Novice and Intermediate competitions because I hadn't seen ice dancing at those lower levels and it's interesting to see who the young skaters are, you don't see them on tv.

In recent years I stopped following ice skating so I didn't even know that she and Charlie won the Olympics (doh.) And then I caught a glimpse of her on Dancing with the Stars as I channel surfed through tv one evening, and thought "That looks like Meryl whats-her-name, the skater." She has a unique beauty. So I looked her up, and then she won Dancing with the Stars, that's is great!

Wow, that's so cool! I did watch them on the Olympics and thought they were great! Then when I saw they were going to be on DWTS I was so excited! She is super talented, and so was Charlie. I was disappointed to see Charlie go in the semi-finals and he definitely should have been put through the the finals. Meryl deserved to win for sure, and you're right--she does have a unique beauty. Also, I think the backstory helped, because she was paired with the "bad boy" pro--so it set up a "Beauty and the Beast" storyline that was hard to resist--and their onscreen chemistry fueled that big time.

[iris lilies]

.... I was disappointed to see Charlie go in the semi-finals and he definitely should have been put through the the finals. ....

So Charlie was on DWTS as well? ahaha, clearly I am not watching enough tv.

[JaneV2.0]

Olympians seem to do well on that show. I watched the season when hometown boy Apolo Ohno won. I still watch the clip of his samba every once in awhile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i25nF5luJhY

[iris lilies]

Olympians seem to do well on that show. I watched the season when hometown boy Apolo Ohno won. I still watch the clip of his samba every once in awhile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i25nF5luJhY

That was great, thanks for that.

[Yarrow]

I watch a couple hours of TV a day, along with reading books, listening to music, journaling, and surfing the net. It's all good. :)

[Lainey]

Speaking of TV, did the series "Call the Midwife" end? Spoiler alert -



I watched the last episode and at the end the narrator said she went on to get married and have 2 children. So that's it for the series?

[Spartana]

I actually watch a fair amount of TV but generally only watch at the end of the day, after I am to pooped to do anything else and want to veg awhile before bed. I don't have cable , just antenna, so mainly watch local network TV shows, PBS and news. Since I rarely read, don't write or journal, and rarely go online, I'm OK with a couple of hours of TV each evening if I'm not doing anything else and am tired. I have a movie marathon every 6 months or so where I rent a bunch of DVDs and watch all the newer movies. Otherwise I also rarely watch movies.