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Are you an addict? Average Canadian consumes 30 hours of TV per week!

3K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  NovaMan 
#1 ·
I heard this on the radio. And that is the average so some people are most likely gobbling down 60 hours per week! No wonder there is an obesity epidemic!

I can't find the more recent findings. Here is one from last year by BBM.
http://www.thestar.com/life/technol..._tv_but_for_many_web_dominates_free_time.html

I kicked my habit nearly 3 years ago. I cut the cord. I still like to experiment with OTA, Netflix and box-sets but my weekly viewing is very low, in the single digits and usually that is movies or special events. I include my streaming options too in that number. But I am so glad I cut out my dealer. Now that I look back it really does seem like an addiction.

The parallels.

First they give you it for free.
Then they wait for you to come back for more. They slowly grow you into a full-blown addict.

You stop socializing with your friends so you can get your fix.

Your health deteriorates.

Just one or two dealers are left in town.
They are being royal pricks and prices keep going up and up.

Government interferes with distribution.
Addicts complain, get nervous and start to look for alternative fixes. Usually a lower quality and unsafe product.

I think in a few generations people will look back at how we entertained ourselves with TV and shake their heads. Imagine if someone said you would be watching more hours of TV per week than working!

Just a note in case anyone missed it, the addict analogy is satire. ;)
 
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#2 ·
I only watch television for events, such as Oscars, Globes, Grammys, SuperBowl, Olympics, etc.
Used to love watching it all the time back in the 90's and early 2000's, now it's full of Technopop, reality show BS!
Nowadays, i'm on the Internet all the time, and I only watch VHS/DVD films.
 
#5 ·
When I was with a cable provider: I used the PC to record and edit out the commercials of EastEnders and Coronation Street and watched that only on re-recordable DVD's.

I've since changed providers, and watch the same programs via PVR but skip the commercials. :)

My late wife used to watch CH news in the mornings and Days Of Our Lives via the DVD recorder. We both would watch my recordings of the above mentioned British shows on the weekends.

I have a LARGE stash of movies that I can take my time watching, most on DVD, newer ones on Blu-ray... Never in a hurry to watch TV.

I'm not into internet streaming stuff, but listen to music on both an iPod and a talking book reader, and have lots of vinyl too.... :)

And of course, radio for music and news.

Cameron
 
#6 ·
im not sure how people are finding the time to watch so much tv? i truely and genuinely think they are sacrificing other important things in their life to squeeze in so much binge tv watching. I have a tv set, but i HARDLY have time to watch more than 3 hours of TV programming per week, why? because I have a Wife, I have a job, I have duties and errands that must get done, I cook, I clean, I do home work, I have a family members, I go shopping, etc. If people are watching so much tv, how are they doing any of the necessities in life such as the above? something tells me they AREN'T doing it, because there is NO way I would be able to watch that much tv, if there was, my job my social life,, my wife, my family and etc would all take a serious hit.
 
#7 ·
If people are watching so much tv, how are they doing any of the necessities in life such as the above?
They have a very unhappy spouse. I know because I hear about it at work. :|

The comment about eyeballs being on the internet/smart phone/tablet is true as well. I don't have a smartphone for that exact reason. It is so easy to get sucked into its world where those around your take a back seat to an email/text or status update.
 
#8 ·
I watch very little television programs these days, sometimes the tv won't get turned on for three or four days. I do watch sports, mostly baseball and football, and only the games never the pre and post game hype. If it wasn't for sports I wouldn't need a signal provider. Not counting sports, I would say that I watch less than two hours a week. I get my news from the internet.

Does watching movies on Blu-ray and dvd's that I buy count as tv watching? I do a lot of this. I buy more movies and cd's than I have time to look or listen to. I'm a typical collector with no interest in streaming.
 
#9 ·
did they say which age is consuming this much tv? i know if I was in my teens or early twenties and working a part time job, with no responsibilities in life, i could easily pull this off. but even when i was that age, I was working as much as possible trying to save $$, I was doing my own chores, I was still in school doing home work, plus i never had such distractions such as face book in life. I still only watched 3 to 5 hours of tv per week, plus i never owned any video game consoles, so how is it possible to watch 30 hours of tv per week? can somebody please do the math?
 
#10 ·
Well, maybe they are not spending 30 hours per week watching the big screen but sure enough people are watching tv everywhere now , on smart phones , tablets ,laptops .
Whenever you turn around somebody is watching something.
I have seen people watching shows on their phone even while driving.
 
#16 ·
I would think most people here would have 30 hours of "screen" time...be it internet on what ever your www machine happens to be, texting on you phone, TV viewing, video games, or watching recordings (PVR, BRay, DVD, etc.). Look at the site we are on; aren't most of us on here obsessed with media? Very few people just have "old fashioned" television in 2014, I think you have to look at your full screen time.
 
#12 ·
Curious to understand what 30 hours is - for example, I may watch a 60 minute show on my PVR that is only 40 minutes, or I watch the news and fast-forward through stories that are not of interest.

I estimate I spend 2-3 hours a day watching TV, but may watch 3-6 hours of actual programming.
 
#13 ·
I am at the point I don't care to get into new series, nor am interested in newer movies, nor really care to witch them on commercial interrupted TV. The only one new this year is The Black List. Otherwise it is a couple hour series, and maybe 8 1/2 hr series.

I am going to give The Remedy a try (easy, because I get it OTA and can DVR it on my PC).

But I am into BBC type documentaries on TVO and other stations, concerts on PBS, not to mention all sorts of Youtube.
 
#14 ·
We watch a lot of tv in the winter but next to nothing in the summer. When it's -35c outside like today there isn't much to do outdoors. Mostly hockey is watched. We watch about 400 games a season so that comes out to over 2 a day. Some dvr programming as well.
But my wife and I also go to a field house and walk 5 kms every day except Fridays so we both get our exercise.
Summer i can go 2 weeks without turning on the tv.
 
#15 ·
Is it an addiction? :eek:

or

Is a obsession? :eek:

That's the question for me?

Had 3 providers(BTV/SD/Rogers)at the same time at one point, now only 2. Can/US.

As for time spent watching TV, well lets just say in my younger days I could tell you the name of show, what day it came on, what time it came on, the station it was on, even the call letters of that channel.

Heck I was known(nick name) as TV Guide in my High School Days.

AH those where the GOOD OLD DAYS :p
 
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