Between this and spanking it's no wonder 50% of us are morans

[TalkingDog]

http://ow.ly/15QBN2

From the Economist: Television viewing: Boxed in

Check out this graph. And then, watch this swing.....

[MineralMan]

1. Seems inversely proportional, doesn't it?

Our Teevee is on for a couple of hours a day, for the news and a couple of DVRed things, like Monk and Mad Men.

[TalkingDog]

5. I'm all for junk TV

the same way I'm all for junk food. In small portions and not for every meal, or even every day.

[90-percent]

2. Hmmm

I would say Greece has a big problem!

And, as usual, America is NUMBER ONE! GO USA!

-90% Jimmy

[kestrel91316]

3. My TV use has been at zero since the digital conversion. Which reminds me -

gotta go to Target or somewhere this weekend with my converter box coupon before it expires. The first box I bought was a dud.

[TalkingDog]

6. lol, good luck with that n/t

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. How the fuck is that even possible?

I don't even think I have 8 non-work waking hours per day. I'd have to spend every minute of that watching TV to reach the average.

I'm not disputing it - OECD does great work - but damn... that is breathtaking.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

7. that IS amazing...

our kids are home all day and i frequently am home for hours and hours at a time and we don't even watch that much...most days not even an hour (excluding SEC Football!!!)

sP

[get the red out]

19. Excluding SEC Football, yes

AND Basketball for me, LOL!

But seriously, when it gets past some sporting events and a few shows on Sci Fi or Book TV, I don't like much on TV. It's kind of a burden to watch most of it. I can leave it on and knit or read, but it isn't interesting.

[Johonny]

23. yeah but even if I have sports on

I'm usually doing something else also. It's hard to sit down and just watch the TV. I'm either cooking, surfing the web... then again there are lots of TVs that play to empty rooms. It might be an indication of Americans willingness to leave the TV on no matter what's going on.

[jpljr77]

12. That's exactly what I was thinking.

It would be simply impossible for me to watch 8 hours of TV every day, and I'm a pretty heavy TV watcher (I think).

In fact, all of those numbers are so high, I think something is fishy with them. In the article, it did say "American households watch the box for over eight hours a day on average." So if my wife and I watch 2 hours at night, does that count as 4 in this study?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

13. By my count

I wake up at 5 and leave for work around 7:30. That's 2.5 hours. I get home at 6-6:30 and go to sleep at around 10. That's 3.5-4 hours. At an absolute maximum, I could watch 6.5 hours of TV, that is if I didn't have to get ready for work, clean the house, and make dinner. Granted, the TV is on for parts of those, but it's really just background noise.

[TalkingDog]

14. I think that you and your wife are considered one household

It's how long the TV is on.....I don't think they can absolutely prove it's being watched.

If they can, then I'm really worried.

[redqueen]

22. I'm wondering the same thing.

:wtf:

[Demoiselle]

8. 8 HOURS A DAY? Average?

8 hours? Average? Per DAY? Jesus H. Mahogany Christ!
(I'm sorry....I just can't get my mind around it.)

[Creena]

9. Do I count Olbermann and Maddow?

If not, it's about 1-2 hours of primetime. I watched the most TV when we had NHL Center Ice.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. I switched from TV to online almost a decade ago and today I'm proud to announce

I haven't had TV in my home since the digital change months ago.

[Cali_Democrat]

11. I find this very hard to believe

U.S. Amerikans watch 8 hours of TV a day?

Who has that kind of time?

[abelenkpe2]

15. who has that kind of time?

I wake up at 5:30 exercise, make breakfast and pack lunches for everyone, drop the kiddos off at school and work 8 - 12 hours, come home, help with homework, give baths, tuck the kids in, hang out with my hubby for a bit then start the whole routine over again. There's no time for TV in there. How do people do it?

[The Straight Story]

16. It's Obvious - we have better shows and writers than other countries. We ARE #1

You see what you look for in such things.

[JVS]

17. Shows that can keep you on your ass 8 hours each day! Only in America

[The Straight Story]

18. Here is one on tonight

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6628725

And who cares how people spend their leisure time - unless they are a religious nut who wants to tell me what is right/wrong in regards to my life.

[On the Road]

20. It Is Hardly Possible

that that represents time individuals are watching and paying attention to the television. It means that for the average person, all time not working is spent in front of the tube, which is certainly not correct. For a child who gets home at 4PM, it means they watch TV without a break until midnight. Every student who does not watch at all would be compensated for by a student who stays up all night and watches for 16 hours.

Some of it may be accounted for by multitasking kids. Perhaps it represents how many hours the TV is turned on regardless of whether it's being watched. But as stated these are scare numbers and not credible.

[seabeyond]

21. kids and i go days without turning on tv. and then kids do disc or history.

me, colbert and stewart, that is all.

hubby turns on at night when he gets home

garbage on tv

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. I wish Americans would do things that are more constructive.

Like whinge about television on internet message boards.