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Have You Got Time for TV Addiction?

19th Feb 2014
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The annual survey of TV watching suggests that the average person spends over 27 hours a week glued to live TV. How do they manage it?

If all of the comments to this column over the years have been accurate, the typical accountant probably spends 8 to 9 hours a day in the office in addition to travelling back and forth and probably doing bits and pieces out of hours including weekends.

This massive time commitment is then likely to be supplemented by a considerable amount of client entertaining, which would not usually involve sitting down in front of the TV to watch a live programme (except perhaps when a world cup is taking place in some sport or other).

Assuming that all of this takes something in the region of 11 or 12 hours a day on average, leaving weekends free (??) it is very difficult to see where 27 hours of TV viewing time would come from.

Even if the really dedicated managed to occupy their couches for eight hours on each day of every weekend through the year, the typical accountant would still have to sit on that couch, goggle-eyed for three hours on each midweek night, assuming that they allowed themselves a day off once a week to go to the pub, cinema, theatre or football match.

What conclusions can we draw then? Possibly that the average non-accountant spends significantly more than 27 hours a week watching television to redress the balance.

As somebody who usually watches no more than a few minutes of live TV every week, this is a completely baffling set of data.

There must be untold riches entirely passing your correspondent by, although all that the media projects sounds desperately unexciting.

It is easy to understand the attractions of viewing a live event in glorious HD. Therefore watching the odd soccer or rugby match in the winter or major golf or tennis tournament in the summer, mixed with Glastonbury or a Prom depending on taste, might be reasonably enjoyable. Even then, spending 27 hours in any single week seems unbelievable, let alone regularly.

In reality (okay that was a pun) it seems that the attractions of watching minor celebrities making fools of themselves when cooking, dancing or merely existing sends everybody but me into a frenzy of delight, as does observing the not very talented trying to persuade judges that they should be the next big pop star.

Another statistic that comes as a real surprise relates to the nature of the viewing. Over 98% of all television watching still takes place on televisions rather than computers, tablets or mobile phones. It seems easy to predict that these statistics will change pretty significantly in the next year or two.

The other point that is passing this columnist by is how the man or woman in the street manages to spend 27 hours in front of their TVs every week when they are all glued to their mobile phones. The only reasonable conclusion is that while watching television they are also playing video games, talking to friends or texting/tweeting.

None of this does not bode well for a healthy or productive society since playing sports and musical instruments or reading appear to be diminishing as means of entertainment, to be replaced by mental passivity.

Britain is therefore breeding an inherently antisocial population with very limited attention spans and spheres of interest. The good news is that soon, the only interesting people left will be the accountants!

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Replies (12)

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By The 5-50 Coach
19th Feb 2014 09:21

Like you, the amount of TV people seem to watch staggers me, and I do fear for what it will do to future society....even if only because of your final prophecy :)

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By User deleted
19th Feb 2014 09:55

Remarkably little

My current viewing is limited to an hour on Greek theatre & 30 mins of Outnumbered tonight (the Greek programme is only 3 weeks), plus an hour of Musketeers on Sunday. I'll admit that in NFL season I have 3 hours of a match once a week, and I'll watch the World Cup in abundance. But 27 hours a week? I couldn't manage that for anything but the World Cup or Euros. I might occasionally stick a film on but I struggle to sit through it without fidgetting. 

My father probably manages 27 hours because he watches god knows how many cooking shows (despite never cooking himself) and is now watching the sewing programme!! I think it indicates that some people just like to sit and not use a brain cell for hours on end. 

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By Rachael White
19th Feb 2014 10:16

27 hours? Wow.

I would know nothing about 27 hours of television, but I believe there's a middle ground here. I find an hour a day or less of my favourite show (currently Mr Selfridge) is a great way to relax, unwind and totally chill out in front of. 

To have viewed 27 hours of TV per week, one would have to sit in front of a screen for nearly 4 hours a day... not entirely sure who, accountant, journalist or otherwise, would have time for that! 

Good blog though, thanks for the great read! 

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By mrme89
19th Feb 2014 17:09

By the time a working person gets home, sorts the house, tea out its nearly time for bed!

 

I might get half an hour of tv per day if I'm lucky but I do watch 2-3 football matches on a weekend.

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By User deleted
19th Feb 2014 20:22

That's why God Invented ...

... dual monitors and catch up TV

So I can catch up on my programs whilst working, if I need to concentrate on work or the phone ges I can pause and resume later, or if there is a bit hat needs moe than half an ear I can stop working for a moment. If nothing worth watching on the tv I can pop a dvd in and watch that instead.

 

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By ShirleyM
19th Feb 2014 20:53

I don't watch a lot

I like Emmerdale & Corries, unless the stories go on for too long, then I get bored. I enjoy Dancing on Ice and am disappointed that it is the last series. I watch the news most days, and then that's pretty much it unless there are some good nature programs like Spring Watch, Blue Planet, etc.

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By User deleted
19th Feb 2014 21:34

I am sad ...

... that Uncle has just finished, but good news, Bluestone 42 is back at the end of the month.

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By User deleted
20th Feb 2014 08:32

Strictly

I'll also admit to watching Strictly - when some of those dances are done well they have some serious style that seems to be lacking in so many aspects of life. I went to see Vincent & Flavia in Midnight Tango and when you see the speed their feet go at.... pretty damn amazing. Puts my dancing efforts with eldest cat in the kitchen to shame!

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By ShirleyM
20th Feb 2014 08:43

I enjoy Strictly too

Even the useless dancers provide some good entertainment. I'm thinking of John Sergeant, Ann Widdecombe and a few others. They are able to laugh at themselves and join in the fun, which makes them all the more popular. I don't like prima donna's, though, in any walk of life.

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Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
20th Feb 2014 13:43

Not much here

Maybe 30-60 mins each day in the week and 1-2 hours a day at the weekend. Quite often much less.

Am I missing much? Probably not.

Programmes I'll watch if I can find them (how many channels?!) - live sport, documentaries, dramas (where the whole story is covered in one episode).

A reality programme - that's my call to head into the office.

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By mydoghasfleas
21st Feb 2014 12:36

I'd have more time ...........

to watch TV if I didn't have a compulsion to keep posting on accountingweb

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By A mum and an accountant
27th Feb 2014 22:37

Multi tasking...

I don't have much time to watch TV nor do I feel the need to watch TV or have noise in the background but with my kids ( who already know how to use the remote) and husband it just seems to be on even though no one seems to be watching it all the time.  Or even if I have it on, like I do now, I'm on my laptop and my husband's on his phone.

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