And another thing.

[featherynscale]

Often it comes to pass at work or in other social situations that somebody asks me if I saw [insert name of show] last night. I tell them, "No, I don't watch television."

Sometimes this leads people to look shifty and say things like "I don't watch much either, just [these shows]." Sometimes it leads people to turn up their noses and say things like, "Well, aren't you special?". Other negative reactions have been reported, but are less common.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough. I don't watch television. I say this so that people will know that if they ask me about shows, I'm probably not going to be able to provide any response at all, because I will have invariably not seen the thing. I don't watch television. I don't care for enough shows to bother. This is not because I'm inherently a better person than tv-viewers. I'm not advancing the point that people shouldn't watch television. I just don't enjoy it, myself. I also don't enjoy jogging, but nobody seems to get too offended or guilty about that, even joggers.

Why is it so often an attack if I say "I don't watch television" and hardly ever an attack if I say "I don't jog"? To me these are roughly equivalent statements.

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Very.. we have a cleaner who comes each Friday to clean the house and we've got to know her well over the years so we're chatting away like old friends and she always gives me a funny look when she asks have I seen such and such an advert, or what did I think about such and such a programme. I do watch some things but usually taped stuff or dvds of previous series, I don't turn the telly on and leave it on in the background for company or entertainment like so many people do, I watch my programme and then turn off and usually avoid the adverts. I can go weeks without turning it on and not miss it at all, I'd rather be online or doing one of my hobbies.

I've found its simpler to say "I don't watch "much" television" rather than not at all because people do tend to take it as a value judgement. And yes, I think people who spend hours watching reality shows like Big Brother are a bit pathetic but its their choice how they spend their free time, and after a long day at work it can be relaxing to just put the tv on and turn the brain off, its just not my way of unwinding. But you can't really get into all that in a short reply about whether you saw Joe Bloggs kiss Jane Doe on CrimeFighters R Us or whatever the latest hit show is. People can think I'm odd, I don't mind, but i hate it when they assume I'm thinking the same about them :(