How many of you watch T.V still?

I watch Television, selectively I might add.
I record much if not all of my TV, allowing me to skip through the commercials which saves you about 20 minutes per Hour long program.

I recently watch a program entitled Ancient Extraterrestrials that presented a case of ET contact of a tribe in Africa called the Dogon,who said that their ancient descendants had been in contact with an extraterrestrial race from the Sirius star system centuries ago.

What was pretty intriguing , was that they knew that Sirius actually had two other stars in it's system that are invisible from Earth and weren't proven to exist by radio telescope until 1976.

What made it even more impressive was that they even had a crude hand made metal model of the star system and their relative orbits to Sirius, depicting Sirius B and Sirius C which had been made centuries ago.

So yes, I do watch television, but i try to stay away from all of the garbage out there, but it is actually possible to learn something from TV once in a while if you watch the right programs.

I have something like 1600 channels. My fiancee watches all of the crime shows (CSI, NCIS, Law & Order) and shows like Forensic Files on TruTV. She lost her job back in November and can't find work so it's her only company during the day.

I personally watch a few shows like Sarah Silverman, Tosh.0, Fringe, Warehouse 13 (where did that go? Is it coming back for another season?) and a few others. Most of the reason for the huge number of channels though is Showtime (Dexter) and the NHL package of channels.

My daughter watches things like Dora and PBS Kids, and most of the rest of the time we spend in the house she plays with the animals and plays computer games.

I don't really see anything wrong with TV as long as it's not a babysitter and you're not constantly watching "Reality TV."

Originally posted by Serafina

Not to speak of the nonsense they call educational kid's shows these days.

Thanks to this "nonsense", my two and a half year old son can count to twenty in French, English and Spanish.

Bugs and Tweety sure as hell didn't teach me that when I was a kid.

Moderation is key, as many people have mentioned in this thread.

I watch television. I enjoy several sci-fi series, and I also enjoy watching the science channel, history channel, and biography channel. We usually record the shows we want to watch so we can just fast-forward through the commercials. I also enjoy films.

We don't watch television every day...maybe 5 days a week...usually for one to two hours.

I stoped watching TV simply because I found it a big waste of time, plus its inconvenient for me right now in my life (school). When I can I like to watch the History/Science/Military Channels.

Wow.. A lot of really great replies on this subject, I see a lot of you feel the way i do about television and some of you watch in moderation and some are avid watchers, everyone has their own prerogative on how or even why they watch t.v. Like i said in my original post, i just can't watch t.v. It actually insults my intelligence,I do enjoy a good movie every now and then but i usually watch them online. Well, Thank you all for the great replies

I watch T.V. everyday, but not for hours on end. I'm aware of the dumbing down. I watch T.V. merely for entertainment. After I watch T.V. I feel the need to read something so I can feel smart again. When I see a commercial I look at their eyes and see that they're reading B.S. The only Networks I watch are: TNT, USA, FX, TBS, NGC, History Channel, Military Channel, I. History Channel, Discovery Channel, Sci-fy (I like watching Destination Truth), Comedy Central (The Colbert Report and The Daily Show), AMC, and some movie channels that are available for me. :]

I spend more time on the Internet than I do watching T.V.

reply to post by baddmove


I too grew up where we all sat together watching shows like Little House on the Prairie, the Waltons, the Brady Bunch and of course Sunday night was Wild Kingdom, a popular animal program with (I think Marlon Perkins).

In my family today, our kids and I together watch nothing on the networks and I don't watch anything on the legacy networks except American Idol (yes, I enjoy it and watch it with my fiance). Network shows today are all blood, guts or otherwise salacious shows like all the medical examiner garbage. On weekends we do watch movies and I watch many of the science type and special niche programming that is widely available now.

As for commercials, never, I watch nothing live except current events in real time. Everything else is played from the DVR -- thank God for technology there.

I joined this forum because I'm missing a knob on the TV to turn up for the intelligence.

The only time I watch TV is when out of town and in a motel. Generally, I find it very unpleasant. I do watch and have a lot of movies and I watch movies from Netflex. Some movies are "Natural" and others are clearly designed to maximize emotional effect. Almost any thing Hollywood has ever don't has some obvious efforts to manipulate. That's particularly true of any movie having to do with law and order whether it's a western or detective.

Im watching it now (H) wounders of the solar system ftw
Thats only cause im at home. I always watch it when im at home. When im at uni though i only have crappy freeview so i only watch it at night for maybe an hour or something, and when i get in from uni and i want a nap ill shuve on top gear and sleep

I dont even have a TV and I feel good about it. I just find it unnecessary. I have a nice computer and its all I need if I want to look at the news or play some video games. I think TV is just entertainment for complete retards: the news is false, the talk shows are stupid, the soap operas are for grandmas that have no life and dont want to get up for a walk, the childrens cartoons are violent and hate full, and the commercials are so dumb that I get goose bumps.

www.med.umich.edu...

heres a link to how TV affects children

Tru TV just plain pisses me off.

Nuff said.

Not I.. i havent watched or even had any set up to watch television in over 4 years..(yes by choice, so many look at me with sympathy when i tell them this and often offer old tvs to me or they think we cant afford the license here..they cant understand NOT wanting it)- and do not plan on sorting it out any time soon.. its a programming free zone in the house here..

I loathe television. I'm 20 years old. Physically active, and intellectually stimulated, by things outside of the tube.

The Network is a wonderful movie. I like movies and documentaries. I'm considering purchasing cable so that I can have Discovery, Nat Geo, or SciFi on when Im not paying attention, but I also detest commercials.

Commercials are well crafted subliminal propaganda. I don't see need to be subjected to that on a routine basis.

I kinda stopped watching television after we got broadband... (I still watch news from time to time though) Why watch all kinds of crap when I can download and watch only what I find interesting instead? I make my own schedules now...

And the worst kind of crap my friends watch on television must be these "reality shows", I don't understand why anyone would want to watch a bunch of mentally retarded persons doing silly things.

Hmmm this surely is an interesting discussion. Great points from both sides of this. However, I'll admit I'm an avid TV watcher. Predominantly during the week however, I enjoy spending weekends being outside when the weather is nice enough (and the golf courses aren't too crowded).

I used to watch a lot of the sitcoms and whatnot, but recently I've found myself migrating toward Military, History, Science, Discovery and Nat Geo type channels. As interesting as they are though, I question a lot of what they put on there, which I don't think is wrong. I've had some very stimulating conversations (borderline arguments) with my roommate regarding what I read on here and various other websites vs. what the discovery channel says on a particular topic. Although the box is still there, I've found through a good mix of alternative and mainstream media, it provides for stimulating discussions!

The reason that TV was so good a long time ago . There are 3 reasons .

Number 1 . As a kid people did not think about anything other than enjoying the day . The news was never on TV unless it was 5 pm . Now its all over news news news bad or good . people will know about it . so whatever it is you will find out about it .

The other reasons are. Wars and being scared of future. The mind can be scared if it sees wars and bad stuff

The last thing was. Back a long time ago. Global warming, world war 3, dooms day , was never in my mind.



[edit on 29-4-2010 by AndersonLee]

[edit on 29-4-2010 by AndersonLee]

Almost 30 years into this life Ive finally shut that stupid box off and will never allow another one to be plugged into my home ever!


Im much happier and healthier I think.

I'm 27 and I don't watch tv anymore. Thinking about it, it has been almost 2 years now. I do on occasion watch tv when someone else is watching. I'll watch the news when it crossses my path. Never deliberate or planned.

Actualy...It's been like that for much longer. I used to watch a lot of sci-fi, like Stargate/trek I still do if I get the chance, only since about 2 years I can't recieve it anymore.

I completly understand what you say about 'not understanding'
I've made a choice not to watch anymore because all the crap they come up with, including commercials. I did so after watching some show where I thought by myself that I've got to be drunk to think its funny, or a complete retard. After hearing the vieuw count. I couldn't take it any more.

The internet is my tool and I read several news sites, both national and international. ATS of course and a lot of documentaries.

I think it's disapointing because it proves we are surrounded by a majority of idiots. I'd love to watch tv again.

Maybe... The future will tell.

Great thread ! S&F