How Many People Still Watch TV?

1. 64

   Midnytefireposted 15 years ago

   I think I have turned on my TV probably 10 times in the last 4 years.  I find that television really dumbs us down.  (I believe that is how the expression goes.) Television used to be entertaining in a different way a few years ago.  I miss the Cosby Show, Family Ties, Happy Days, Facts of Life, Different Strokes and shows of that nature.  They were really good family- oriented, televised entertainment.  Nowadays anything goes, your children are exposed to so much sex, violence and corruption on tv that it is not surprising that today's generation has changed so drastically.  I have never seen so many children dressing so seductive, making pregnancy, lesbian, and gay lifestyles the new trend or fad and lacking all respect towards their parents and elders. If I had children, I don't know how I could possibly shelter them from today's accepted values.

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      spiderpamposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I like TV and I love the oldies like The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls(thank goodness for TV land), The Simpsons, Game Shows and some on the newer stuff like Wipeout, House, and the model shows, but I have 2 boys and I try to limit how many commericals watch so I ordered Baby FirstTV and Noggin no commericals and it's educational, I still let them watch Spongebob too.

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      Aya Katzposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      We live out in the country and do not have any reception. I don't pay for cable, so the only TV we watch is in the form of DVDs and old VHS tapes. And, of course, YouTube. YouTube is a good place to preview a show or movie before deciding to purchase it.

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2. 0

   fierycjposted 15 years ago

   I feel your pain, gurl. No kidding. But there's still a lot of good TV programs out there. Yes, its almost impossible to shelter kids these days from whats been showing on TV these days, but what can you do. All you gotta do is your best, and pray that the everything else works out. That's it.

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      \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      hey you got your sensible clothes on today ....... how are ya

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3. 60

   goldentoadposted 15 years ago

   There's too much reality show shit.

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      anjalichughposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Hey GT! Is that you? We missed you in the forums. Good to have you back.

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4. 61

   onthewritesideposted 15 years ago

   Put a parental block on every channel except The History Channel, The Discover Channel, The Learning Channel, and PBS.  That'll teach 'em!  LOL!

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      girly_girl09posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Lol I remember seeing some things on PBS when I was younger that my parents wouldn't have appreciated me watching.
      
      I don't have kids but when I do someday I would definitely get a family filter. It's too easy to find stuff just flipping through the channels. My friend was telling me how his mom was all upset because she found his 12-yr old little brother the other day watching some show on Showtime or HBO that had a topless girl. If it's in the house, they'll watch it!

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         Lil' Lambertposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Ditto the Disney channel for me. I saw a B&W movie of a naked couple chasing each other across a beach, late one night.

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         1. 64

            Midnytefireposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Even Disney is not safe for your children anymore.  If you check out You Tube and search "Disney+subliminal messages", you will find so many programs and videos supposedly designed for children that are full of sexual content.  I was actually shocked at how many programs were like that.

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      2. 61

         onthewritesideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         LOL!  i was playing poker at a friend's house a few years ago.  One of the couples had brought their daughter over.  The hosts had a son about the same age.  They were eventually relegated to one of the bedrooms to watch a kids video.  When one of the moms went to check on them later, she walked in to find these two 6 or 7 year olds trying to emulate what they were watching.  Somehow they had found the porn channel.

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      Kadmielsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      you forgot disney and cartoon network you got have your cartoon fix

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5. 61

   Lil' Lambertposted 15 years ago

   The TV doesn't pander to my whims, either.. well, the free channels, anyway.
   
   Personally, it's the commercials that deter me from wanting to watch the TV outside of panning for news. Reality TV is another, yes, thank you, goldentoad. I am in the position of agreeing with Bill Maher that it is not good for us to see.. us.
   
   Being that I myself AM a homosexual, I do not mind seeing it on TV.. so long as it's not glorifying it, or making it seem demonic. I'm a neutral gay, or something. There's no straight pride parades, at least, not where I am. Celebrating an accident at birth, or a choice in life is not something that needs to be elevated to these levels of intense attention that we in these times adopt.
   
   I think that sexualized teenagers are sad. My little brother, 14, talks often with a 13-year old girl who alternates between sheer insecurity, and hypersexuality. Beyond that, the girl is a dolt; "Illegal? Is that the bad one?" she asked him once.
   
   I agree with onthewriteside -- we need to do something about what kids are exposed to; you can't truly stop them, though: they'll go to their friends' places and watch MTV there.

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6. 89

   RedElfposted 15 years ago

   I find myself in agreement with the toad...reality TV, which, in fact, has very little to do with reality (after all, what's real about spending your days with a TV crew recording every breath), rots your brain...assuming you had one when you chose to tune in to a reality show.
   Talent shows, on the other hand...()

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7. 61

   onthewritesideposted 15 years ago

   American Idol is now being broadcast in Hi-Def....you have to be high and deaf to watch the friggin show....

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   1. 89

      RedElfposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      American Idol is not a talent show. It is a syndicated formula-ized assault on the sensibilities that purports to select the next you-know, profiting from teenage and female fans who think they are being empowered by voting for their fave.

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      1. 61

         onthewritesideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry Red....I didn't mean for that post to sound like I was bashing yours.  When you mentioned "talent shows" it just reminded me of that joke...hehehe

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         1. 89

            RedElfposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            No problem writeside. Sorry to sound testy...Care to share?

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            1. 61

               onthewritesideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               what are we sharing?

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                  RedElfposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  "that joke"...? Sorry to be obtuse...

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                     onthewritesideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                     ah  ok...no problem!

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      2. 0

         dennisemattposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         i think thet cell phone companies started it...it all about making money...

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   2. 74

      Eaglekiwiposted 15 years agoin reply to this

        oh thats funny

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      Gemsongposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      That's classic! I love it!

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8. 59

   Pete Maidaposted 15 years ago

   There are some good things on TV.  Raising the Bar is a high quality drama showing clash between the DA's office and pulbic defenders from both sides.  It is real a gritty and the good guys don't always win.

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9. 60

   HealthCare Basicsposted 15 years ago

   I use the TV for background noise when writing, paying bills, or while cleaning the house. Other than that, the TV is for friends who come to watch sports....

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10. 48

    badcompany99posted 15 years ago

    We pay a damn TV licence fee here in the UK so I turn it on just to get my monies worth ya know. Is there any fee in America or other countries ??

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    1. 74

       livewithrichardposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Right now the cable providers pay a franchise fee for using public rights of way for getting the signal to homes.  Some states are enacting a tax to satellite users.  They don't call it a license fee they hide it within a tax.  If you dont want cable or satellite though, there is no tax.

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       1. 89

          RedElfposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          Not sure about tax up here (Canada) but unless you live in a big city or near the American border, you need satellite or cable. Otherwise you use rabbit ears (antenna) and get "peasant vision" - usually 4 - 5 channels which consist of the CBC, probably CTV (which carries a lot of American Programming and eastern feeds, the local feed (if you're lucky enough to have one it usually is a feed for eastern or American programming with local news and maybe a few local kids' shows or how-to programs), a Public Service announcement heavy and a local news-bite wanna be, and the French channel. Doesn't make for great TV watching.

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    2. 74

       Enelle Lambposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       To watch any of the decent shows you need to subscribe to either cable or satellite here in B.C. and like you, I turn it on cause I pay for it lol...
       Mind you, I do have a few fave shows that I watch - and it's a great cat-sitter when I'm gone for the weekend

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11. 60

    HealthCare Basicsposted 15 years ago

    BC, you can get free TV in the US if you chose not to use cable services. It's the old way of watching TV with the use of "rabbit ears" (antenna), but that allows for local broadcasting only. The US just switched over to digital conversion too, so if you had an analog TV you either needed to buy a new TV or a conversion box to continue viewing.

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12. 80

    KCC Big Countryposted 15 years ago

    I rarely watched TV for the last 5-6 years.  We finally disconnected the satellite for 6 months to see how much we'd miss the TV.  We didn't miss it, so now we own two TVs that just sit there.  On the rare ocassion we want to watch something, we can find it online.

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13. 77

    Uninvited Writerposted 15 years ago

    I usually have the television on when I'm online. There is a lot of garbage on tv but there is also a lot of good, you just have to look for it.

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14. 64

    Kelsey Tallisposted 15 years ago

    As far as I'm concerned, "reality tv" is little more than the modernization of the "entertainment" originally provided in the Roman Colisseum. Only now we prefer to see people psychologically tormented en masse rather than physically... Mmmm, does that mean we are evolving? O_O
    
    Aside from Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, the only things I watch on tv are a couple cable series (Dexter and United States of Tara).

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15. 69

    Ladybird33posted 15 years ago

    We do watch a lot of TV, although, I do have to monitor it for my son.  I am totally into reality TV, fantasy land for the adult useless brain time, specially when work is so stressful.  I have to admit, loved the older shows when I was young but have completely enjoyed the reality shows.

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16. 76

    Bard of Elyposted 15 years ago

    I gave it up in 2004.

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17. 60

    Laughing Momposted 15 years ago

    This is going to tell you how moronic I can be.  We have seven televisions in our house.  One in each of the kids' rooms, one in the living room, one in the playroom, one in our bedroom, one in the patio room and one in my husband's shop.  When we bought a new refrigerator a couple of years ago, hubby wanted the one with the TV in the door.  I won the arguement that our kitchen is open to the living room which, as mentioned earlier, already has a TV, or we'd be up to 8.  Every one of them is connected to cable. 
    Now here's the kicker....We may get 10 hours a week of cable viewing out of them.  We DVR alot, but rarely seem to find the time to watch what we've recorded.
    We do have a Wii and a couple of playstations, and watch quite a few DVDs to get some use out of the stupid things, though. 
    So I'm sitting here wondering why in the heck we continue to pay a cable bill.
    I would agree that my household has been 'dumbed down' into believing TV is a must have.  Ridiculous!!!

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    1. 64

       Midnytefireposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Wow that is alot of TV's.  Do you think if every single one of them was removed from your home that you would be able to live without it?

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          Laughing Momposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          That's the thing.  I think we wouldn't even miss them!  how silly, huh?

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18. 76

    ripplemakerposted 15 years ago

    I haven't watched tv for quite awhile now.  I just pick shows that I like on tv (on rare occasions) and a few times pick a good movie (DVD).  I've survived and loving it!

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19. 73

    Karen Banesposted 15 years ago

    I have a real issue with "reality" TV - If I want "reality" I'll walk out my front door and look around the "real" world. When I sit down in front of my TV I would like (but rarely get)some well-written, well-acted drama. I don't want to know how a load of no-shame, no-talent, no-brains "real" people act when they are either (A) so fame hungry they'll do anythng to get attention or (B) so stupid they forget there's a camera on them. I think I'd prefer to believe it's the second but fear it's the first. That's my rant for the day. I actually feel (slightly) better!

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20. 73

    Karen Banesposted 15 years ago

    I have a real issue with "reality" TV - If I want "reality" I'll walk out my front door and look around the "real" world. When I sit down in front of my TV I would like (but rarely get)some well-written, well-acted drama. I don't want to know how a load of no-shame, no-talent, no-brains "real" people act when they are either (A) so fame hungry they'll do anythng to get attention or (B) so stupid they forget there's a camera on them. I think I'd prefer to believe it's the second but fear it's the first. That's my rant for the day. I actually feel (slightly) better!

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21. 64

    Midnytefireposted 15 years ago

    The thing that gets me, is how some people are glued to their TV's like zombies or are so addicted they have to run home to watch their favorite tv show.  God forbid you interrupt them during their show, they will take an attitude with you.  I find this especially disturbing for sports fans.  There is some type of mind control that has taken over these people that they are not even aware that you are in the room when there is a hockey game or football game on tv.  The same can go for people who play video games.  They are in a bubble or something, as if they were hypnotized.

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22. 72

    brad4lposted 15 years ago

    I still watch TV, although I don't use Cable and only really watch it at night before bed. The only time I watch an actual television station is when I am at a friends house.

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23. 0

    dennisemattposted 15 years ago

    I have one channel. no cable. we watch the news, in the am, while drinking coffee. we have netflix, and i get the kids one movie a week, and hubby and i watch movies on weekends, if its raining. otherwise, we are all outside. or playing scrabble, monoploly, yhatzee or skp-bo. today it is raining. my two oldest are hanging out in the barn with the baby chickens, my youngest is playing the weather channel on the wii. she has learned a bit of world geography from it, an I can tell you its 20 below zero and cloudy on the south pole rihgt now.

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       RedElfposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Right on! We never chose TV over doing something outside when I was a kid - we didn't have a TV (nor live where there was TV reception) til we were in our teens.
       My son and his father, however liked TV a lot. So do my son and his wife.
       A number of years ago, we my son was little, I took part in a survey that asked our family (me) to make a note of each show we watched, when we watched and how long. It was a real eye-opener. After that, the TV went from the indispensable noise-maker that was turned on and left running all day, to became that sometimes useful thing we turned on when we wanted to see a particular show, lol.

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24. 74

    Eaglekiwiposted 15 years ago

    but even the weather channels are performing like theyre going for an oscar
    whats that about ohhh please!! I dont wanna know it rained yesterday , I was there remember

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25. 99

    Gordon Hamiltonposted 15 years ago

    I am presently living in a spare room of my brother's with no access to TV but don't miss it in the slightest. The only time I ever watch TV is if I go to the pub to watch live football (soccer.) Other than that, I haven't seen so much as a commercial on TV this year.

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26. 0

    Useful Knowledgeposted 15 years ago

    I hardly ever watch television anymore. If I do I watch Army Wives or the news.

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       anjalichughposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I love watching Army wives, Law & order, NCIS and some repeat shows of Medium. Thats all about it.

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27. 61

    JBeyerposted 15 years ago

    Who has time for or needs TV when there is the Internet?
    
    I have found two ways to make watching TV more productive: (1) only watch recorded TV from a DVR (watch an hour show in 40-45 minutes); and (2) watch TV on your computer while you "work"
    
    
    Several years I bought a TV tuner so I could watch or listen to the news or the game on my computer while I work. Just minimize the window to a corner of your screen or let play in the background. The best part is that my computer is now a DVR with no monthly fees. I record shows on a laptop so I can hook it to the TV to watch if I want or watch on an airplane, download to my iPod, burn to a dvd, etc. Tuners cost about $50.
    
    I also use software that lets me watch about 3,000 channels from around the world. The software cost about $50 too.

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28. 60

    Pr0metheusposted 15 years ago

    I keep it on as background noise.  I often think too much (causing anxiety and other problems) and I find with the TV on, I have less noise in my head.
    
    I actively watch some shows - Weeds, House MD, South Park & The Daily Show - but that's it.  Most of these are seasonal.

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29. 60

    love my yorkiesposted 15 years ago

    I don't watch very much.  Sometimes if there is a good movie on one of the movie channels, i'll watch, but lots of times I just have it on for background noise.

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30. 69

    torimariposted 15 years ago

    I don't watch too much myself, but I do have my staples. Spongebob (Yes, I love him and the show's humor. If he existed, we'd be best friendssss.), Family Guy, crime stuff, and Golden Girls. Oh, yea and So You Think You Can Dance.
    
    Yet, I don't watch such shows consistently.

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31. 68

    wesleycoxposted 15 years ago

    I absolutely hate to watch TV.  Most of the time you are surfing through the 250 channels or more to find something worthwhile to see.  After going through them all you find nothing of interest so you shut it off.  If it wasn't for Smallville being on the air I would shut off my cable TV service and just have roadrunner.  Plus you can buy TV seasons on DVD and you can read the news on the internet.  I think and hope that one day TV will become as popular as AM radio.  Besides kids would rather spend the weekends glued to the boob tube than play outside.  Anyway, I'm off on a rant.

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32. 0

    Louidam1posted 15 years ago

    I like watching tv.  I love watching reality shows. Maybe because I do not have a lot of friends since I moved here to GA about 3 years ago, the tv became my friend.  Sad but true.

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33. 0

    Fountain of Infoposted 15 years ago

    I don't watch tv anymore....ever since i got a job and have been going to college...and discovered the wonderful world of the web haha......pretty much im online whenever im not at work or going to school... yep

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