Marshal Dan Troop 70448 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 When my parents bought our first TV set, we would all sit around after supper and watch TV. News and weather were only on 15 minutes each evening. At 6:30PM CST, the shows would start and with the help of TV Guide we could select the shows we wanted till 10PM when the stations would sign off. There were 4 station and there was always something good to watch and enjoy. Then in the 60s, FCC decided that the 6:30PM time slot should be devoted to local endeavors. Rather what it did was increase the news shows which already now were turning into hour and some into 90 minutes. This started also decreasing the 1/2hr shows, especially the drama shows, (Adam !2 was the last surviving 1/2 hr drama series, everything else increased to 1 hour). Then cable came and we started getting 20, 30, finally into the hundreds of shows. Even with that vast numbers, there was less to enjoy and sometimes nothing left to watch. Our viewing went from 3 hours a night to maybe an hour. In past 3 years, we dropped satellite and went to antenna and ROKU only, we watch the 1/2hr news, local and catch many of the shows from the 50s and 60s. We can understand them, no mumbling, (we actually thought we were losing our hearing on those modern shows and movies). So in past year, we now average not 2 or 3 hours a night, rather less then 6 to 7 hours a week. We spend more time reading and playing games. Take walks and visit friends, or just go for a ride. We both used to be big football and Baseball fans, paying premium to watch our teams. The last football game we watched was the kneeling part and last baseball game we watched was the Cubs World series. Today, we don't miss either. Times change as well as interest, and today we feel better not being tied down to the tube at specific times rather we discuss the books we're reading, or trying a new strategy to beat the wife or friend at a game we're playing. There were, odd as it maybe, no withdrawal pains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I watch little TV. Local news maybe. Catch parts of a football game here and there. Been reloading a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderRiverCowboy Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I actually watch very little , New well I glance over Local most is agenda training . Unit I was with in Military taught me long ago look past the distraction . I will have TV on for background noise to drown out the tinnitus that is constant . If I want to watch something then I will usually a movie . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I watch a good bit of TV, but not broadcast or cable. I watch shows on Prime, Paramount + or Netflix. I watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it. My “smart TV” does have local TV news. I watched it one day for about 40-45 minutes to see what was going on with a predicted winter storm. The commercials were maddeningly stupid, annoying and frequent. The news talking heads still can’t get over Trump after 2 years. I finally got to see the over sensationalized weather and turned the TV to Prime and that was that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Jones, SASS 2263 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Same here. How many pills are being hawked for all the ailments/conditions that exist? I watch a couple of shows on network TV, but tape them so I can fast forward through the commercials. The national news is a joke. If it's not how many millions are at risk due to an upcoming snow event it's how many million are getting rained on/flooded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 We were stationed in "The East" (Ottawa) and my parents bought an Admiral 17 inch black and white TV c/w rabbit ears. One TV station, on from 6:00 PM to around 10:30 I think, (It was past my bedtime !) The only station was CBC and it broadcast English and French language programming, alternating between the two during the broadcast evening. That TV travelled with us from posting to posting, but seldom got turned on because there was no reception where my Father was stationed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Watched occasionally before WWII then it was turned off for the war. It was very limited after the war. My dad took control of a TV company so we had one. :-) He also got control of a movie company and a TV show outfit so we watched more TV. I never really cared for anything but the news. Even that was so biased that it was hatd to watch. My viewing hours went down from there to my current Zero. My smart phone is 100% now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowCatcher Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 We moved to the UK in 2012, and stopped watching any TV that had commercials. When we returned stateside we stopped watching anything on broadcast, and went internet only. Now we watch history and food shows, some TV series in binge mode, and read local and international newspapers on line. If a commercial comes on I leave the channel! That hasn't been an issue in over ten years! SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 9 minutes ago, Aljhanon said: There were more family time, We were always together both young and elderly. How did you get such a high SASS number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 yes , its come a long way - we once had three choices of NBC , ABC , CBS , and only selective hours of the day , then there was cable [supposedly add free] now i stream mine on my computer , i could do without , i have enough stuff on dvd to last a few years then ill forget and start over , but .....we all want to be current dont we ? wife does so i will be , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.