I saw an unbelievable statistic a few days ago. Thinking it must be a mistake; I did some research and found it was indeed accurate. I even saw a Los Angeles Times article by Alana Semeuls titled, “Are We Doomed”? When you take into account those of us for whom the number quoted in the research is much lower, or even zero, this become even more frightening. What am I talking about? The average U.S. resident now watches over 5 hours of TV every day. It seems impossible, but it is true.
At first I thought that must be the number of hours the TV is on, even if nobody is watching. But that is not the case…. that number is over 7 hours a day. The implications of this on our health are staggering since TV watching is a completely passive activity. I know there are a few people that do not even own a TV, but the reality is that most of us watch at least some. I don’t turn the TV on every day, but even still I probably average an hour a day. If you account for us, the number for millions of people must be an average of 7, 8, or even more hours a day.
How on earth did we get did we get to this point? It sure can’t be the high quality of TV programming! I suppose I should not be too critical as I probably spend an average of another hour or so per day at the computer. That is a pretty passive, at least physically, activity also. Do any of you meet the average of 5 hours a day? If you do, would you admit it?
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Hey Will,
I thought it was actually higher than 5 hours. I just don’t know where people find the time for it after all the time we spend on the internet.
Actually, I wonder if the study includes computer and video game time. As to being doomed, I think it was already this way when I was a kid and we have survived so far. I think we have more pressing problems, but hope we’ll make it. But don’t get me wrong, I think most TV is simply soda pop for the brain. I shudder to think of the inanity one must watch to make up 5 hours a day. Steve (PS. I would be 1 to 1-1/2 hours a day, after the kids are in bed, and I have a stationary bike I usually ride when I watch, well, 45minutes on the bike is enough…)
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The total was only TV watching. They had another breakout for computer and video games. Those were highest in the younger age groups which makes sense.
I still can not get my mind around the AVERAGE being over 5 hours. If you have a job and sleep, that means the only other thing the average person does is watch TV.
I have to confess that our tv is pretty much always on, though we are rarely devoting more than a fragment of our attention to it. At the moment as I type this, I am surfing the web and watching a dvd of American Graffiti, the old Ron Howard movie.
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Will,
~ Steve, the trade show guru
I agree that 5 hours is pretty mind boggling. And as you point out, if you and I and others we know are doing 1 to 2 hours, then that means others must be doing 8 to 9 hours to arrive at the average of 5. This reminds me of the movie the Matrix, where the people are living in pods and are plugged into the Matrix and don’t know it. It also reminds me of a movie about a cable guy? with Jim Carrey I think, and at the end he unplugs the town from TV, and there is just this telling dead silence. Maybe I watch too many movies…
Steves last blog post..My Kids Are Smart… cockle shells
You raise a good point in your last sentence, Steve…not that your points aren’t always good.
I believe the research was only watching TV. I thought I saw in one place that they did not count rented movies. That would not really make sense, but if true would bring my average daily time down to about 10 minutes since I am usually watching a rented movie and not broadcast TV.
I think it is addiction, lol. I was like that too, but then we put on the news channel that repeats every 15 minutes, so we are not glued to the tv all the time.
BTW have you ever had this happened to you, when you watch food commercial and you are hungry, you could actually taste the food in your mouth, lol.
Anna
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