How much TV do you watch every day?

[Ferrisbueller]

Mrs FB n me 'watch' (laptops and phones are on too) about 15-20hrs a week. Seems like a lot but we're honestly both mentally wasted after a days work and putting kids to bed etc.

Always feel we/I should be sound something more productive though.....

[gliderpilot567]

Not one minute. My kids on the other hand probably watch 20 hours of movies each weekend, during the daytime when they should be outside. Sometimes they'll watch the same movie 3 times in a row. They'll watch [anything] that's on screen - even endless infomercials. It's like a friggin drug.

I've tried in vain to break them of this habit, but my wife facilitates it, saying they deserve it after not watching anything all week. I'm still working on mustachifying her.

If you're mentally wasted and wish you were doing something more productive with those 2-3 hours a day, I recommend go to sleep. Sleep is more productive than TV... Sleep restores your brain and body and you won't be so mentally wasted the next day.

[MsPeacock]

Most days, none. Sometimes i manage to watch 1/2 of a 45 minute Netflix show. Too busy, not interested in tv, etc. I'd rather read.

[lizzzi]

I watch "TV" around 5 to 7 hours per week. Actually I'm using Amazon Prime video or Netflix. I never was much of a TV zombie the way some of my friends were, and the way my grandchildren are. But I missed some really good shows the first time around, and am loving catching up on things that probably everybody in the world except me has seen. (Currently am watching Stargate SG-1, and am on season 2 of the 10 seasons. OK, everybody laugh.) I'm far more likely to read books.

[Bardo]

Broadcast television never. I have Netflix and Amazon that I watch on weekends only.  For the rest of the week the power strip feeding the television is turned off. 

[Noodle]

Usually I will watch one episode of something while I eat dinner--Friday night it's usually a movie, and sometimes I will watch something (more likely a short comedy) with my coffee in the morning. So maybe 10 hours all told? I get bored sitting after that. It's been more lately because I've been fighting the first round of upper respiratory crud of the winter and there was a week or so where I was like a wet noodle by the end of the day--I didn't even have enough energy to read light fiction.

[cavewoman]

Anti mustachian but I love tv. Can't have cable because then I'll watch garbage, but I think some tv is art, great shows like the sopranos, breaking bad, walking dead. I actually prefer to get those from the library because I like to watch special features.
We also watch tv/ Netflix after work, especially in the winter when it's dark. Currently watching weeds. Probably 1-2 hours. Then we go to bed early and read.
Weekends are either no tv and super busy or lazy and tons. Today is lazy and tons. My boyfriend is watching motor trend channel on YouTube, while I'm on here (too much! Last post)
If I get the house to myself I love to watch documentaries. Probably total average per week is 15 hours.

[lthenderson]

I spent the first 20 years of my life without a television. These days, I probably watch an hour or two in the evening after the kids are in bed. I spend more reading.

[csr]

0. Haven't had a TV or cable for years. Some youtube though.

[Dollar Slice]

None. Over the years I grew to like it less and less. I had a TV and cable and realized one day that I hadn't turned it on once in a number of months. So I got rid of it. I'm much happier without it. I didn't realize how much of an impact it had on me until I stopped watching it. I love how peaceful my home is now. I sit in restful silence, or listen to music. (I don't like music as "background" either. Purposeful, attentive listening only. But I take music much more seriously than most people...)  I actually find it a bit stressful to watch TV now, it's very irritating.

[HPstache]

I think probably about 16-18 hours each week. I love watching football so my thursday, sunday and monday nights spike itnup a bit.

[2ndTimer]

None.  I surf the net instead.  Not sure that is better.

[Uturn]

I'm right in that sweet spot between "far too much" and "fuck, I need to get a life."  I got rid of cable a couple of years ago, and now that I've actually figured out how to get the most out of my Roku, I'm getting the most out of my Roku. 

[Erica]

1.5 - 2 hrs

None on Sundays because we are generally pretty busy

[Kiwi Mustache]

I watch perhaps one movie a month.

So a two hour movie is 120mins. 30 days in a month.

I watch 4 minutes of TV/movies a day on average.

[Davids]

I'm right in that sweet spot between "far too much" and "fuck, I need to get a life."  I got rid of cable a couple of years ago, and now that I've actually figured out how to get the most out of my Roku, I'm getting the most out of my Roku.

That is funny, I feel since I got rid of cable as well I actually watch more TV as well.

[YK-Phil]

I haven't watched TV in years. We do have one at home, but it's not connected to anything and it's only use is to hide a shitty patching job in the wall I did of few years ago. This being said, I house-sat this week and did sit in front of the TV two nights in a row, after work. I felt like a zombie and couldnt peel my eyes off the screen for hours on end, flipping between whatever was on the History channel and HGTV. I barely got up to fix myself something to eat, waited at least one hour before taking a bathroom break, and ended up canceling my evening workout and daily phone call with the kids...

[Calvawt]

We cut the cord about 6 weeks ago.  We still watch a few shows, but now mostly use the Amazon Fire TV for cartoons for the kids.  It has been a savings on the financial side obviously, but I have more time because it takes longer to find a show to watch so sometimes I just don't bother.

I would say I am down to 1-2 hours a day now (that is much less than it used to be, especially pre-kids).

[palebluedot]

I don't watch broadcast TV. I usually watch one or two NOVA shows from http://video.pbs.org/ a week.

[GreenSheep]

I left my (13") tv behind when I moved 8.5 years ago and haven't missed it for a second. About once or twice a week I watch something on Netflix with my boyfriend, but only together, and usually a documentary. The few times I do catch a glimpse of television (airports, someone else's home, etc.), I feel like I'm on a research expedition to another culture.

[woopwoop]

No TV, but we'll occasionally download and watch TV shows, maybe a few hours a week on average. Having to download them makes it a conscious choice (I want to watch TNG tonight) rather than having them available to stream all the time. I don't know if that helps other people but it does help me.

[alleykat]

I'm right in that sweet spot between "far too much" and "fuck, I need to get a life."  I got rid of cable a couple of years ago, and now that I've actually figured out how to get the most out of my Roku, I'm getting the most out of my Roku.

That is funny, I feel since I got rid of cable as well I actually watch more TV as well.

Yes, me too. I cut cable last year and have netflix. But, I find it addicting. So easy to just keep watching the next shows. I always need to see what happens next, lol.  I am thinking about cancelling for that reason but am not.  But, one of my goals for 2016 is to gain control because I do like watching some tv especially when I feel mentally drained and netflix is great because you dont have to wait a week to see what happens next.

I do need a life though. :(

[golden1]

Maybe 1/2 hour per weekday on average and a little more than that on the weekends.  A lot of my weekend viewing is multitasking.  I'll watch on my iPad while cooking or folding laundry.

[AmandaS1989]

I spend the majority of my time on the internet. Although I do turn on the news in the morning, just for the local weather and traffic though. When I'm on the computer in the living room, my family is watching the tv (we have an antenna not cable) so maybe I'm watching by osmosis.

[Schaefer Light]

Outside of sports, I watch maybe an hour a day.  Counting sports, I watch a helluva lot more (especially on the weekends).  Yesterday I watched football for about 6 hours.  Did the same on Saturday.

[shelivesthedream]

We don't have a TV but I work from home most of the time and if I'm doing something boring and fiddly at a table I'll put on a film or documentary on on the laptop to pass the time. I reckon I average half an hour a day (some days none, some days three films in a row). However, I don't get into drama series no matter how much people recommend them because once you're in you have to watch every episode. The only TV series I follow is Sherlock. Everything else is on in the semi-background. I very rarely just watch TV and do nothing else.

[The_path_less_taken]

Entirely too much. Need to examine this Roku or whatever you mentioned and perhaps the Amazonian thing....in the boonies and no house mail so when Netflix was snailmail it would have cost me an hour roundtrip in the car to get to the post office unless I was working that day (and in town).

Have to have satellite for internet so have cable and there are some things (Game of Thrones, Shameless, comedy standups like the Brad Williams "Fun Size") that I would willingly knife fight you for.

I'd win too. (unless you're a Samurai)

[ketchup]

Probably a maximum of 3 hours/week, usually between 0 and 1.  Using our Amazon Prime account and a friend's Netflix.  No cable.

[andy85]

too much...10-20hrs/week (id venture to say more if i count the time the news is on in the morning while i eat and random stuff)

I'm kind of a nerd for superhero shows, and there are lots of them.

[RocketSurgeon]

I watch Brooklyn 99 and Family Guy when they pop on Hulu, but that's it. But I play a lot of video games to make up for it. If the next WoW expansion is good, I'll probably renew my Netflix account and watch a lot more because you can play that game and watch TV at the same time.

[Zikoris]

None, though we do download Game of Thrones episodes when that's playing. I'm not sure where a regular TV habit could fit in to our schedules, even if we wanted it to - we're so busy doing interesting things, or just hanging out and talking about interesting things. There would be nothing I'd want to take time away from.

[GuitarStv]

We used to watch a ton.  Gradually guitar playing became more important and pushed out most of it.  Now that we've got a toddler, that time has been reduced further.  We probably average 30 - 40 minutes of TV or bits of a movie each night on weekdays and usually nothing on weekends.

[use2betrix]

I haven't regularly had cable for around 7-8 years. If not at work or school I was busy doing other stuff. On my down time I would surf the web or read. Lots of time learning on forums. I have always watched quite a few movies, usually rented or owned.

The last few years my fiancé and I started watching a lot of movies and Netflix. I work 50-70 hrs a week and we go to the gym 3-4 days a week religiously, but other than that, lots of shows and movies. It's a good way to relax after all the other stuff I'm busy with. I do surf the web and research a lot of things while we watch shows/movies at home.

[MandalayVA]

I went without a TV for a few years and that got me out of the habit of scripted shows, although I've been known to watch stuff like Transparent and Outlander every once in a while.  I'm not a big movie buff either--I'd rather read.  But it's football and hockey season, so I'm doing a couple of hours a week.

[mathlete]

No broadcast or cable TV, but I watch a good deal of YouTube/Twitch and I play a decent amount of video games. I'll say maybe 2 hours of screen time a day. It's probably more if you count the fact that I always have something playing while cooking dinner.

I don't worry about it too much. You can still do a boatload of critical thinking about even the trashiest of TV. And if you're not thinking about it too hard, then it provides you an outlet to unwind. All good.

[AZDude]

10-12 hours per week. Its about evenly divided between kid shows and sports. Most of the time its on while I work on other stuff and occasionally tune in attentively.

[GuitarStv]

We were actually wondering about TV time for our toddler.  He's seen almost no television for the first two years of his life (couple hours of tour de france highlights, and some short videos of dump trucks.  Should we incorporate more TV into his schedule so that he has more in common with his peers as he gets older?  If so, when?

[Eric222]

We were actually wondering about TV time for our toddler.  He's seen almost no television for the first two years of his life (couple hours of tour de france highlights, and some short videos of dump trucks.  Should we incorporate more TV into his schedule so that he has more in common with his peers as he gets older?  If so, when?

I still haven't figured this one out for my kids.  Now they are in school, and there are lots of things for them to socialize over.  We actually watch less TV at my place now than when they were little, just because there isn't time now.  Too many other fun things to do after school and before bedtime. 

[WildJager]

Tv to me is one of those forms of entertainment that I classify as "consuming."  In order to attempt to balance my time, I've tried to figure out what consumption entertainment is for me.  That generally includes anything I enjoy without producing, so books and music fall into that category.

While I don't have cable anymore and found that to be quite freeing, I still can fulfill the same blase lifestyle with any number of consumer mediums... such is internet forums (whoops). 

The question I try to ask myself is, how much time am I producing my entertainment over consuming?  I'll be the first to admit, I've not perfected this balance.  But on those days when I do it right I notice a profound difference.  Making video is much more rewarding that consuming youtube.  Same goes for music, food, gaming (vs programming or inviting friends over for a board game), etc.  The most subversive part to me is how consuming encourages being isolated and antisocial, where as producing encourages sharing and hanging out with friends.  For me at least, that is a profound difference.

[unno2002]

We do not have cable, satellite, or even a local antenna for television, and have not had such for quite a long time.  We have a television, but use it to watch bought, rented, or borrowed recorded media.  On those occasions we are out of town, and stay in a motel, the cable tv is 99 channels of nothing… 

[badger1988]

Usually zero hours per week. Three hours per week if I'm home when the Packers are playing.

[Tom Bri]

None.  I surf the net instead.  Not sure that is better.

Yup. Got rid of it 10 years ago when we moved. Said we'd get one when the kids got used to their new school. Never happened. They got up to speed but we never missed the TV. Even the kids never really wanted one. They said visiting friends was boring because all they did was watch TV. But we all waste hours and hours per day on line, so I don't see it being very different.

[mozar]

Do cat videos count? I watch my shows : Transparent, Girls and Portlandia but other than that it's surfing the web. My crutch is NPR. I time dinner to Market Place Money and then don't turn it off. I end up not playing guitar as much as I would like to.

[alsoknownasDean]

Depends.

If there's cricket matches on TV, a fair bit. If there's no cricket, then maybe a couple of hours of FTA or Netflix a month.

The thing's often off for a couple of weeks at a time.

Honestly if it wasn't for watching the cricket, I'd probably not bother with the TV.

I've got a Netflix subscription I'm paying for. I really should cancel it.

[anotherAlias]

Wow, I guess I'm really in the minority for this.  I watch about 5 hrs a day(netflix and ota....no cable here)  Basically if I'm home and not working, the tv is on.  During most of that time I'm doing other things but it is usually on in the background.

[NinetyFour]

None.  I do not own a TV.  I often watch DVDs from the library, or programs on the PBS website.

[Eric222]

When the kids are here, we watch ~2 hours of TV a week - our movie on Friday night.  It used to be more, but now that I'm not drained from trying to get them home by car I don't need them to watch TV while I recover.
When I'm alone during the week, I probably watch on average 1.5 hours a night.  I get a bit bored/lonely, and TV numbs that.  It is a poor coping mechanism, but I'm working on it.
Total:  5 hours plus a miscellaneous hour here or there.

N.B. TV = Netflix, of course.

[shelivesthedream]

We were actually wondering about TV time for our toddler.  He's seen almost no television for the first two years of his life (couple hours of tour de france highlights, and some short videos of dump trucks.  Should we incorporate more TV into his schedule so that he has more in common with his peers as he gets older?  If so, when?

No way! Keep him TV-free as long as possible. If his peers are talking about a specific TV show and he asks to watch it, that's different. Otherwise, why destroy his brain just so he can "have more in common with his peers"?

[Teacherstache]

I watch about 2 hours of TV per week on average. The kids are probably about the same. However, if you count YouTube, the kids and I probably average about an hour a day each of random videos. I would never want to give up the Internet as I use it so much for both work and entertainment. The husband watches lots of live sports so we have to have cable. If it were up to me and the teenage kids, we wouldn't need cable, just Internet.

[Rural]

None here, not on a daily basis. A short YouTube video every couple of weeks, maybe, and a movie every two to three months. I see a lot more video in designing online classes and open educational resources than I do for entertainment.


Put it all together, work related plus entertainment video, and I personally probably average under ten minutes a day. Maybe less. Husband is watching a lot of  online video lectures from Yale as part of studying, so his is much higher.


Needless to say, we don't own a TV.