My generation, few even have a TV. We're one of the few with one in the living room (hooked up to a laptop though), and I think I haven't turned it on in a month now?
But if you don't turn your TV on at all, I have to ask - where do you watch Netflix et al? Or you simply don't?
Last series I followed was Breaking Bad. Used to torrent it and watch on laptop screen.
I watch tv shows on streaming services with no commercials, on demand when I want to, and only when it’s an ‘event’ where we plan to focus on the story being delivered. My father watches broadcast television, flipping channels regularly, leaves the commercials on half the time, and always has the tv blaring in the background the entire time we are at his house even for hours at a time and during a holiday gathering.
You can be negative and try to classify the difference between us as a pedantic technicality or you can join the conversation about this interesting and seemingly generational difference in what it means to “watch tv”.
I have never had a Netflix account.
At this point, I have been offered pretty nice TVs for free more than once.
If you really get use to living without a TV though it feels like it has negative value to have one IMO. Even more now with Netflix and long binge watch series with disappointing endings.
Of course, I don't get to participate in the conversations about how much show X ending sucked after wasting a week of my life on it.
i do think that TV is fine in moderation like everything else, but, like social media and video games, overconsumption is socially normalized. putting off work and keeping yourself healthy for shows or endless scrolling isn’t okay IMO.
If you don't watch anything on whatever you're using to post your messages to HN then fine but if you do then you're still "watching TV" for all intents and purposes.
Consider, here are some activities I do, which of them are you sure is "watching TV" and which aren't? Is it such a clear bright line?
* I watch "Only Connect" - a very difficult BBC Two quiz show - on the iPlayer web site. There aren't any adverts of course because it's the BBC, but this was made to be shown on a broadcast TV channel even if I haven't watched it that way for years.
* I watch the Two Ronnies "Mastermind" sketch on Youtube. Once again this was made to be shown on broadcast TV, decades ago, as part of an episodic show - but now this is just one sketch
* I re-watch the final sale decision scene from The Big Short on Youtube. The Big Short is a movie, this was never made for broadcast TV, and all I'm watching is one clip from a much longer work.
* I watch previews of a friend's review of the entire Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Most of these were movies. (but there is a TV series) and he doesn't include clips but he does talk about them. This will eventually be a Youtube video, but I'm watching the preview.
* I watch an SC2 AI Arena playback of a match that happened recently between two AIs. It's video, at least by the time it reaches me, but it was never intended to be broadcast anywhere, many of these videos are never watched by anyone they're generated automatically so why not.
* I play a video game with an FMV cut scene, such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
* I play another video game with a cut scene but it's in-engine using the game's 3D assets, such as GTA3.
* I join a Teams call with colleagues to discuss progress on our main Project
* I watch a rather hypnotic screensaver of overlapping fractal shapes.
* I read a web page with some simple animated multi-step tutorials. Is it important whether they're animated with Javascript, GIFs or MPEG video?
* I read this comment on Hacker News.
It used to be synchronous broadcast on a schedule, on a channel chosen from a small selection. If you watched TV, you could be reasonably expected to talk about the thing that was on last night.
With on demand, scheduled releases etc. it's much less well defined. If you only watch movies on Netflix, it's probably not "TV" as a cultural artifact, but if you're watching the latest Star Wars or Marvel series on Disney, then probably you are, despite there being little difference in technology.
No
There are some situations where I come in contact with televisions today. They make me feel frustrated because they sap away my attention. I read more, I do hobbies, and I spend more time with people and have better relationships. It feels like an easy trade-off.
i remember one time specifically when my family was all watching “House” (super popular TV show on FOX back in 2004-ish?). I think I wanted to use my laptop or something; don’t remember. My parents got really mad at me, insisting that I watch with them. Ended up doing so, begrudgingly. I get why they did that (family time) but I didn’t like that our family time was spent in front of a screen.
> There are some situations where I come in contact with televisions today. They make me feel frustrated because they sap away my attention.
YES! I can hate watching TV and be angrily fixated on it when at a bar at the same time. My wife doesn’t get it lol
i don’t watch TV on my own accord. usually with my wife (when she wants to watch something) or when i’m forced to while at a bar or restaurant (many bars, especially around here in southwest Texas, have MANY TVs, almost all of them tuned to some variant of sportsball). when i travel by myself, the tv in the hotel room never turns on, for example.
sorry if this comes off as me being vain; I never tell anyone and having a soapbox to finally talk about it is awesome!
i’ve only been to Europe once so far (Barcelona) and restaurants and bars without TV was one of my favorite things ever. this experience only exists in big cities.
however, netflix, hulu, and youtube premium probably think differently of me lol (i pay for these services but my wife consumes them)
Don't even own a TV. I own a projector / home cinema. I think it beats the shit out of a TV big times. I much prefer the "feel" of a projector compared to these 4K TVs or whatnots. When we turn the projector on, it's to really watch something, not as background noise.
I watch video content on my 15.6" laptop with a retina display. The picture is subjectively larger, brighter, and sharper than on a TV because it's closer to my eyes. It's like in a movie theater but with lots of privacy. So I prefer it this way. I would turn on a TV only if I'd want to watch something with another person, I guess.
The best way I can describe the effect of silence is like what brains do in extreme sensory deprivation: they begin imagining and hallucinating external stimulus. Silence makes my internal stream of consciousness stark. It is severe to the point of causing me decades of insomnia. As soon as I lay in bed, if I don't have white noise or otherwise, the recursive nature of my thoughts spirals immediately into existential panic.
Anyways, I love TV.
Take it from me. Ignoring your mortality is a lot easier.
After that I was able to do 30-60 minute sittings at home and experience the associated change. If you're also a very cerebral person you may also need a similarly concentrated "boot camp" or similar to get to some base level.
In a similar vein, if someone has extremely weak physique, it's not really convincing when they claim that physical exercise doesn't work for them, as they did spend 150h at the gym machines ;)
I've wanted to do a retreat very badly. I would need to work to organize my current world to fit it in but it's something I have in the back of my mind.
You are not one but many, and the ego is truly the only thing that dies in death we fear.
I have a thing where I get weird anxiety ~18hr after I eat pasta, maybe you get something similar.
If your anxeity has a biological cause (ie excess cortisol or something), then modulating what you put into your body may help.
Or maybe you just need to accept that every moment might be your last and try to enjoy it. :)
It actually changed my life, now I can sleep and be like a normal person. I used to joke that I was a C-type person (instead of A/B) when it comes to sleep.
Brains are weird.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medici...
Mi wife family, just some km away, they have the TV on during all they long, it freaks me out. My toddler is the one that shuts it down for them, because he 'can not hear them' if TV is on.
In slovenia, NY eve means a few movies on some channels, maybe even a movie marathon (home alone 1-5, etc.), and on one channel, from about 23h->00:30 the next day/year some "funny" show, with a few songs, a host+guests talking about stuff and a countdown. So basically stuff that you have to watch and listen to in whole.
In serbia for example, the show lasts for 6h+, and it's basically 99.9% music, except for a joke or two inbetween songs and a countdown with happy wishes for new year, and it's designed to be played "in the background", where noone really cares about the show, unless it's a song they really really like and turn the volume even higher. example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9-w8qlpEY
Yes. Background noise is the radio's job. Why waste energy keeping a panel on if nobody's gonna look at it?
With YouTube some body decided during the pandemic to cram commercials in the middle of videos now, so music sets are ruined and all comedic timing as well. Anything I plan to watch more than once I use ytdlp because of the huge number of ads they've started cramming in to the start middle and end.
In the car the radio is only bearable if you have atleast three stations in your area that play genres that are enjoyable or you get lucky and you happen to be in the car when a live DJ is on, usually at some point during the rush hour commute or a weekend night.