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According to a blurb on TV this weekend (ok, it was an old episode of Pop-Up Video), Americans on average watch 1700 hours of television in a year. I thought, that’s almost four hours a day, could that be right?
Then that evening, I read in Time magazine in an excerpt from Al Gore’s new book that “Americans now watch television an average of 4 hours and 35 minutes every day — 90 minutes more than the world average.”
Maybe many readers here watch that much TV or more, but I was stunned by that figure. Does that seem really high to you? As an average? No wonder it’s hard to get people to engage in issues.
Here is a link to an AP story from the fall that reports Nielsen Media Research’s finding that “the average person watches four hours, 35 minutes of television each day.”
Legislative Dispatch
Purple Dot Connection
2010 Big List
2010 Senate Elections
2010 House Elections
Press Releases
Was there any attempt to distinguish between “actively watching” and “it’s just on in the background”?
I’m sure ours are on 4 hrs. + daily, but we’re not paying close attention for more than 1-2 maximum on an average weekday.
I agree with the other Jeff, mine is on but nobody watches much. I lived ten years without a television – too busy to notice.
OT but cool – Jefferson County IBS placed Fourth on Newsweek’s Top High Schools survey:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/?sort=Index&count=1236&start=0&limit=100&year=2007
They’re still airing “Pop-up Video?”
Susan, that made me laugh out loud. Too funny. Yep, Tivo picks it up for me from time to time. Don’t know when it comes on.
Jeff & Reactionary, I don’t know how they arrived at that number. I know that people do have it on without watching it. When we got married, my wife would walk through the room, turn on the TV, and keep walking on out of the room. Never really understood that.
And thanks for the good link, Reactionary.