4-5 hours
10/28/2011
That’s how many hours PER FRICKING DAY an average American watches TV. Holy crap.
There are lots of reasons some people are more productive in life than others, but that’s a big factor right there.
I get asked pretty frequently “how do you have time to do all that stuff you do?” and I always say “I dunno dude I wake up and I do stuff and junk then I go to bed.” Now I’m going to say “I wake up and I do stuff all day, and that gives me an edge because most other people wake up and do a little bit of stuff and then watch TV for FIVE HOURS and then go to bed.”
Not that I don’t watch TV. I love TV. I probably watch like 1 hour on average a day. A lot of days zero and then some days a few hours. Depends on if I’m totally into a show or not. Right now I’m not into anything. But I feel like I’ve seen a ton of TV shows. Pretty much every show that’s ever interested me.
So let’s say you are really into a show. If you only watched 2 hours of TV a day you could watch the entire first season of Game of Thrones in one week Monday-Friday. If you were into a regular hour-long show on a network that had commercials, you could DVR or iTunes or whatever those shows and watch *3* of them a day in 2:15. That’s cruising right along with your TV watching.
If you consistently watch 5 hours a day I can’t imagine how many entire series of TV shows you’ve seen. You’ve probably seen nearly every episode of every show ever.
But we probably all know that isn’t the case. Most people don’t actively seek out a show they think they will like and then watch that show from start to finish efficiently. They just flip on the ol’ boob tube and channel surf. Of those 5 hours probably 2 of them are commercials and watching tiny segments of shows where you never really quite got into it. That’s some sad shit right there. It’s like if you went to an art museum but just sat in the lobby and stared at the wall.
Yep, The time Americans spend watching TV every year is equivalent to 2000 times the time it took to write Wikipedia. See Clay Shirky’s book / TED talk, Cogntive Surplus.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/cognitive-surplus-visualized/
Wow, that is crazy when you think about it. Many people ask me as well how I manage to get so much done, but I never really thought about it like this. I mean, 5 hours is a bit more than 20% of every day. That means that in an typical work week, the average person spends an ENTIRE FREAKING DAY watching TV. Too much? Yea. I probably watch half an hour a day, depends if there’s anything I’m following; i.e. the world cup, the olympics, anything like that can cause me to watch for 2-3 hours, but 5 hours is simply insanity.
ha ha, good point. Actually, thanks for covering this. I try to be very concise with my tv watching. Nice way to break it down. BTW, your tutorials have helped me alot. thanks
It will always mystify me how much time people spend watching TV each and every day.
I got rid of my TV back in college. I probably watch 3-4 hours of TV per week, and it’s at my leisure, during downtime.
Admittedly, I spend a LOT of time surfing the internet, but I’d venture to say that reading content-targeted forums/websites results in a significant amount of material learned, versus zoning out and watching mindless television. Not to mention the act of conversing with a community, as we’re all doing right now!
Great entry, Chris.
It is insane how much TV people watch. It’s hilarious that they always ask how I have time to do so much, and it’s funny I never knew how to answer. If I want some background noise, I will put on a movie I’ve seen enough not to pay attention to it. But most of the time I just put the head phones on and work. Great article, and even better point. TV is very counterproductive! lol
Total insanity. I sometimes feel myself creeping close, especially in the fall when I end up watching a lot of football.
However, I will say that at least 50% of my TV watching is while multitasking. Laundry, cleaning, checking email, cooking, etc. As a bachelor that lives alone, it can sort of be like a roommate. I’m a firm believer that multitasking degrades productivity, so I try to limit TV-tasking to menial activities and TV programming.
Like all things, balance is key. I love TV, but there’s a lot more to do. A lot of Americans don’t get that. I’m consistently shocked by how many of my friends and coworkers spend countless hours every night and weekend in front of the TV. I think they just don’t have other hobbies or interests. Work and TV/sports, that’s it.
I give Americans the benefit of a doubt and believe a lot of those Americans are children or are retired.
“Teenagers (12-to-17-year-olds) watch 103 hours of TV a month, compared to 207 hours (that’s nearly seven hours a day) for those 65 and older.” (c.2009)
http://www.switched.com/2009/02/24/americans-watch-151-hours-of-tv-per-month-an-all-time-high/