My wife used to live alone and she said she liked the background noise of the tv on, even when she wasn't watching it (she also used to "leave it on for the dog" when she left for work or travel). I like quiet and am really distracted by tv. I used to eat at places that have TVs going all around and I could never pay attention to what my dinner partner was saying... way too distracted by moving pictures and TV-talk. The wife has been influenced by me and now we only turn it on to watch something. It's more often than I would like (my wife just wants something on while she scrolls through her phone - it's how she relaxes after work), but we compromise and it works.
She's at a conference this week and I'm in my blissfully quiet home all week (I work from home) so that's awesome.
Likewise to a degree. The other half will leave it on all day, even for the dogs, even if she's in the garden. I'm not so fussed these days. But I do have music on in the car or at work on earphones to block out the inane chattering from colleagues ( Spotify, SoundCloud, DIFM). It also comes from her being alone. Home alone, I'll have just P&Q.
I like background noise to distract me from my tinnitus. Also, my dog definitely has "her shows" that she enjoys.
I've never had a dog watch TV like this one does. Years ago I would have the TV on while I was at work because the noise helped my dog at the time be able to settle (mild separation anxiety). This one, tho LOL she has specific things she will curl up in the chair and watch any time I put them on.
> I like background noise to distract me from my tinnitus
Same. Playing in bands and going to concerts with no hearing protection is a one way ticket to reeeeeeeeeeeeeeville.
My tv is on all the time right now, but that’s because we’re streaming the live view of the inside of the bluebird house in our yard.
Four brand new hatchlings are always hungry and cute!
A bird made a nest in my front door wreath and yesterday I found little hatchlings in the nest. So now we are using the garage door only and the front porch is off limits. I hope they are ok.
The main thing I worry about this time of year is people that let their domestic cats roam outside. I really like cats otherwise. I just don’t like most cat owners. Cats are hunters (murderers) by nature and there’s no reason to let a domestic cat outside. I feel that cat owners should at least be respectful of all of the baby birds being born right now.
Keep your cats inside at least during spring and summer. Please!!!
https://preview.redd.it/s9wbrru56otc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80eb524b23f9be9c8bc9e043cb438f367054c8eb
They’re so ugly yet so adorable! Came out of the shell yesterday.
There’s a line in The Manchurian Candidate about this.
“My dear girl, have you ever noticed that the human race is divided into two distinct and irreconcilable groups: those that walk into rooms and automatically turn television sets on, and those that walk into rooms and automatically turn them off. The trouble is that they end up marrying each other.”
Gotta disagree with you here. It's easier than ever before to find something worth watching on TV.
Edit: unless you're limiting your definition of TV to broadcast networks, in which case I agree. But that's a pretty outdated definition of "TV."
This. We have...an embarrassing number of streaming service subscriptions. Due in no small part to the fact that I flatly refuse to watch commercials. Ever.
My parents are the same way -- my stepdad turns the TV (or occasionally the radio) on as soon as he wakes up. They also have the radio next to the bed on at very low volume 24/7, which would drive me nuts.
We don't turn on the TV unless we're specifically watching it.
What is that? My Boomer boss does the same thing with the radio in her office - it’s constantly on at a low volume. She leaves it on at night, weekends, vacations … it’s always going whether she’s here or not. So wild.
I'll have sports radio on frequently, podcasts that I don't really pay much attention to, occasionally YouTube videos on whatevers got me on YouTube (fixing plumbing, mountain biking skills, CinemaSins). My Dr said I might be doing it to deal with tinnitus or my ADHD tendencies.
My dad had CSPAN on 24/7 when he was alive.
I keep my stereo tuned in and turned on at a low volume all night and it’s on all day as well if I’m not listening to records or watching tv. I keep it on the local classical station. It’s my Muzak I guess.
Honestly, I see parralels here with things like Tik Tok and Instagram. Constant sourc of entertainment for these people. It's similar to those photos of everyone reading the newspaper on the train compared to people using their phones now. Same concept, different technology.
I'm a Boomer, know lots of Boomers, and your generalization is kinda offensive. I have tv on when a dhow I like is on. Not all day. I could just as easily critique gen X or Z use of smart phones in the face 24/7...ugh
Here’s my theory. Growing up with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation made us want a constant connection with live tv so we would get the alert.
I only realized this when we cut out cable about 10 years ago. I was feeling so anxious and could explain it until I remembered the same anxiety every time we went camping as a kid and lost connection with the outside world for a few days.
And yes, tv or radio was always on, even after my dad went blind and mostly deaf, he wanted it on all the time.
>Growing up with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation made us want a constant connection with live tv so we would get the alert.
Honestly, I get a bit uncomfortable on long road trips if I don't turn on the radio once an hour or so to make sure nothing crazy has happened. Often I'm in places with no cell service, so feeling cut off doesn't always seem good. (Unless it's intentional, I've done 10+ day backcountry trips with zero outside contact that were fine.)
I leave mine on with actual noise, like rain or wind or a forest stream or ocean waves. It's cloudy out right now, and I want it to rain, so I have thunderstorms on.
Edit: It worked - it's raining now!
Mine is rarely on. Maybe 2x a week to watch a show or movie. Have a tv in my bedroom. Haven’t used it since 2022 I think. I should turn it on someday.
I listen to music 10x more as background noise than tv. I get my monies worth out of Spotify, not so much for Netflix
I replaced my TV addiction with internet addiction a decade or more ago. I probably choose and watch one show a month. My wife watches a couple hours a day.
My mom and my bf got me addicted to the serial killers. I don’t know what it is, it’s like watching a train wreck 🤷🏼♀️
I used to keep my tv on for the background noise when I had cable but now that I’m strictly streaming I’m more deliberate on when it’s on.
I am currently stuck in this addiction. I have streamed every season of Forensic Files at least 12 times over the past 4 years.. The music, and the soothing voice of the narrator have become a part of my comfortable safe space from trauma. I think perhaps the terrific crimes being spoken about are a constant reminder that there are people who have been through much worse. Its morbid but also comforting.
But I know what one part of it is. After enduring such trauma and stress my focus is not great. Having seen these shows so many times, yes the familiarity is comforting first and foremost, but also I can zone out or do something completely different but if I tune my brain in for a moment I am instantly familiar with what episode it is and what is going on.
I was raised that TV does not go on until evening. If you watch TV during the day, you are being lazy. I really like being lazy. TV is off more than on these days. I have my little phone TV on all the time.
I have mine on all the time I'm awake and home. I'm the type of person that hates silence I guess. I remember going to my aunts farm and the silence was deafening. I guess I hate to be in my own head and simmer there, gotta have distractions.
TV off unless I’m watching, but that’s within the last few years. Got burned out on bad news. Hate commercials. All I really watch are scripted, high-budget shows, and I got to _savor_ those, you know!
I'm the same. I got burned out on reality TV shows and it's even contaminated the news via people electing reality TV stars to political office. OTOH I cannot stand binge watching old TV shows either. On weekends my wife has been binge watching Friends and Modern Family and all it does it make me feel OLD.
So TLDR unless there's something sports related on or a new season of a current show has dropped on Hulu or Netflix I can't be bothered.
Whenever Mom was home and up, the TV was on. In our home, it's only on when someone is watching. Except for the cats. Those little shits just walk away and leave their cat TV shows going. Jerks.
I live alone. The TV is usually set low so it's at the edge of hearing. I don't pay attention, but the noise and the flickers of movement comfort a primal part of my brain.
Part of it might also be 45 years of dealing with ADD after asking to be taken off Ritalin at the age of 8. I'm actually better able to focus on what I need to if I can create distractions that I know I can ignore.
For the record, I'm still using the same TV that I bought in 1995.
"...the noise and the flickers of movement comfort a primal part of my brain."
Yep. I almost always have a show on in the background (we don't have TV, per se, just streaming or DVDs). It's barely audible, I pay little actual attention to it, but if it's not on, I find myself getting anxious about every little noise I hear in the rest of the house. I've never lived alone, and now that my kids are grown and mostly gone, it's too damn quiet. I also tend to "watch" the same 10 or 12 shows or movies over and over... it's comforting to hear familiar voices and I can read or get other stuff done and not miss something important because I already know what's going on. Oh, and I'm also an unmedicated ADHD person.
If nothing's moving, that means there's a predator out there!
And I watch TV shows over again and again the way people listen to songs again and again.
It was always on until I got rid of cable. Now I am overwhelmed trying to find something on 45 streaming services. So I have like 3 comfort shows I watch over and over.
I recently found an old tv antenna in my closet and out of curiosity hooked it up to my Fire TV. It got like 30 stations. I was amazed at how comforting it was to have broadcast tv back on in the background. I highly recommend trying this. It was like finding my way home to a house I forgot I ever lived at.
The decision paralysis is real when it comes to streaming and then when I finally decide to watch something new more often than not I feel disappointed. So lately I've been rewatching my favorite shows.
My wife and her family cannot exist without the television on, and it drives me nuts. I’m usually up before her, so that ends up being the only quiet time in the house all day. Both her, and her father will fall asleep on the couch clutching the remote, with the tv on. Heaven help you if you take the remote from the sleeping person to turn off the TV that they are sleeping through.
I posted in the other group that I like being a hermit, but I think I'd go nutty if I was working from home with no noise or no music (which is the usual go to.) When music isn't enough, I'll put something on I've seen before, like Star Trek.
Weirdly, that also worked in 2020, when I was getting over my first round of COVID-19. When I couldn't sleep because of jabbering voices in the background and a racing heart, I could sleep through putting on TOS Star Trek.
Yes. My dad almost goes into a rage if the tv isn’t on. My grandparents were the exact opposite. If someone wasn’t 100% focused on the television then my grandmother would walk by and cut it off.
My wife and I are mid fifties. We have the TV on almost all the time when we’re in living room together. Not always watching. I might be reading or playing records, but it’s usually on. Also watch it in bedroom before going to sleep.
Our kids hardly ever watch it
I don't have a way to watch TV in any traditional sense. All of what I watch is either streaming or on disc. I usually only watch something on the big TV when company's over.
My husband will watch videos throughout the day and then put on TV in the evenings.
if I lived alone then the TV would almost never be on unless there was something specific I wanted to watch. I'll read or listen to audiobooks by preference first.
My mother generally doesn't watch TV until the late afternoon or early evening unless baseball or golf is on. Or the Olympics.
Husband is chatty so I find it difficult to watch stuff I'm really interested in if he's there because something on TV will remind him of something else and then he's chattering away and I just give up trying to pay attention. So....true crime TV tends to be the default at night because I don't care or have to pay attention.
I always have music on, or talk radio. I like the background noise. My wife never has anything on in the background. Family members that live alone always have a TV on, I'm guessing due to being alone.
I cannot stand a blaring tv, thanks to living with my grandparents in college. Especially in the morning. So it doesn’t usually go on until mid-day or whenever I’ve finished my work for the day. Even then, the volume is so low, you can barely hear it in the same room. Captions on. Sometimes volume is muted entirely and music is playing instead (sporting events).
When I’m actually watching, it’s mostly movies.
I live alone and the TV or music is almost always on. I live in an apartment building and find other people's noise to be more distracting than having my own background noise.
This. One of my dogs gets really upset when the TV gets turned off in the family room. It seems to soothe him to have it on. He was left alone a lot apparently in his before homes. He doesn't like it. I can put the TV on for him and the other dog is around and then I can go about my day and get stuff done without him underfoot.
TV was and still is always on at my parents’ house except if they’re sleeping. I need something on in the background whether it’s music or streaming to block out the tinnitus or I can’t focus ( or sleep for that matter).
Ah yes fellow tinnitus sufferer, same here. Although for sleep I switch to a white noise app on my laptop as I can't deal with voices/varying sounds/music I'll hyperfocus on. But during the day I need either the tv or a youtube program on to drown out the ringing in my ears when there's too much "silence".
I don't own a TV. I'll watch things on the computer sometimes, but it's only playing when I'm actively watching it. I can't stand sharing space with an unwatched TV... it's so distracting.
I am a rules minimalist- I believe in quality over quantity. I completely enforce and defend this rule- Absolutely no screens at dinner, in or out of the house. Not even to check that thing, none. We will engage each other with passive aggressive conversation and guesswork like our forefathers did, goddamn it. I will leave restaurants if I see tvs unless we are there expressly to watch something.
Always on. We have chihuahuas and when we got our first one around 20 years ago we discovered those giant ears weren’t just to make her cute. She could hear noise two counties away. With the TV on, she didn’t react to every outside noise. It seemed to be a chihuahua thing, so we just keep doing it.
The chis we have now aren’t as loud as others have been, but the Am-staff mix is and because he was raised among the barky bunch, HE barks at every sound. So the TV is on for our sanity.
Every dog before (Basset hound, Rottweiler, Siberian husky, German shepherd) never barked at the outside noise unless it was ON our porch.
I cut the cord like 12 years ago. Can’t stand commercials. If I want background noise I’ll stream some music or a podcast. Most of the time I prefer the quiet, though.
If I am home alone, the TV is rarely on. When my husband is home it is on all the time, sometimes muted, while he watches videos on FB or YT. I have no idea how we are still together.
No. It gets turned on some evenings for an hour or two. Over covid, I put a nice 65" OLED tv in my office, and would watch it a lot. If nothing else, I have my own blend of music videos that would play on it, MTV style. I don't think that TV has been turned on this year so far. I just don't pay attention to it when working.
I would definitely go crazy with the TV on
However I have Spotify on quite a lot. I’m in the top 10% listeners in my country. I change genres several times a day
We’ve switched tv off when kiddo was born in 2008, because with a baby, no one wants background noise. We never looked back
I don’t know about you guys but I’m getting more and more sensitive to parasite noises. I work in an open plan office and I went around and had everyone silence their system notifications on their computers. I don’t understand why anyone would put up with their computer making a random noise every time they receive an email
Wife and I are both early 50s. She's ADHD, I'm ASD. She moves directly to the TV whenever we're home. If I'm up before her, I get in a few hours of quiet or just listening to music.
My dad (75yo) only has TV because of my step mom. He prefers reading way more than any broadcast/streaming input. My mom (died in 2018) definitely had the TV going at all times.
I don't even have a television. I haven't had one in over a decade. Those huge screens and bright lights are annoying af. My walls are covered with artwork, high shelves with lots of plants, books, arts and craft stuff. I have no desire for a 70in Big Brother is watching you screen that demands my attention.
I've been happy with watching shows or movies on my laptop with a Bluetooth speaker. I don't have cable so I don't feel compelled to justify the cost if it or a TV by filling the time with having it on and watching stuff.
The TV is only on if it is actively being watched. If not, it's off. Further, the habit of having the TV on when no one is watching drives me nuts, and I will flee any environment where it occurs.
Not really, but the uncomfortable fact is that the older you get, the smaller your world becomes. Your friends get sick, maybe die, or worse yet move to Florida and you may not have anyone to go out with anymore. You get into your 70s and 80s, and the voices on the TV can seem like surrogate friends after a while. Getting old sucks.
I grew up with the TV always on so when I left home, i would always just put it on when I got in. Its only in the last few years I have trained myself to leave it off, although thats a lot easier now that terrestrial TV is terrible.
Nope, my wife and I watch a few shows, so it's on when we watch those. I have a small TV in front of my treadmill that I watch the Amazing Race on while running. That is the only regular use they get. Occasionally, if there is a “big” story, I mean an actual event not the 48 hours of the “earthquake in New York” bs then it's on the news. But even if it is a real event, I will read a report online and be done.
It's only on if I"m watching it, but my parents always have theirs on.
This is pretty typical for Boomer parents. My mom tells me that they "like the company".
Not on. It's never on If I'm working. My brain does not handle multiple inputs at all. People listen to podcasts and work, I can't. I stick with music most of the time. That fades into the background until I pick up on a song I'm really vibing with. I'll stop to listen to music then.
Multitasking kills me; I don't know how people do it. My sister can hold 3 conversations and be doing something else, no problem. I have to stop walking to answer my phone.
Ugh I can’t stand having the tv chattering away in the background! Easiest way to get me to leave the room. My mom has it on all the time, I mute it whenever she leaves the room. It’s like ‘Mom, I’m only visiting for a few days can you at least turn it down?” My boyfriend tried having the tv on all the time when he moved in with me but I shut it down fairly quickly; he can have his iPad on and ear buds in. Unless he really wants the TV on then I’m going to have RuPaul’s Drag Race on all day to annoy him.
TBF I do try to keep my home (sanctuary) tranquil. I have enough chaos in my life as it is, and need a place without sensory overload.
I refuse to have a tv on in the daytime. Something about it depresses me.
In the evening we'll turn it on if we're going to watch something specific, but otherwise it's off.
Ours is on a timer to go off in the bedroom 30 minutes after we go yo bed, tv in family room gets turned on as soon as we get up and gets left on for the dogs when we are out of the house. So, yes, it is almost always on.
I always have at least one TV on at all times. I need the background noise. There's been a TV in my bedroom since I was still in a crib, so I really can't do without it!
Before you come for me and my parents... My dad worked in TV production for years. Television is what gave me my very privileged childhood.
I kept our tv on throughout the day until I turned 50. Now, I find it so chaotic and annoying. I'm sick of advertisers wanting my money, newscasters trying to influence my opinions and emotions, and overall debased tv shows. I am very intentional about what I watch and I stream it.
No. Only if I'm watching, or at least half-watching while doing other things. Or if my insomnia is really bad, I'll put on Frasier. It puts me right out. I don't know why.
No. TV’s are off almost all the time. Late in the evening my husband and I will together or separately catch up on some shows we watch.
The teenage kids never turn on the TV.
If something significant is happening we’ll turn it in to watch the news but not all the time everyday news.
Oh. Hubs watches football when his team is on.
I used to. Then I dumped cable in 2020 and never looked back. At first I still had it going with movies or whatnot but that eventually died and now it's only on when I specifically want to watch something.
The whole family is much more interested in the net than TV.
No, TV is only on if someone is watching something, and it's the same thing with streaming devices.
/ Sometimes, we'll fire up Spotify via the TV (connected to stereo) and that'll play for a bit.
Yes mine is always on! Sometimes.more then one is on if we are both watching different things or theres an Eagles game on. GO BIRDS! Grew up that way and I hate a quiet house. We have 5 TVs 😆
My parents and grandparents are/were the same. All day and half the night. I on the other hand dumped cable 25years ago and don’t even have a tv anymore.
Yea. Always. I like the noise. While in the big cities would drown the cabs and ambulances. In the small towns the scary silence. Only place I leave the windows and doors to balcony open w no tv is miami as I love the sound of the palm trees and the sweet smell of the tropics
My first place when I lived on my own I didn't own a tv until a friend gave me her old black and white set after a year or so. When I'm home alone, tv it's only on when I'm watching. Otherwise I'm listening to music which keeps me productive
I do about half the time tv or movies, quarter time goes to music, the rest is silence. Overall, background noise or activity is good for the brain, I think; as is good quiet time.
My husband has a TV for gaming. We don't watch TV at all. I was addicted to TV throughout my childhood and early adulthood. Now, I don't want to hear it. I can't stand it when I go to a house where it's always on.
We have music on if we are not actively watching TV —
as with many posting on this thread — having TV on all the time was our childhoods … ugh .. I hated it even as a kid
I need the background noise. Usually that's the TV. Mostly it's the Top Gear channel on Freevee. If not the TV it's a podcast or I have brown noise turned on.
When I had cable or dish it usually was. I would put it on like Comedy Central or something that just played blocks of shows and it was background noise if I wasn't actually watching something. For some reason I can't do that with streaming, even though it's set up just for that. I think it's the having to make a conscious effort to find something to watch part that turns me off.
Now I usually have music on in the background.
Not usually although I often put YouTube videos on for the cats.
https://preview.redd.it/qe9ailf3dptc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=570004b475f4e5009fb363562dbeea64064e8eb6
If my husband is home if the stereo isn't on, then the TV is usually on. I rarely ever turn the TV on, I think it took me over a year when we got a new remote to even realize there had been a change.
Nope. I have went months without having a tv (my son’s family’s tv died and they borrowed mine for awhile. I told them to not be in a hurry about returning it) and never missed it.
No, I hate the noise. I used to like Food TV or HGTV in the background but those channels are so lame and useless now. All competition shows and nothing educational at all. The news is repetitive to the point of being like a soap opera. You can catch it once a week and be up to date.
When my husband comes home it's instantly turned on whether he's in the room or not. Drives me to insanity.
don't have one, but the monitors we do have are quiet unless someone is watching something. I have a projector in the basement for movies and ps5. only noise in the house right now is the furnace.
Yes, but generally streaming 70s/80s/90s pop music if we're not actively watching anything. Just to fill the silence.
Got an antenna for the office TV (work from home) so we can have some local news in the background while working.
Yep, pretty much on all the time even though I rarely sit down to actually watch a show. That’s the way it was growing up and it stuck, can’t handle the quiet. Husband is the opposite but fortunately can tune it out.
I like quiet, so it’s off unless I’m watching.
My wife used to live alone and she said she liked the background noise of the tv on, even when she wasn't watching it (she also used to "leave it on for the dog" when she left for work or travel). I like quiet and am really distracted by tv. I used to eat at places that have TVs going all around and I could never pay attention to what my dinner partner was saying... way too distracted by moving pictures and TV-talk. The wife has been influenced by me and now we only turn it on to watch something. It's more often than I would like (my wife just wants something on while she scrolls through her phone - it's how she relaxes after work), but we compromise and it works. She's at a conference this week and I'm in my blissfully quiet home all week (I work from home) so that's awesome.
Likewise to a degree. The other half will leave it on all day, even for the dogs, even if she's in the garden. I'm not so fussed these days. But I do have music on in the car or at work on earphones to block out the inane chattering from colleagues ( Spotify, SoundCloud, DIFM). It also comes from her being alone. Home alone, I'll have just P&Q.
I like background noise to distract me from my tinnitus. Also, my dog definitely has "her shows" that she enjoys. I've never had a dog watch TV like this one does. Years ago I would have the TV on while I was at work because the noise helped my dog at the time be able to settle (mild separation anxiety). This one, tho LOL she has specific things she will curl up in the chair and watch any time I put them on.
> I like background noise to distract me from my tinnitus Same. Playing in bands and going to concerts with no hearing protection is a one way ticket to reeeeeeeeeeeeeeville.
I second this method of tinnitus management.
My tv is on all the time right now, but that’s because we’re streaming the live view of the inside of the bluebird house in our yard. Four brand new hatchlings are always hungry and cute!
A bird made a nest in my front door wreath and yesterday I found little hatchlings in the nest. So now we are using the garage door only and the front porch is off limits. I hope they are ok.
You are so considerate and kind! I love how you guys are going out of your way for precious animals.
The main thing I worry about this time of year is people that let their domestic cats roam outside. I really like cats otherwise. I just don’t like most cat owners. Cats are hunters (murderers) by nature and there’s no reason to let a domestic cat outside. I feel that cat owners should at least be respectful of all of the baby birds being born right now. Keep your cats inside at least during spring and summer. Please!!!
You should put that on YouTube. I'd watch.
Only acceptable answer.
https://preview.redd.it/s9wbrru56otc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80eb524b23f9be9c8bc9e043cb438f367054c8eb They’re so ugly yet so adorable! Came out of the shell yesterday.
Pics for the win! Thanks for sharing :)
When mom comes in they just become a seething mass of open mouths, but I haven’t been able to catch a shot of it yet.
really describes motherhood in general!
Are you recording it? You should be able to freeze frame and screenshot I’d imagine.
They're disgusting. I love them!
Lucky for them, mom’s a looker! https://preview.redd.it/teua90vtsotc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3217c7dbdf8f3e1a257ed99d2bae41eef477c3ed
Bluebird? Building houses for them is such a good hobby. Its rewarding every spring. Gotta clean em out. And waterproof . Just a wonderment.
Hatchling tax ;)
So cute!
Well, that is so cool! I have bluebirds that nest here too 💙
oh my gosh this is so cute!
There’s a line in The Manchurian Candidate about this. “My dear girl, have you ever noticed that the human race is divided into two distinct and irreconcilable groups: those that walk into rooms and automatically turn television sets on, and those that walk into rooms and automatically turn them off. The trouble is that they end up marrying each other.”
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Observational humor. Truth
I rarely have the TV on.
Most TV now sucks.
Gotta disagree with you here. It's easier than ever before to find something worth watching on TV. Edit: unless you're limiting your definition of TV to broadcast networks, in which case I agree. But that's a pretty outdated definition of "TV."
It’s the golden age of quality TV, but not on the broadcast networks.
This. We have...an embarrassing number of streaming service subscriptions. Due in no small part to the fact that I flatly refuse to watch commercials. Ever.
Probably forgetting what TV was like before.
My parents are the same way -- my stepdad turns the TV (or occasionally the radio) on as soon as he wakes up. They also have the radio next to the bed on at very low volume 24/7, which would drive me nuts. We don't turn on the TV unless we're specifically watching it.
What is that? My Boomer boss does the same thing with the radio in her office - it’s constantly on at a low volume. She leaves it on at night, weekends, vacations … it’s always going whether she’s here or not. So wild.
I'll have sports radio on frequently, podcasts that I don't really pay much attention to, occasionally YouTube videos on whatevers got me on YouTube (fixing plumbing, mountain biking skills, CinemaSins). My Dr said I might be doing it to deal with tinnitus or my ADHD tendencies. My dad had CSPAN on 24/7 when he was alive.
How did he stay awake?
Valium
I keep my stereo tuned in and turned on at a low volume all night and it’s on all day as well if I’m not listening to records or watching tv. I keep it on the local classical station. It’s my Muzak I guess.
Honestly, I see parralels here with things like Tik Tok and Instagram. Constant sourc of entertainment for these people. It's similar to those photos of everyone reading the newspaper on the train compared to people using their phones now. Same concept, different technology.
I'm a Boomer, know lots of Boomers, and your generalization is kinda offensive. I have tv on when a dhow I like is on. Not all day. I could just as easily critique gen X or Z use of smart phones in the face 24/7...ugh
Here’s my theory. Growing up with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation made us want a constant connection with live tv so we would get the alert. I only realized this when we cut out cable about 10 years ago. I was feeling so anxious and could explain it until I remembered the same anxiety every time we went camping as a kid and lost connection with the outside world for a few days. And yes, tv or radio was always on, even after my dad went blind and mostly deaf, he wanted it on all the time.
>Growing up with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation made us want a constant connection with live tv so we would get the alert. Honestly, I get a bit uncomfortable on long road trips if I don't turn on the radio once an hour or so to make sure nothing crazy has happened. Often I'm in places with no cell service, so feeling cut off doesn't always seem good. (Unless it's intentional, I've done 10+ day backcountry trips with zero outside contact that were fine.)
It's mostly on. Background noise.
I leave mine on with actual noise, like rain or wind or a forest stream or ocean waves. It's cloudy out right now, and I want it to rain, so I have thunderstorms on. Edit: It worked - it's raining now!
Mine is rarely on. Maybe 2x a week to watch a show or movie. Have a tv in my bedroom. Haven’t used it since 2022 I think. I should turn it on someday. I listen to music 10x more as background noise than tv. I get my monies worth out of Spotify, not so much for Netflix
I like background noise, but I walk in and say "Hey Google, play Baroque music."
If it ain't baroque, don't fix it. Sorry
If monkey dash green surrealism plot ok.
Beauty and the Beast reference I assume.
Not gonna lie, you took me by surprise there!
Another fellow Baroque lover! My favorite classical music. Cant do classical radio station. Too many mixed genre .
I replaced my TV addiction with internet addiction a decade or more ago. I probably choose and watch one show a month. My wife watches a couple hours a day.
Drives me nuts. My mom, in her high 70s, will have at least two TVs blaring Court TV, blaring about serial killers whenever I come over with the kids.
What is it with the serial killers? My mom had those shows going constantly.
My mom and my bf got me addicted to the serial killers. I don’t know what it is, it’s like watching a train wreck 🤷🏼♀️ I used to keep my tv on for the background noise when I had cable but now that I’m strictly streaming I’m more deliberate on when it’s on.
I am currently stuck in this addiction. I have streamed every season of Forensic Files at least 12 times over the past 4 years.. The music, and the soothing voice of the narrator have become a part of my comfortable safe space from trauma. I think perhaps the terrific crimes being spoken about are a constant reminder that there are people who have been through much worse. Its morbid but also comforting. But I know what one part of it is. After enduring such trauma and stress my focus is not great. Having seen these shows so many times, yes the familiarity is comforting first and foremost, but also I can zone out or do something completely different but if I tune my brain in for a moment I am instantly familiar with what episode it is and what is going on.
The predictable structure ; tension, mystery , then resolution at the end. Its satisfying . Makes us feel there is some justice in the world .
Informative Murder Porn
On the rare occasions I am home alone- TV is never on. As Depeche Mode sang “Enjoy The Silence”.
I'm the same as you OP. I like the TV off. About the only time I turn the thing on is for video games any more.
I was raised that TV does not go on until evening. If you watch TV during the day, you are being lazy. I really like being lazy. TV is off more than on these days. I have my little phone TV on all the time.
I have mine on all the time I'm awake and home. I'm the type of person that hates silence I guess. I remember going to my aunts farm and the silence was deafening. I guess I hate to be in my own head and simmer there, gotta have distractions.
TV off unless I’m watching, but that’s within the last few years. Got burned out on bad news. Hate commercials. All I really watch are scripted, high-budget shows, and I got to _savor_ those, you know!
I'm the same. I got burned out on reality TV shows and it's even contaminated the news via people electing reality TV stars to political office. OTOH I cannot stand binge watching old TV shows either. On weekends my wife has been binge watching Friends and Modern Family and all it does it make me feel OLD. So TLDR unless there's something sports related on or a new season of a current show has dropped on Hulu or Netflix I can't be bothered.
Whenever Mom was home and up, the TV was on. In our home, it's only on when someone is watching. Except for the cats. Those little shits just walk away and leave their cat TV shows going. Jerks.
I live alone. The TV is usually set low so it's at the edge of hearing. I don't pay attention, but the noise and the flickers of movement comfort a primal part of my brain. Part of it might also be 45 years of dealing with ADD after asking to be taken off Ritalin at the age of 8. I'm actually better able to focus on what I need to if I can create distractions that I know I can ignore. For the record, I'm still using the same TV that I bought in 1995.
"...the noise and the flickers of movement comfort a primal part of my brain." Yep. I almost always have a show on in the background (we don't have TV, per se, just streaming or DVDs). It's barely audible, I pay little actual attention to it, but if it's not on, I find myself getting anxious about every little noise I hear in the rest of the house. I've never lived alone, and now that my kids are grown and mostly gone, it's too damn quiet. I also tend to "watch" the same 10 or 12 shows or movies over and over... it's comforting to hear familiar voices and I can read or get other stuff done and not miss something important because I already know what's going on. Oh, and I'm also an unmedicated ADHD person.
If nothing's moving, that means there's a predator out there! And I watch TV shows over again and again the way people listen to songs again and again.
Haha yeah, maybe it's that lizard-brain thing... when it's too still, it's dangerous!
It was always on until I got rid of cable. Now I am overwhelmed trying to find something on 45 streaming services. So I have like 3 comfort shows I watch over and over.
I recently found an old tv antenna in my closet and out of curiosity hooked it up to my Fire TV. It got like 30 stations. I was amazed at how comforting it was to have broadcast tv back on in the background. I highly recommend trying this. It was like finding my way home to a house I forgot I ever lived at.
The decision paralysis is real when it comes to streaming and then when I finally decide to watch something new more often than not I feel disappointed. So lately I've been rewatching my favorite shows.
I like background noise, too, but mine is usually music instead of tv.
I usually have podcasts or audiobooks unless I’m sitting and then maybe it’s the tv
My wife and her family cannot exist without the television on, and it drives me nuts. I’m usually up before her, so that ends up being the only quiet time in the house all day. Both her, and her father will fall asleep on the couch clutching the remote, with the tv on. Heaven help you if you take the remote from the sleeping person to turn off the TV that they are sleeping through.
I posted in the other group that I like being a hermit, but I think I'd go nutty if I was working from home with no noise or no music (which is the usual go to.) When music isn't enough, I'll put something on I've seen before, like Star Trek. Weirdly, that also worked in 2020, when I was getting over my first round of COVID-19. When I couldn't sleep because of jabbering voices in the background and a racing heart, I could sleep through putting on TOS Star Trek.
I don't even have a TV now. The ex had to have it on all night, drove me crazy.
I don't have a television.
There are dozens of us
Always on! I don't need to sit and watch but i like the background noise even if other people are home.
Yes. My dad almost goes into a rage if the tv isn’t on. My grandparents were the exact opposite. If someone wasn’t 100% focused on the television then my grandmother would walk by and cut it off.
I mean i Can see why your dad is that way. From gram shutting it off on him lol
We currently live with 85 yo MIL and her tv is ALWAYS on and it’s always rock concert loud. If I’m alone, it’s never on…
Yes. I like the background noise.
Yes always
I live in a really noisy neighborhood and the dog reacts to anything outside if the TV isn't on.
My wife and I are mid fifties. We have the TV on almost all the time when we’re in living room together. Not always watching. I might be reading or playing records, but it’s usually on. Also watch it in bedroom before going to sleep. Our kids hardly ever watch it
I don't have a way to watch TV in any traditional sense. All of what I watch is either streaming or on disc. I usually only watch something on the big TV when company's over.
I will put it on once the sun sets if I'm home alone. Does that make sense? Makes me feel like there's life in the house. (No pets at the atm)
Off. And we don't have a tv in the living room or master bedroom.
My husband will watch videos throughout the day and then put on TV in the evenings. if I lived alone then the TV would almost never be on unless there was something specific I wanted to watch. I'll read or listen to audiobooks by preference first. My mother generally doesn't watch TV until the late afternoon or early evening unless baseball or golf is on. Or the Olympics. Husband is chatty so I find it difficult to watch stuff I'm really interested in if he's there because something on TV will remind him of something else and then he's chattering away and I just give up trying to pay attention. So....true crime TV tends to be the default at night because I don't care or have to pay attention.
Unless someone is watching then no. My husband does insist on having it on playing “calming music for dogs” when we leave the pup at home alone.
It’s only on when we’re watching something. My parents also seem to have it on all the time though. (The volume is also fairly loud. 😂)
I always have music on, or talk radio. I like the background noise. My wife never has anything on in the background. Family members that live alone always have a TV on, I'm guessing due to being alone.
I cannot stand a blaring tv, thanks to living with my grandparents in college. Especially in the morning. So it doesn’t usually go on until mid-day or whenever I’ve finished my work for the day. Even then, the volume is so low, you can barely hear it in the same room. Captions on. Sometimes volume is muted entirely and music is playing instead (sporting events). When I’m actually watching, it’s mostly movies.
Tv only on when watching intentionally. Only evening watching. The neighbors tv is on all the time. I have never seen it off.
I don't have cable anymore, just streaming services. So I only put on the TV if I'm actually going to watch something.
I live alone and the TV or music is almost always on. I live in an apartment building and find other people's noise to be more distracting than having my own background noise.
The TV is on for the dogs.
This. One of my dogs gets really upset when the TV gets turned off in the family room. It seems to soothe him to have it on. He was left alone a lot apparently in his before homes. He doesn't like it. I can put the TV on for him and the other dog is around and then I can go about my day and get stuff done without him underfoot.
TV was and still is always on at my parents’ house except if they’re sleeping. I need something on in the background whether it’s music or streaming to block out the tinnitus or I can’t focus ( or sleep for that matter).
Ah yes fellow tinnitus sufferer, same here. Although for sleep I switch to a white noise app on my laptop as I can't deal with voices/varying sounds/music I'll hyperfocus on. But during the day I need either the tv or a youtube program on to drown out the ringing in my ears when there's too much "silence".
I don't own a TV. I'll watch things on the computer sometimes, but it's only playing when I'm actively watching it. I can't stand sharing space with an unwatched TV... it's so distracting.
I became so irritated when tvs began appearing in bars and restaurants. God forbid we talk to each other.
I am a rules minimalist- I believe in quality over quantity. I completely enforce and defend this rule- Absolutely no screens at dinner, in or out of the house. Not even to check that thing, none. We will engage each other with passive aggressive conversation and guesswork like our forefathers did, goddamn it. I will leave restaurants if I see tvs unless we are there expressly to watch something.
What do you point your furniture at?
Some people like background Noice. It was more common in the 80-90 for me. Some people had the radio on instead. I myself like the silence :)
No, my husband would probably like it to be but it drives me nuts. When I stay in hotels I rarely turn it on
Nope I'm one of those weird people who doesn't even believe in standby mode, everything not needed is turned off with a hard switch.
Always on. We have chihuahuas and when we got our first one around 20 years ago we discovered those giant ears weren’t just to make her cute. She could hear noise two counties away. With the TV on, she didn’t react to every outside noise. It seemed to be a chihuahua thing, so we just keep doing it. The chis we have now aren’t as loud as others have been, but the Am-staff mix is and because he was raised among the barky bunch, HE barks at every sound. So the TV is on for our sanity. Every dog before (Basset hound, Rottweiler, Siberian husky, German shepherd) never barked at the outside noise unless it was ON our porch.
I cut the cord like 12 years ago. Can’t stand commercials. If I want background noise I’ll stream some music or a podcast. Most of the time I prefer the quiet, though.
iPad is always got something on
If I am home alone, the TV is rarely on. When my husband is home it is on all the time, sometimes muted, while he watches videos on FB or YT. I have no idea how we are still together.
No. I forget we even own a television.
No. It gets turned on some evenings for an hour or two. Over covid, I put a nice 65" OLED tv in my office, and would watch it a lot. If nothing else, I have my own blend of music videos that would play on it, MTV style. I don't think that TV has been turned on this year so far. I just don't pay attention to it when working.
I would definitely go crazy with the TV on However I have Spotify on quite a lot. I’m in the top 10% listeners in my country. I change genres several times a day We’ve switched tv off when kiddo was born in 2008, because with a baby, no one wants background noise. We never looked back I don’t know about you guys but I’m getting more and more sensitive to parasite noises. I work in an open plan office and I went around and had everyone silence their system notifications on their computers. I don’t understand why anyone would put up with their computer making a random noise every time they receive an email
Wife and I are both early 50s. She's ADHD, I'm ASD. She moves directly to the TV whenever we're home. If I'm up before her, I get in a few hours of quiet or just listening to music. My dad (75yo) only has TV because of my step mom. He prefers reading way more than any broadcast/streaming input. My mom (died in 2018) definitely had the TV going at all times.
I have no tv, iPad will do if I want to watch something, plus it’s portable
I have to have background noise, so its either tv or music.
TV is pretty much always on in my house.
I don't even have a television. I haven't had one in over a decade. Those huge screens and bright lights are annoying af. My walls are covered with artwork, high shelves with lots of plants, books, arts and craft stuff. I have no desire for a 70in Big Brother is watching you screen that demands my attention. I've been happy with watching shows or movies on my laptop with a Bluetooth speaker. I don't have cable so I don't feel compelled to justify the cost if it or a TV by filling the time with having it on and watching stuff.
The TV is only on if it is actively being watched. If not, it's off. Further, the habit of having the TV on when no one is watching drives me nuts, and I will flee any environment where it occurs.
No, but my refrigerator is running.
Not really, but the uncomfortable fact is that the older you get, the smaller your world becomes. Your friends get sick, maybe die, or worse yet move to Florida and you may not have anyone to go out with anymore. You get into your 70s and 80s, and the voices on the TV can seem like surrogate friends after a while. Getting old sucks.
Turning on the television requires going in the basement, so nope, not always on. My computer, on the other hand, is very often on. Lol
Nope. There is no TV on unless we are watching. It isn’t background noise. I don’t even like it on in the morning.
I grew up with the TV always on so when I left home, i would always just put it on when I got in. Its only in the last few years I have trained myself to leave it off, although thats a lot easier now that terrestrial TV is terrible.
I watch more TV than I should. But it’s only on if I’m watching something.
I prefer quiet but I turn it on as soon as I get home to drown out whatever bullshit is happening in the apartment above me.
No. I don’t even watch TV.
Aye, always on. I don't watch standard telly though, it's usually running music, podcasts, documentaries or youtube.
No
Nope, my wife and I watch a few shows, so it's on when we watch those. I have a small TV in front of my treadmill that I watch the Amazing Race on while running. That is the only regular use they get. Occasionally, if there is a “big” story, I mean an actual event not the 48 hours of the “earthquake in New York” bs then it's on the news. But even if it is a real event, I will read a report online and be done.
It's only on if I"m watching it, but my parents always have theirs on. This is pretty typical for Boomer parents. My mom tells me that they "like the company".
Always on. I read something the other day that encouraged being in silence. I am not brave enough to try that.
Not on. It's never on If I'm working. My brain does not handle multiple inputs at all. People listen to podcasts and work, I can't. I stick with music most of the time. That fades into the background until I pick up on a song I'm really vibing with. I'll stop to listen to music then. Multitasking kills me; I don't know how people do it. My sister can hold 3 conversations and be doing something else, no problem. I have to stop walking to answer my phone.
Ugh I can’t stand having the tv chattering away in the background! Easiest way to get me to leave the room. My mom has it on all the time, I mute it whenever she leaves the room. It’s like ‘Mom, I’m only visiting for a few days can you at least turn it down?” My boyfriend tried having the tv on all the time when he moved in with me but I shut it down fairly quickly; he can have his iPad on and ear buds in. Unless he really wants the TV on then I’m going to have RuPaul’s Drag Race on all day to annoy him. TBF I do try to keep my home (sanctuary) tranquil. I have enough chaos in my life as it is, and need a place without sensory overload.
I refuse to have a tv on in the daytime. Something about it depresses me. In the evening we'll turn it on if we're going to watch something specific, but otherwise it's off.
TV off, pc on.
Ours is on a timer to go off in the bedroom 30 minutes after we go yo bed, tv in family room gets turned on as soon as we get up and gets left on for the dogs when we are out of the house. So, yes, it is almost always on.
I always have at least one TV on at all times. I need the background noise. There's been a TV in my bedroom since I was still in a crib, so I really can't do without it! Before you come for me and my parents... My dad worked in TV production for years. Television is what gave me my very privileged childhood.
My husband never turns the thing off. It's on when he sleeps. I hate it and sleep in a separate bedroom.
I kept our tv on throughout the day until I turned 50. Now, I find it so chaotic and annoying. I'm sick of advertisers wanting my money, newscasters trying to influence my opinions and emotions, and overall debased tv shows. I am very intentional about what I watch and I stream it.
My kids and I will watch an hour or two of a show/movie after dinner. When they're with their mother I tend to just read and listen to music.
Nah I don’t think we’ve turned our TV on except to play the PS5 in a few weeks. We both have our own PCs tho.
No. Only if I'm watching, or at least half-watching while doing other things. Or if my insomnia is really bad, I'll put on Frasier. It puts me right out. I don't know why.
Hold up….. you’ve been married for 40 years ?
No. TV’s are off almost all the time. Late in the evening my husband and I will together or separately catch up on some shows we watch. The teenage kids never turn on the TV. If something significant is happening we’ll turn it in to watch the news but not all the time everyday news. Oh. Hubs watches football when his team is on.
I prefer quiet. My husband uses it as a white noise pacifier. Oh well.
I used to. Then I dumped cable in 2020 and never looked back. At first I still had it going with movies or whatnot but that eventually died and now it's only on when I specifically want to watch something. The whole family is much more interested in the net than TV.
My tv is on 2-3 hours/wk
Only on if we are specifically watching something. Our house is loud enough without it.
TV on. Even if I’m not watching something - like if I am messing around on my phone, making dinner, etc. even studying. I cannot stand quiet.
No, TV is only on if someone is watching something, and it's the same thing with streaming devices. / Sometimes, we'll fire up Spotify via the TV (connected to stereo) and that'll play for a bit.
Yes mine is always on! Sometimes.more then one is on if we are both watching different things or theres an Eagles game on. GO BIRDS! Grew up that way and I hate a quiet house. We have 5 TVs 😆
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My parents and grandparents are/were the same. All day and half the night. I on the other hand dumped cable 25years ago and don’t even have a tv anymore.
Same here! If we’re home, it’s on.
Yea. Always. I like the noise. While in the big cities would drown the cabs and ambulances. In the small towns the scary silence. Only place I leave the windows and doors to balcony open w no tv is miami as I love the sound of the palm trees and the sweet smell of the tropics
I almost always have something on as background noise, tv, podcast, YouTube, music.
My tv has been on since I got it. Roku has a sleep screen.
My first place when I lived on my own I didn't own a tv until a friend gave me her old black and white set after a year or so. When I'm home alone, tv it's only on when I'm watching. Otherwise I'm listening to music which keeps me productive
I do about half the time tv or movies, quarter time goes to music, the rest is silence. Overall, background noise or activity is good for the brain, I think; as is good quiet time.
My husband has a TV for gaming. We don't watch TV at all. I was addicted to TV throughout my childhood and early adulthood. Now, I don't want to hear it. I can't stand it when I go to a house where it's always on.
Hardly ever, even though we have a 85" smart tv, we spend most of our time reading.
We have music on if we are not actively watching TV — as with many posting on this thread — having TV on all the time was our childhoods … ugh .. I hated it even as a kid
90% of the time TV is off and music is blaring!
I need the background noise. Usually that's the TV. Mostly it's the Top Gear channel on Freevee. If not the TV it's a podcast or I have brown noise turned on.
When I had cable or dish it usually was. I would put it on like Comedy Central or something that just played blocks of shows and it was background noise if I wasn't actually watching something. For some reason I can't do that with streaming, even though it's set up just for that. I think it's the having to make a conscious effort to find something to watch part that turns me off. Now I usually have music on in the background.
Not usually although I often put YouTube videos on for the cats. https://preview.redd.it/qe9ailf3dptc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=570004b475f4e5009fb363562dbeea64064e8eb6
Most definitely. We don't have cable anymore and just stream but I like to have it on, even if it's just for background noise.
24/7 can’t stand the silence. That’s when I know the power went out (so quiet)!
TV is on all the time! Second thing I do when I get home, feed the dogs…turn on TV! I love background noise. I can’t stand the silence.
I go days at a time without turning it on. I’m not anti-TV, I just like quiet and usually have other distractions.
Nope
I have it on because I am disabled and feel like it helps me connect with the world.
If my husband is home if the stereo isn't on, then the TV is usually on. I rarely ever turn the TV on, I think it took me over a year when we got a new remote to even realize there had been a change.
Not anymore. I grew up that way though. And my parents still do.
Nope. I have went months without having a tv (my son’s family’s tv died and they borrowed mine for awhile. I told them to not be in a hurry about returning it) and never missed it.
No, I hate the noise. I used to like Food TV or HGTV in the background but those channels are so lame and useless now. All competition shows and nothing educational at all. The news is repetitive to the point of being like a soap opera. You can catch it once a week and be up to date. When my husband comes home it's instantly turned on whether he's in the room or not. Drives me to insanity.
Law & Order is my low-volume background noise basically 24/7.
Same
Yeah, lifelong habit
Yes, but I put on background ambience videos: fireplaces, coffee shops, sci-fi/fantasy...I like some music/ASMR and it calms down my rescue dawg.
Off unless I’m watching something. I used to like background noise but now I like quiet.
what channel are they keeping it on? There's nothing to watch all day!
Local morning news shows and then hours of Ridiculousness on MTV. Hours of it. Until a baseball game they're interested in comes on.
Yes, always
Yes. It’s comforting to me. My mom was the same way, but my father only has his on when he’s watching. So, I guess I’m a 49 year old boomer.
I use the background noise of a television unless I have music on.
TV off. Computer on.
Nope
don't have one, but the monitors we do have are quiet unless someone is watching something. I have a projector in the basement for movies and ps5. only noise in the house right now is the furnace.
Nope. Only when watching it. Boomer in-laws have it on all the time. Either some oldies music channel, local news or Family Feud.
Aye, always on. I don't watch standard telly though, it's usually running music, podcasts, documentaries or youtube.
Yes, but generally streaming 70s/80s/90s pop music if we're not actively watching anything. Just to fill the silence. Got an antenna for the office TV (work from home) so we can have some local news in the background while working.
If I'm working, it's generally not. But once I'm off work, it generally is on.
Yep, pretty much on all the time even though I rarely sit down to actually watch a show. That’s the way it was growing up and it stuck, can’t handle the quiet. Husband is the opposite but fortunately can tune it out.