Jan 16 2009
Aging Changes Television Habits
I wish I were able to say that my television viewing habits had improved as I grew older and wiser. I can’t even say for certain that the “wiser” part is correct.
I (and my wife) watch more television now than ever. Ever! When I was in my 20’s I might catch a game on tv or watch the Tonight Show with Carson if there was nothing else to do. For the most part I was actively chasing the American Male’s Dream: Girls!
With success in the “girl” department, there came children, and then came endless evenings of sitting at home, semi-domesticated, watching kids and watching tv. But television never played the large role in our evening’s entertainment as it seems to have in the past few years.
My wife and I have a limited social life, don’t enjoy eating in restaurants much anymore, absolutely hate going to movies where there are a lot of young people, avoid the shopping malls, and are getting away from participating in outdoor sports like skiing, snowshoeing, golf, fishing, etc. The winter months are particularly void of outdoor activities when it is so cold. It just isn’t fun anymore.
I confess that some of the activities that I used to participate in were never that much fun for me anyway, and now I have all kinds of handy excuses to avoid them: sore knee, sore back, just getting too old, etc.
So, television, at least in the winter months, has become our main entertainment; our main activity, in fact. We usually spend three or four hours on the couch in front of the television five or six nights a week. The addition of a DVR to our satellite system has greatly increased our choice of programs on every evening of the week. We record ALL of our favorite programs and sometimes find ourselves “speeding” through them, skipping all the commercials, and watching an hour-long show in 40 minutes! That is pretty cool.
Among our favorite programs, “reality tv” seems to have taken over, with my wife particularly enjoying dancing and singing and weight-loss competition, while I still lean toward the cop shows, medical shows, and lawyer shows. (God knows why, but they seem to have the best writing.)
Doug - I have a great appliance that someday will over take the world - Apple TV. Obviously you have a fast internet connection this thing connects to the internet and your TV. Cheap movies and TV shows as well as numerous free podcasts both audio and video are readily available. With a few hacks you can get Boxee to watch a lot of those TV shows with few short commercial interruptions. Look into it.
Please don’t misinterpret what I have written as I have no commercial interest in them only that I own and enjoy Apple TV.
My disclaimer should be extended to say - I watch them mostly alone, my wife doesn’t care for my taste in podcasts, movies or TV!
I enjoy your blog, keep it up.
Thanks,
Larry
Our TV is on almost constantly. We do not have a DVR yet. I know, we are probably one of the last homes not to have it. We went to the movies last weekend and that was the first time in 9 years. It was fun, but I prefer to watch movies from my couch.