Do I Ever Turn the TV Off?!?

Lindsay Duke
November 4th, 2008--My Journey Through Television...

It was most definitely another typical day for me television wise. I usually come back from my classes just in time for my favorite soap opera, General Hospital, to begin. This I always watch with great interest (as much interest as anyone can have for a soap opera). I heard a lot of college kids get addicted to soaps...That seems to be the case with me. I never miss an episode no matter how boring or strange it is. After General Hospital is over I usually switch the station over to My KTOV and leave the television on while I surf online or take a nap. Maury, Jerry Springer, King of the Hill and Reno 911 all come on this station. I wouldn't call this an active television watching period 100% of the time. Sometimes I actually do sit down and watch these shows, but for the most part I use them as background noise. While they are on I'm napping or doing homework, occasionally laughing at something stupid I see on Maury (you are NOT the father!).

After those shows are over the channel becomes pretty useless to me so I turn it over to A&E. A&E has different types of programs on during the week ranging from The First 48 to Dog the Bounty Hunter to Intervention. I will leave that on for the rest of the evening until I (usually) switch over to either Comedy Central or Adult Swim in time for various programs. Because last night was the election, I opted to watch the political coverage of Headline News on CNN and then tuned in for Indecision '08 for a humorous treat regarding the election starring Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. If those two are involved, I'm watching it. Most nights end switching back and forth between A&E and Adult Swim (where I tune in for episodes of Family Guy). I stay up pretty late and often see reruns of the same programs. This is a pretty typical process for me.

The only other place I watch television is on SurfTheChannel where I can see episodes of Dexter online. I don't have Showtime so that little gem of a website really comes in handy for a college kid with no connections to premium channels. I pretty much stick to my own routine and rarely watch TV with others, mainly because my roommates come and go at all hours. No one is necessarily around to watch television with, at least not on my schedule.

It was really odd documenting my television watching. I realized how long I actually have the television on. However, I really don't actively watch a lot. I guess I use it as background noise. At the same time, I don't want just ANY background noise. I'll turn the channel when shows I deem boring are on. I guess I want to be able to casually follow a show while I'm online or working on homework. A lot of people like to work in silence but I have to have some sort of distraction. So, I guess that I technically have the television on pretty much all day unless I'm sleeping or at school.

I don't know how accurate keeping tabs of your television habits is to be honest. As I was writing things down, I found myself refraining from changing the channel because I hadn't been watching it for 15 minutes but I'd already written it down, so I didn't feel like erasing and changing my log. I found that I technically have the television on A LOT...but I'm really only watching 2-4 shows with interest depending on my mood, and one of those I don't even watch on television. Is this a reliable way to track what people watch? Well, it seems to be a really good attempt to do so. I was honest on my journal and noted when I wasn't paying attention to the show. However, the hassle of noting all the small details of what I was doing made me change my normal pattern of occasional channel surfing. I wonder how many other people really take the time to be truthful on these journals if they have to pay that close attention to what they are doing. Then there were times I wondered "Am I really paying attention to this? Should I even note it?". It's a very odd process in general.

After doing this journal, I really hope the television waves don't give me some sort of horrible tumor in 40 years or so...I don't think Maury is worth it. Then again, it would be REALLY quiet in my room and I'd probably fail a few classes because the silence distracted me from schoolwork.