No wonder propaganda works so well. Bernays would be proud.
What they don’t show is that during the 18 minutes of thinking, the mindless masses are thinking about what TV show they are going to watch, what their next entry on Facebook will be, whether they can have an ass like Kim Kardashian and whether they should eat one or two bags of Cheetos with their 2 liter bottle of Coke.
18 years ago, on November 21, 1996, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed November 21 as World Television Day “in recognition of the increasing impact television has on decision-making by bringing world attention to conflicts and threats to peace and security and its potential role in sharpening the focus on other major issues, including economic and social issues”. So what better day to dispel the myth of television as an endangered species?!
Sure, people do spend a lot of time using smartphones, tablets and other devices. They might even spend more time with these devices than they do watching TV, but that doesn’t mean people no longer watch TV. According to the latest edition of the American Time Use Survey, an annual study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average American spent 2 hours and 48 minutes watching television each day in 2013. That is not only more than half of Americans’ total leisure time, but also more than it was ten years ago: in 2003 the average daily TV dosage was 2 hours and 34 minutes.
It is certainly true that the way people watch television is changing, and linear television as we know it may not be around forever, but for now television remains alive and well. To paraphrase from the great Mark Twain: the reports of TV’s death are greatly exaggerated.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Every night my wife and I read for at least an hour together. Good for the soul.
Every night me and wife make hot monkey love for at least two minutes. Weekends we go crazy.
I spend my 18 minutes in the outhouse. Speaking of which, my field research reveals toilet snackers like chocolate candy bars, red bull knock offs, and giant bags of sasquatch beef jerky.
What has really changed is Radio listening. The average adult used to listen more hours per week to Radio than any other medium. Now, the 12-24 group hardly listens because they’ve switched to streaming on their smartphones. And since Radio has consolidated the programming on FM/AM sucks. Sad to see how the big companies have ruined the industry.
I was in Austin back when they changed the top rock station to country, that was a wft morning.
The Jewish owner of KLVE sold out to Univision a few years ago, they replaced the wide selection of Spanish speaking artists with Mexican garbage; I mean, if it isn’t regional music (banda, tambora or norteno) which is good in its own way, then it is that crap crooner music that sounds like Boys to Men.
I have eight channels of static. It takes perfect cloud cover to bounce me a tv signal. Limited books, computer access, other people, no games, so I do alot of “other”.