How many TV sets in your home?

[UdoKier]

Poll question: How many TV sets in your home?

How many TV sets in your home?

(You don't have to count little portable DVD players & that kind of crap. TV's you regularly watch, in a set place.)

[UdoKier]

1. I'm surprised this one didn't generate any comments.

And I'm REALLY surprised there are DUers with more than 6 TV sets. I don't care of you have a 30-room house, that's too many. You have a TV addiction problem! What are you, Elvis?

[Binka]

3. Yuck What An Intrusion 6 TV Sets?

Waste of money, time, life, and space. I hope those stats are an anomaly.

[cheezus]

6. i suppose you could say the same thing about people with wifi

what do you need internet access in every room of your house for? why do you need to be on the laptop outside? got an internet addiction?

[UdoKier]

7. I'm so out of it, I only have a vague idea of what that is.

Just a regular desktop puter with DSL here.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

12. well, when you have a pregnant wife

that needs to access the internet for research and yet is too big to sit comfortably for long terms at the computer...then WiFi is great. Set her up on the couch with her laptop and she can get all her work done without the complications! (I suppose I could have strung a cable in there...but what a pain)

theProdigal

[medeak]

17. LOL n/t

[richargl]

79. tv watches you

it researches what you do and what you like and what motivates you
andtailors it's content to suit your needs and to get more money from you. very effectivley.
deny it all you want.

Steve @ Orgasm Control . com

[DireStrike]

2. Personally I can't see a need for more than 2 TVs

You don't need one in every room... Just one, and maybe another so two different things can be watched if they both happen to be on at the same time and people want to see both (or if somebody plays video games...)

There shouldn't be multiple people lounging around in separate rooms all watching different TV shows... IMO of course. Try reading something! Remember how fun it is? You will, once you start reading again. Paperbacks are cheap, and you can even read in the bookstore or library.

[southernleftylady]

4. 3...

we had two and then got a big screen FREE from inlaws :)

[Dorian Gray]

76. Me too...

We had two, one in living room and one in bedroom. Then we moved, and our in-laws gave us a kick-ass huge screen television as a moving/wedding present. So, that's now in our living room while one is still in bedroom and other is in our office/guest-room. We usually just watch the one in the living room, but every once in awhile the other two go on.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

5. One small tv. n/t

[Willy Lee]

8. We have 1, but recently cut all TV service.

We only use our remaining TV for watching DVDs.
We save $50 a month on DTV/TIVO charges and have so much more free time.

Still, I miss the Daily Show, Great Race, etc!!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

62. I refuse to pay for cable/dish.

I don't think there's anything on TV that's worth spending my family's money on. Anything we watch comes off of our antenna. We mostly watch PBS kids shows in our house and some random prime time shows. We probably rent about 5 movies a month to watch on weekends too, but then we don't get out much having a toddler.

[The Revolution]

9. Two...

Although one of them is just a 13" and is sealed away in it's box. Its the one I had in my college dorm room, but I got a larger one for my apartment. I thought about hooking up the small set in my bedroom (mainly so I could watch the Daily Show without breaking from whatever game I'm playing on my computer :)), but I haven't gotten around to it.

[Roland99]

10. I actually have 4 but no cable TV nor satellite

My daughters each have one but it's only so they can watch a DVD at night if they want to. I have an HDTV in my living room so I can watch what few TV shows I do like to watch ("24", Seinfeld reruns, local news in the morning, PBS news shows, sporting events) I have one in my bedroom so I can watch Letterman or Leno but that's about it.

[SmokingJacket]

11. One, which we keep in the closet.

We don't have TV service of any kind.

But we take it out to watch movies!

[IrateCitizen]

13. We have two, but only one is really used for TV

We have one in our bedroom that we use for movies. As to what KIND of movies, well, I'll leave that to your imagination.... :evilgrin:

When we have kids, we will only have the one main TV in the game room of the house (hopefully the basement). And I only want to have network channels and public access at that time -- no real cable or satellite.

I grew up with 1 TV in the house, and we were fine. This stuff of a TV in every f***ing room is just ridiculous.

[kiraboo]

14. We have the same setup here, but the small on in the bedroom

is used only for my exercise videos and occasionally news while I'm getting ready in the morning. No exciting videos!

[IrateCitizen]

16. Well, the PS2 is hooked up to our bedroom set as well...

... so that I can play my Baldur's Gate II game while riding the recumbent bike. The only time I break it out is when I'm on the bike, so I don't feel guilty about it!

Both of our TV's are 25". My wife and I each had our own before we met. I've had mine since 1997, and don't plan to get a new one anytime soon!

[Cocoa]

15. this reminds me SO MUCH of the city vs. suburbs debate

this is the flip-side of the culture wars stuff that the republicans like so much.

City good, suburbs bad. TV bad.

Soon we'll start in with the food snobbery...

[IrateCitizen]

18. TV itself isn't bad, Cocoa. Excessive TV is bad.

Personally, I like TV entertainment once in a while. PBS still has some excellent shows on. I like to watch a sporting event from time to time. I still get a good laugh from Seinfeld reruns.

But having 4, 5, or even 6 televisions in a house? I'm sorry, but there's no reasonable defense for that. If you have that many TV's, the logical assumption is that TV is now more of a waste of time for you than it is a source of occasional entertainment.

And for those who say, "We have so many sets because each of our kids has their own," that's a problem. When I was growing up not that long ago (I'm only 31) I didn't have a set in my room. That way, my parents could always be aware of what I was watching, and it made me spend time doing other things that watching TV.

Criticizing television's negative effects is hardly creating a divide. The only wedge being pushed is by those who view such a question in an overly simplistic manner.

[Cocoa]

23. you're making very good points

but the original poster is not making those points, or any points.

There are very good possible criticisms, many of which I agree with, about suburbs, about TV, about meat, about processed foods, about domestic beer, about California wine, about blended whiskey, about sports, about music, about consumerism, about religion, etc. etc.

But any discussion about these can range wildly between a good discussion and a RW parody of liberal "lifestyle" values, like that commercial they ran against Howard Dean in Iowa.

[UdoKier]

22. Suburbs may have their pluses...

But TV is, overall, BAD. Flip through the channels - it's 50 channels of crapola. The good programming is few and far between. There may be a place for TV in people's lives, but 6 TVs in one house is ridiculous.

As for food snobbery, I eat cheap crap, but if I could afford it, I'd eat home-cooked organic stuff every night.

[BiggJawn]

30. "Good TV is Rare, none of it is Well Done..."

"Which is why it's called a 'Medium'..."

107 Channels of Pure, Unadulterated Crap.

I have one little 9" BW set that I used to keep up on school closings when my daughter was at home, and a 24" set tied to the DVD player that presently has 4 bicycles standing between me and it's escapist charms.

No Cable. Only ONE channel available off-the-air. can you believe THAT, Digi-Comcast-watching Murka? Just ONE CHANNEL!!!!!

And it's that See-BS channel!

[One_Life_To_Give]

19. Technically 4

But that includes the 5in B&W and 13in B&W that have not had much use in the last 10yrs. The 20in Color set we received as a wedding present, almost 15 years ago, is still the dominant TV in the house.

[AlCzervik]

20. we have 2, 1 thats used for playstation games

and the other for watching shows on.

[amazona]

21. I have 1 about 15 years old

Do I win?

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Katarina]

24. (stands up and looks around the room)

Hi, my name is Maureen and we have 5 television sets. Now to blow your mind, we also have 4 satellite room receivers one of which is a TIVO. Oh and 4 DVD players as well. Why in the world does anyone care? So you don't watch TV. Good for you. I have a TV in my room with a sat receiver, one in my computer room which shares my bedroom sat receiver, one in the living room hooked up to the surround sound for movie night with a sat rec., one in the smaller kids play room for their video games w/ sat receiver and a ratings block on it and my teens have one in their room along w/ sat rec. because I don't want my younger ones watching some of the things my older ones do. What's the big deal? Some of your heads would probably split open if you knew how many computers we have. Why is there always so much controversy about things like this? Does someone have 5 or 6 or 8 computers hurt your life? Does it cause you bodily harm? You want to judge me because of how many TV sets I have, go right ahead. You are missing out on knowing a nice person. Not my problem.

Edit to add: This thread makes me want to go out and buy one more set so that I can be judged as having "problems".

[IrateCitizen]

25. Does it cause you bodily harm? Actually, YES!

Well, it may not DIRECTLY cause any of us bodily harm, but it does cause it to others along with the environment.

Do you think that the materials used to create these things just appear out of thin air? No, the raw materials have to be mined/extracted, then the base components need to be manufactured. All of these processes require energy, which causes pollution, and then their extraction and manufacture processes create pollution in their own right.

And when you're done with these things, they have to be disposed of. They sure as hell aren't recycled now. Well, that is unless you're talking about computers. As it is right now, we ship computer waste to China and India who dispose of it in open dumps. This helps create employment for the many people who survive by searching through the waste for re-usable components. But never mind the fact that there are toxic chemicals leaching out into the groundwater, and the workers doing this are breaking out in rashes all over their bodies and experiencing severe health problems.

I'm not trying to condemn you here, but you are expressing a typical American attitude of gluttony. You purchase all of these EXCESS products without giving a single thought to the negative consequences in their manufacture and disposal. Maybe you should start....

[Katarina]

28. oh give me a break

My televisions aren't going to destroy this earth. Gluttony? I work damn hard for anything that is in this house. I've never taken a fucking dime from the government and if I want 20 TV's in my house, it is nobodies business but mine. When you live a completely puritan lifestyle, get back to me, ok?

[IrateCitizen]

31. I see I've touched a nerve from your overly emotional response

It's really kind of sad when you try to open people's eyes with facts (like the pollution that lays behind creating and desposing of such items), and all they can muster in response is an overly emotional tirade that is completely groundless in fact.

Gluttony? Yes, your keeping 6 TV's and several computers is gluttony. How hard you work and whether or not you've ever taken a dime from the government doesn't have any bearing on the discussion.

What you have in your home IS your own business. Environmental consequences and such that come as a result of the things you have is EVERYBODY'S business. I would guess that if your neighbor set up a nuclear reactor in his basement and was disposing of spent fuel rods in his backyard, you'd take issue. Well, it's HIS house, after all, so how is it any of YOUR business?

Puritan lifestyle? I hardly live a Puritan lifestyle, and I'll be the first to admit it. But when somebody confronts me with evidence of how certain things I'm doing are negatively affecting the environment, I won't launch into an overly emotional tirade in order to defend my wastefulness. Rather, I'll search out ways in which I can live my life in a way that has a little less of a negative effect on the environment. I may not be perfect, and may be far from it, but the difference is that I will seek out ways to make things better when confronted with the destructiveness of my lifestyle, rather than insisting that gluttony is my God-given right as an American.

[ProfessorGAC]

34. One Question, I/C

The computer you're using to write that post came from no impact on the environment, right? Same with your home entertainment. Same with your car.

I know what you meant, but who gets to be the arbiter of gluttony. Why isn't more than one gluttony? Or is two ok, but 3 is gluttony? What point does it get to gluttony, and in whose judgment?

Seems like a glass house, stone throwing thing.
The Professor

[IrateCitizen]

38. Granted, there isn't a hard definition, Prof...

But what I see as the dividing line is that when I am confronted with evidence of how destructive my activities and consumption patterns are, I make a concerted effort to change them, rather than go into a harangue about how it's my God-given right to do whatever the hell I want with my money because I've never taken a cent from the federal government.

The computer I have at home is a laptop I purchased in 2001. I have no plans to replace it anytime soon, and will use it until it wears out.

My wife and I have 2 TV's -- we each had our own before we met. We'll use them until they're broken and unrepairable, to minimize environmental degradation.

As for my car, I drive a 1996 Honda Civic. It has over 170K miles. And I don't even drive that much, considering that I ride the train to and from work, and run errands by bicycle when the weather allows. Plus, I live in a town, so I can walk to a lot of places.

Like I said in my other post -- I'm not perfect, and I don't pretend to be. But the first step in changing the destructiveness of our consumption patterns lies in acknowledging that destructiveness, and seeking ways to minimize or eliminate it. I hardly see that as "stone throwing in glass houses".

[ultraist]

45. You drive a '96 car? The emissions suck on old cars!

You are using outdated technology and trashing the planet.

Do you buy any prepackaged foods? Uh OH! If you buy foods other than locally grown, organic, bulk, unpackaged, you are gluttonous!

How many miles a week to drive? Why aren't you using public transportation if you live in town?

Do you subscribe to any mags or newspaper? If you are, destroying trees! Do you recycle EVERYTHING? What other types of products do you buy?


:P ;)

[IrateCitizen]

48. Answers...

My 1996 car passes emissions every year. It still gets 35+ mpg on highways, too.

My wife and I purchase organic vegetables and meats. We will start growing some this year. I also want to start dealing directly with a local organic farm. We do use more prepackaged foods than we should, and will certainly cut back when we're both done with school.

I live in a TOWN, not a CITY. We don't have public transit other than the Westchester Bee-Line buses (which SUCK) and Metro-North Railroad. Sometimes I go for over a week without driving my car at all.

I do subscribe to some magazines. I don't buy newspapers very often. We recycle just about everything we can (paper, glass, plastic), and I am going to purchase a backyard composting bin this spring as well.

I know you were kidding in your post, but I still wanted to take the time to answer the questions. :D

[ultraist]

72. Yes, I was kidding but old cars DO use more oil and have worse emissions

Than comparable newer cars.

I'm glad to hear you are contientious of your impact on the planet. But I must warn you, if you think it's hard to be diligent about not buying packaged foods as a student, wait until you have kids. ;) I've been in both situations but when I was a student I could not afford organic foods and ate a lot of Ramon noodles and other cheap crap! LOL!

Both my husband and I work, so finding the time to cook EVERYTHING by scratch is NOT easy. We both also HATE to cook and eat a lot of take out.

Hey, we did plant 6 trees in our yard last year, do we get brownie points for that? LOL

[ProfessorGAC]

67. Ok. Just Asking

Changing patterns when you recognize a problem is understandable. But, we're all guilty of consumption, by definition. Either that or we don't live very long.

Unless we take a truly Luddite approach to life, gluttony is a completely relative term. To an aboriginal Australian, your lifestyle may be considered grotesque, no?

Seems we are being unfair to others here for whom creature comforts are important. I think it's hard to know when someone has reached the point of excess without actually SEEING how they live. I know a trophy house when i see one, but without knowing how many people live there, what they've done in life to merit that expense, etc. it's hard to make a sound judgment. Hence, i think without better and more complete information, snap judgments do constitute stone throwing.
The Professor

[uncle ray]

37. maybe your tv's don't destroy the world

but your attitude will. very selfish, and you're teching your kids to be selfish. wouldn't want to force the older kids, or yourself, to have to endure programming fit for the youngest. so everyobdy hides in their room and watches their shows? maybe that's not the case, but that's the way you come across.

i would be very happy to hear that you had a computer for every household member, instead of television sets. there is a big difference.

[Katarina]

46. Ok, I'll break it down

The TV in my room is only turned on at night after the kids go to bed and we go in the bedroom. It's not on every night, in fact it hasn't been turned on since Saturday night.

My computer TV, I'll admit that it's on most of the time when I am home with CSPAN or a Sirius music channel. It also has the X-Box on it but that doesn't get used very much anymore.

The living room television is on very little these days. We watch a family movie Friday night with all 6 of us. My younger kids get home at 4, play outside until 6, do their homework, eat dinner, take their showers, play on their computers usually and go to bed at 9. The PS2 is hooked up to this set as everyone has video games for it.

Play Room - The television is hardly ever on except when one of them is playing the gamecube. We put the GC in there since it is geared for the younger crowd and they have a place to play when their friends are over.

My teens have their television in their room and every so often they watch movies I would rather the younger ones not watch so they watch them in their room.

As for computers, yes, as a matter of fact we do each have our own. And nobody hides in their room except for my almost 17 year old who has a girlfriend and a telephone attached to his head. Our family is very close. We do everything together. We're not a family that has TV trays and eats dinner around the television set. We eat dinner at the dinner table together every night.

And one more thing, I am not selfish. Far from it.

[uncle ray]

59. okay then.

but i hope you can see how people could get that impression, when you speak up to defend having a houseful of tv's. it's not something the average DUer is proud of.

sorry, i dislike the things, partly because you cannot buy an american made television. unless something has changed recently, but i believe it's been nearly two decades now that you couldn't get an american tv.

[UdoKier]

52. No Shit. "Family Time" is now everyone in a separate "viewing room"

Makes me glad I only have a 2-bedroom apartment. We're close by necessity.

[ultraist]

71. Watching tv together is quality family time?

That is ABSURD and further ridiculous to say that living in small quarters means the family has more quality time together. What about families that live cramped in a one room apts where the parents abuse and or neglect the kids?

There is NO CORRELATION between the size of the house and quality family relationships. NONE. There are parents who bring their children up in HUGE houses that are very good and involved parents.

If your "theory" holds any water, HOW MANY SQUARE FEET PER PERSON IS ALLOWED according to the rule book to ensure the family spends quality time together? :eyes:

[UdoKier]

75. You're hell-bent on missing EVERY point, aren't you?

I didn't say anything about more space being bad. But when it's used along with separate TV's and other entertainments to isolate the family from one another, it is bad.

And yes, watching TV as a family is better than everyone watching separately. Of course, playing a game of "Clue" together, or playing volleyball in the yard would be better than any kind of TV viewing.

And what about parents in cramped apartments who abuse and neglect kids? Is their abuse and neglect somehow worse than that of people in big houses who do the same thing?


It has nothing to do with square footage and everything to do with quality time. multiple TVs tend to act as more of an impediment to that than one TV or none.

[ultraist]

77. You're hell bent on making ridiculous arbitrary judgement calls

You said, "we are close by necessity."

Physical size of the home has NOTHING to do with emotional closeness of the family. People can be physcially on top of each and NOT have healthy, close relationships.

I missed EVERY POINT? Or I busted you on using broken logic?

[UdoKier]

80. "We are close by necessity" is a human statement about MY family.

Not a logical argument.

Where is your vaunted logic? I've yet to see any.

[ultraist]

82. "Family Time" is now everyone in a separate "viewing room" was about YOU?

Or was that a judgement on others?

[UdoKier]

89. It's a sad observation.

If you want to defend your right to have a collection of individuals in a house who do everything separately - you'll win, as you have that right.

But you have not made a case for how that arrangement is better than the family spending more time together.

[ultraist]

98. Do "everything separately?" WHO said that? Not me, I said watching TV

is NOT spending quality time together. I also said was that there is no correlation between the size of house and the quality of family relationships.

LMAO! This is basically what you are saying: "Families that watch tv together, stay together." 'pray together, stay together' sounds like fundie fuzzy logic to me. lol

[UdoKier]

103. Families that do ANYTHING together.

It does matter. Having tv's all over the house definitely is an isolating factor. It changes the whole family dynamic - same with having phone lines in kids' bedrooms.

Do you even have kids?

[ultraist]

110. Yes, I have two children

It's not an isolating factor if the family doesn't watch much tv. Or, if they don't watch in seperate rooms much.

For instance, my kids don't watch much tv and never have. There really isn't even time during the week. They have homework, dinner, hang out with us and talk to friends on the phone. If the weather is nice, they play outside.

I don't know how old your kids are, but by 5th and 7th grade, they have quite a lot of homework. One of my son's teachers told us to expect two hours a night and that's usually what it is.

[UdoKier]

51. TV's are full of tocxic compounds. They will eventually become toxic waste

You have every right under the law to buy as many TVs as you like. I have every right under the law to try and give you a guilt trip about the waste they represent, and the waste of your and your children's time watching so much dreck on TV.

And you have every right to ignore me and go turn on "Fear Factor", or whatever you're into.

[ultraist]

81. Your formula for calculating waste is flawed, you omitted usage/lifespan

TVs wear out by USE, so having ONE TV at at time, that is used a lot may create more waste over the long run.

Someone who owns ONE tv and watches it alot, may well buy more tvs over the course of their lifetime than someone who owns several at at time and uses them rarely. THAT IS WHY I pointed out HOW MUCH IS IT USED.

[UdoKier]

88. Now you're just pulling nonsense out of your ear.

ALL TV's will end up in the dump. 6 TV's is definitely more wasteful than one. All your argument suggests is that it's better to watch less.

[ultraist]

97. You are missing the point again

It's not how many tvs a person owns at one time, it's HOW MANY DO THEY OWN OVER THEIR ENTIRE LIFETIME.

A person who owns one at a time, may well own 40 tvs over their lifetime whereas someone who owns 4 at a time, may own 20 over their lifetime.

Those who watch less, wear out fewer tvs. Thus, the usuage/lifetime (as in tv lifetime) variable needs to be factored in to estimate HOW MANY TOTAL TVS will that person own.

I have one tv that is 18 years old, that still works, because it was a good model and we rarely use it.

[UdoKier]

101. In 17 years since moving out of my parents' house...

I've had 4 TVs. The first died of old age, the next two were sold and are likely still in use. The one we have now is 4 years old. I'd say I have a ways to go to catch up with the 6-TV households. (BTW - time takes a toll on TVs, even if they're not used much).

Besides, if you rarely watch TV, why buy 6 of them?

[ultraist]

111. I don't have 6 tvs. You obvioulsy are not reading my posts

Or you would have known I have children and four tvs as I noted in my first post on this thread.

Maybe someone wants the convenience of having them in different rooms but doesn't really watch much. Your narrow little construct by which you are JUDGING others is flawed.

What a silly way to JUDGE someone, by how many tvs they have!

[UdoKier]

118. It's not judging you.

It's a judgment on ONE action. People are the sum of a multitude of actions they make everyday. You may own 12 TV's, but feed dozens of orphans on the weekend, or be the greatest dad in town, whatever.


Some men even have affairs that they are very discreet about, are great dads and husbands, and nobody ever knows the about any of it. Does that mean I can't decry infidelity in general?

Bill Clinton was a philanderer, but he was still a good president and a good guy. I don't judge people on one little aspect of their lives, but owning 6 TVs in a house is NOT a virtuous thing, nor is refusing to recycle or killing animals for sport. But otherwise good people DO those things.

[DireStrike]

27. Envy plays a role

Not necessarily of the TVs, but of the money that was wasted on them.

Wasted, being a subjective term.

[Katarina]

33. Well I don't consider it wasted money

It's our form of entertainment. We live far out in the country and the nearest movie theater is this large man that get's in your face and screams at you if you so much as put a cough drop in your mouth because he thinks your a candy smuggler and is a filthy pigsty to boot. I suppose I could have used the money instead to go out to dinner...no wait, I have children. According to the wise ones of DU that's not appropriate either. Hum, the fact that I have four children has also beeen brought up on here as being "freeperish" since the planet is so overpopulated now. Whatever. I live my life the way I see fit and I refuse to conform to one political party. If having 5 TV's or 6 computers is what makes us happy and the government isn't paying me a monthly check it's really not anything for people to get worked up about. I don't envy people generally, I'm quite happy with my life. Sure there are things I would like to change but at this time I can't. But my family is happy, my kids are well fed and dressed nicely so that is what matters. :)

[DireStrike]

40. Well, I'm glad you're happy with your life.

That is all that really matters. :)

[IrateCitizen]

42. What is your obsession with the government giving you money???

It's not even related to the topic, but you keep bringing it up relentlessly.

But since you HAVE brought it up, do you own a home? Do you claim a mortgage deduction? If so, then you actually ARE taking money from the federal government. I am too, but I'm not the one running around claiming I'm not at every opportunity....

[UdoKier]

55. Apparently, there is no worse dirtbag than a welfare recipient...

...even in the minds of some "liberals".

[UdoKier]

53. If you live way out in the country...

Why not spend that time going for walks, ice-fishing, playing ball, SOMETHING outside? What's the point of living in the country if you're going to sit inside watching dreck on TV all day?

[Katarina]

60. Read my post above please

I don't watch "dreck" all day. My husband works, I work, my kids are in school until 4 every day. You have no idea about what I watch. Jesus Christ, You people with the name calling and judging...wow. You astound me. You really do.

[UdoKier]

63. Did I call you a name? I don't think so.

Yes, 99.9% of all programming on TV is dreck, and I don't hesitate to say it. That's not "name-calling"

[Blue Diadem]

26. Here's an easy way to have six.

Our son continued to live in this house when hubby and I moved out of state for work. He has 2, one in the living room and his bedroom.

Our daughter got divorced and she and granddaughter moved back here bringing along two tv's. One is in the family room and one in daughter's bedroom.

Then hubby's plant closed, we moved back. We placed one in our bedroom and one in the kitchen.

Oops make that 7. There is one that was color damaged by magnetic pull from a lightening strike that is used occasionally in the summer on the patio.

[Samurai_Writer]

29. One, but no network or cable service

I use my bigscreen exclusively for watching DVDs. I've been 3+ years without TV programming of any kind, and don't miss it one bit.

Bella

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Six Is A Problem? Why?

I don't have six, but i'm wondering why 6 is a problem? Seems arbitrary. Five is ok, but 6 means you have problems? I don't get it.
The Professor

[ultraist]

47. LMAO!!! 3.5 over 20 years is OK...;)

According to the official DU RULE BOOK.

[ProfessorGAC]

68. You Have A Rule Book?

How come i didn't get one?
The Professor

[UdoKier]

58. Of course, it's totally arbitrary.

Personally, I think anything more than two is excessive. And one is probably ideal, since at least everybody will watch together.

[ProfessorGAC]

69. OK

Just so we all know we drew the line somewhere randomly. I figured that was the case. We have three and there's only two of us, but one is in the main living room, it's been there since 1988, and we spend most of our time in a basement rec room or in the bedroom. So, that TV is probably on only 20 hours a year. Probably will last us forever! I don't think that one will have much environmental impact since it may be until we both die that it will end up in some landfill.

The Professor

[theboss]

86. I don't see this great need to watch tv as a family

If you are going to be passively watching the WB, why not do it separately? All I want to watch is ESPN and the History Channel. Why would I subject my wife or kids to that if they don't like it?

[grumpy old fart]

35. And one is a cool 105" diag. HDTV projection system.....

Awesome for sports, but the little 27" Sony works best for news.

[ultraist]

36. The question of HOW MANY tvs is irrelevant.

The real question is how much do you watch or allow your children to watch. Someone may have a tv in every room but rarely watch.

TV is for down time, it's very passive and people's brainwaves are in low gear when they watch. My kids watch a little AFTER they get their homework done in the evenings. They RARELY watch tv during the day. In fact, for the most part, we do not allow tv during the day unless they are sick. Both of my kids are very active and we have never let them sit around for hours on end vegging in front of mindless shows. But it hasn't been an issue, because they don't want to. They have many other activities they enjoy.

I watch the news and occasssionally rent a pay per view movie (not the "exciting" kind! LOL!) and that's about it. We have 4 tvs but watch a lot less than many families.

We all also each have our own computers and we have wireless internet, which I love, because I can work on my deck, front porch, or anywhere in the house on MY computer that has MY work files. I love to work outside in the Spring!

[progressivebydesign]

39. 3 BUT... viewing time for all three combined is around 3 hours a week. NT

[cags]

41. Lets see, Big screen in the living room, 3 in each of our bedrooms

One in the truck and I have cable set up into my computer in the office, and a portable DVD player. So thats about six

I love TV and I don't care what you TV haters think.

Call me a glutton if you want, but I never buy shoes, if you have more than 3 pairs of shoes then I think your a glutton. SO there:P

[Igel]

43. Just one little ol' tv, but I said we have none ... we moved in July,

and haven't even plugged it in. No cable, no satelite. We decided it was bad for the kid.

I do sort of miss the sci-fi channel.

[Stirk]

44. I have one, but really- TV just sucks.

All politics aside, TV really just sucks. The corporate news is obviously worthless, but even the entertainment sucks. Predictable, formulaic sitcoms, "reality shows" that break your faith in humanity, gameshows, crappy coporate pop videos... it's all garbage.

There a just couple of shows I watch- one is nightly, the other is weekly. I do like having the TV for use with a DVD player, though.

[rbnyc]

49. My husband and I decided we'd have a house rule.

Only 1 TV, only 1 game system. The whole family shares. No one gets a TV or game system in their room.

We're hoping we don't have to put actual limits on time spent per day on these. We're hoping that we will lead by example and just continue to be active and not over-indulge.

[Dervill Crow]

50. Ooops, I lied.

I said four, but there are actually five. One is used exclusively for my victorian lampshade-making instructional tape, and one is used exclusively for an X-Box.

It's a big family, so it didn't seem that excessive until I actually counted them up.

[LibertyLover]

54. TVs

We have the main tv in the family room, and two smaller ones in the basement sitting area and our bedroom. Our bedroom one rarely gets used, except for checking the weather channel. The basement one is primarily for my husband so he can put on a dvd on wood turning or a movie to watch while he works on his models.

[cmf]

56. We have two

One little set from my college days in our bedroom and one larger one that serves as our main TV (and to watch videos and play video games on).

My mother-in-law lives alone and has 7 televisions. One in each bedroom, and one in the office, laundry room, breakfast room and family room. Before she built this house, she had one in the kitchen, but the kitchen in the current house opens up to the family room. The only real room without a tv is the living room. She likes to watch TV while doing other tasks. I think it's because she's all alone and likes the background noise.

[ohiosmith]

57. 10 plus a digital projector and screen I use on my patio.

[grumpy old fart]

64. dlp?

[SeveneightyWhoa]

61. 6, baby!

Four have cable, one has satellite, and one has only DVD/Xbox.

[12345]

65. I don't have a TV. I don't live in the suburbs either.

While I agree with the substance of your threads, I find the way that you confront people with these issues to be extremely off-putting, instead of thought-provoking. I didn't change my behavior overnight, or because someone made me feel stupid. It was a process brought about by a combination of necessity and knowledge. No one will listen to you if you continue to attack them.

I gave up television 13 years ago when I was a sophmore in college. My roommate and I wanted to get cable, but we decided that it was more difficult than it was worth to try and meet the cable installer. It seemed like we were always in class when he came. We were disappointed at first, but never looked back. It probably helped our grades, anyway.

After three years of living without tv, I didn't want the temptation, or the monthly bill. It does feel great to save $40+ a month, and not to be sucked in. I SWEAR that tv is addictive. Even now, if I'm in a hotel with a tv in the room, I'll turn it on and watch.

I do think it's worth trying life without tv, and I hope that more people will. I have lots a friends, though, who still watch. They're the ones I turned to during the World Cup and the Presidential Debates.

[Padraig18]

66. One, and we use rabbit ears.

No cable whores on our set.

[ben_packard]

70. I don't subsribe to the less is more POV

It's easy to get santimonious about TV and it's ills, but to me it's just as valid an art form and means of information as any other. I'm sure the theatre, radio and cinema have been looked down on in the past. I consider my self a keen and fairly discerning viewer, able to enjoy great drama, comedy, documentaries, etc.

But then maybe that's because we have the BBC here ;)

For the record I also listen to music, read and watch films a lot.

[UdoKier]

78. Do you have the horrible infomercials and bible-thumping shows there?

The TV here seems to be about 70% commercials, 15% violent or degrading programming, 5% salacious unsexy sex programming, 5% drama and 5% comedy.

[ultraist]

87. Do you get the History or Science channels?

Or PBS? There are informative shows and documentaries on tv. I'm not denying there is a bunch of crap, but you omitted numerous stations.

[UdoKier]

91. They are in the distinct minority.

Even PBS shows infomercials for get-rich-quick schemes now, and the History Channel is largely dominated by one-sided WWII documentaries - it does NOT give any sort of balanced realistic view of history. How often does it cover important events like the Bhopal disaster, or the labor movement during the depression, etc? What little good there is is consistently representative of a corporate/oligarchical worldview, so I don't watch much of it.

I let the kids watch the nature docs on Discovery, though.

[ben_packard]

92. Haha good point

None of that BS here really. The BBC had its charter renewed today which means it will go on for another 10 years creating ad free TV that isn't ratings driven. In fact, part of the deal is that it will make less derivative television, and it already provides an excellent public service. Who says the free market is always right?

[jdots]

73. my favorite a/v installation

the owners of the gated community (estate de-lameo) had the fire places removed and big screen t.v.s put in thier place.
Another job,we hung a 50 " plasma screen in a guys (yes guys)
walk in closet.Alot of houses have more t.v.s than books, on another job , I made houses for the 4 big screen t.v.s around the pool . L.A. is a cultural vacume tube.

[Blue_In_AK]

74. One upstairs in the living room

and one downstairs in the family room in case the grandkids are over and want to watch a movie or cartoons.

[nolabels]

83. We have five in the house

Would like to get one of those 72" DLPs also though, they are so cool to watch football games on, works good with x-box on split screen too.

I never watch the blasted things much, if at all, except for football.

I tell the rest of the family that stuff rots the brain but they will not listen. Woe is me, I live in house full of Tee-Vee-Holics :cry:

TURN OFF YOURTELEVISION!

by L. Wolfe

Hey buddy, I'm talking to you. Yes, you, the guy sitting in front of the television. Turn down the sound a bit, so that you can hear what I am saying.

Now, try to concentrate on what I am going to say. I want to talk to you about your favorite pastime. No, it's not baseball or football, although it does have something to do with your interest in spectator sports. I'm talking about what you were just doing: watching television.

Do you have any idea about how much time you spend in front of the television set? According to the latest studies, the average American now spends between five and six hours a day watching television. Let's put that in perspective - that is more time than you spend doing anything else but sleeping or working, if you are lucky enough to still have a job. That's more time than you spend eating, more time than you spend with your wife alone, more time than with the kids.
(snip)
http://www.alternativescentral.com/turnoffyourtelevision-part1.htm

[Goldmund]

84. I don't have any, but I have TV cards on my computers.

That way, it doesn't take up any space, and I usually watch it in a small window while I'm doing something else on the computer.

[theboss]

85. I have 2; my folks have 5

My folks are a little whacky at this point. They have one in the living room; one in the bedroom; one in the computer room; one in the basement in front of the treadmill, and a little one in the kitchen (which is my mom's favorite). All have cable.

I have two. One big one with digital and a smaller one in my bedroom which is mainly for PS2 and movies.

[WillowTree]

90. I have three and I'll make no apology for them.

I have the "big" 27" stereo set in the living room which is primarily entertainment. I work hard and it's nice to be able to kick back and watch a movie or some TV in the evening once in awhile (certainly not every night). Then again, sometimes I'll spend the evening reading a good book. I'll have it on sometimes if I'm doing some needlework in there, as well, though as often as not, I'll opt to just have some good music on in the background instead. I also enjoy having family or friends over to watch an occasional video or DVD of an evening.

I have a second TV here in my study because I have my treadmill in this room and having a movie or TV program on seems to help pass the time better than anything else. (And before anyone jumps on me about the treadmill, walking is my primary form of exercise and I walked outside year round regardless of the weather until after my second back surgery. Since then, my back can't take extended periods of exercise in either very cold or very damp weather and this five year-old treadmill cost less then two years of a health club membership. Weather permitting, I'll always prefer to be outdoors.) Other than while I'm walking in here, though, it's not on very often, though I work from home a lot and will sometimes turn on some news or something if I'm running a huge database or download, especially if there's something "big" going on.

And there's a small set in the bedroom that my folks got for me when I was laid-up for an extended time after my last surgery. Anymore it's only there to catch the local news while I'm dressing for work in the morning or the rare occasion when I'm sick in bed.

Overall, I live pretty simply compared to a lot of people, far below "my means". I put a big downpayment on a nice condo that I got for a bargain price because it was in an undervalued complex and needed a lot of work and, as a result, my mortgage payment is less than most car loan payments these days. I drive my cars until they become unreliable and when they do, I replace them with whatever I deem to be the best and "nicest" (according to my tastes and needs) new car that I can afford to pay cash for and as a result I haven't made a car payment since August, 1976. I never have more debt on my collective credit cards than I can afford to pay-off in a lump sum if I need or want to. So I make no excuses for my lifestyle or the occasional bit of excess that I allow myself nor do I feel that I ought to have to justify what I have to anyone else. In exchange, I don't expect anyone else to justify how they live to me. It's an amazingly freeing way to go through life. More people ought to try it sometime.

[UdoKier]

93. Apologize! NOW!

Just kidding.


Funny that you say you don't expect anybody to justify their lifestyle, but you go to such lengths to justify your own.


Sure, everybody has different circumstances in their life, and there may sometimes be a legit reasons to have 6 TVs (you're a TV dealer?) Just in general, I believe less to be more, not just with TV sets, but with gadgets in general.

[WillowTree]

107. I guess I didn't see it as "justifying" as I was writing it...

....so much as trying to outline for some of the more judgmental types that sometimes people have reasons that they haven't considered when they're getting all sanctimonious. But perhaps you're right. Maybe that's what I was doing and didn't realize it. Not that it matters, I suppose.

Maybe it's because I spent last week with a good friend who's not only fighting a debilitating illness, but is in a period of deep mourning after losing her wonderful husband to cancer recently and has been on a practically non-stop "buy everything in sight, especially if it's revoltingly expensive" spree for the last few months. When I was at her house, she seemed to be a little nervous and apologetic about all the stuff she's been amassing and it made me sad that she's not at least enjoying it. I know her and I know that there were times when she had to do without a lot during long periods in her life and this is the kind of "trying to fill the void the wrong way" syndrome that some people go through. I have little doubt that she'll snap out of it before too long and find more productive ways to fill her life. That's the kind of person she really is and always has been and I just can't find it in my heart to criticize the current excesses, though others are doing so vociferously.

Anyway, that's made me very conscious of the fact that way too many people seem to find it very easy to criticize when they don't know (or, apparently, even care) what the other person's circumstances really are. I thought that's what I was trying to point out, but maybe not. Or maybe I just did it badly.

Either way, I really appreciate the way you responded, honestly and with some insight that made me think, but with no contentiousness. I haven't been seeing a whole lot of that lately and it was refreshing. Thanks!!

[UdoKier]

109. No sweat.

My poll was intended to provoke a bit of thought and state an opinion, but it's only in general. It's not like anybody is proposing a limit on the number of TV's people can buy. And yet some people are so unbelievably defensive - which makes me feel like they know on some level that they're being excessive, but they can't stand to admit that or to give up the extra sets.

Only you know how much is enough for you. Problem is that our dominant consumer/marketing culture is CONSTANTLY telling us that there is no such thing as ENOUGH. You ALWAYS need more, bigger, faster, better, more, more, more. How many flames would it have generated if I posted a fawning review of my new 90-inch HD TV set in the Lounge?

None, I imagine, despite the ridiculous extravagance of such a purchase.

The fact that posts like this - admonishing people for excessive consumption - are so rare in our culture is why people have a knee-jerk defensive reaction to them, IMO.

[Katarina]

112. Honestly

what kind of reaction do you expect when you make sweeping generalizations that if someone has 6 TV sets they have problems? If you had just ran the poll without the snarky comments there probably would have been half the hostility. I know I would have probably answered the poll without even posting a comment. But when people get called names like gluttons, assumptions made that the whole family never see's each other while living in the same house, assuming that someone that has 5 or more TV's in their house never see the light of day, then yeah, it's going to get defensive. Posts like this do nothing but stir the shit...it's the same with the Southern bashing posts, taking kids out to restaurants, whatever. It pits us against each other. This is a large group. We are all different. How many televisions you own does not make a political party. It's the people that make the party.

And for the record "I" do not feel that my 5 televisions are excessive. Also, I forgot a television...the battery operated one we bought for the hurricanes to find out what was going on in the county when we didn't have power for days on end...so there...according to you, I officially have "problems".

[UdoKier]

115. If you take a little quip-on a poll - about TV ownership THAT seriously...

... you just might.

[Mabel Dodge]

120. Just ignore it Katarina

It's a "liberal cultural norm", you're not suppose to like TV.

On this subject there is not a politically correct bone in my body. I adore TV - from Andy Griffith to South Park to the Daly Show, I LOVE IT (everything except faux news...my liberal sensibilities come out there).

We own 3 TV's and we lust in our hearts for one of those big screen jobs, we just don't have the room.

There really are worse sins, so just ignore the comments.

[XemaSab]

94. TV rots your brain

I haven't got a TV.

The last TV I had I gave away when I graduated college last year. It was a small black and white that I found in the "free" pile outside my apartment. I used it almost exclusively for watching simpsons. I had it for about 5 years. 2 of those years it lived in the closet. I basically forgot I had it until the terrorist attacks, but sometimes you gots to watch the news on the boob tube.

The only thing I would really want to watch on TV now is HGTV and Simpsons.

Sometimes I watch C-Span on my computer at work.

Yes, I am holier-than-thou and a model to which you should aspire.

O8)

[otohara]

95. I Like to Watch

chauncey gardner - being there!

4 sets...

[New Democrat]

96. I have one TV

27 inch flat screen.


I have my Playstation 2, Playstation 1, Xbox, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo and Dreamcast connected to it. Yes I guess you could say I am a video game addict.

[ultraist]

99. All of those electronics are TOXIC WASTE! They each count for 2 tvs!

According to the "OFFICIAL" Rule Book, you are only allowed 2 tvs, 250 square feet of housing per person, one decade old vehicle, two pairs of shoes, no meat, one desktop computer, no cell phone or PDA, and no travel, or you are a GLUTINOUS, SELFISH, WORTHLESS, OXYGEN WASTING bag of bones.

[rinsd]

122. Don't forget the wasted water of bathing! (nt)

[loudestchick]

100. One in the living room, one in my bedroom, a small one in the kitchen.

[loudestchick]

102. My sister has 7.

master bath, master bedroom, excersize room, son's playroom(big screen w/x-box), son's bedroom (w/dvd/vcr), big screen in living room, 26" in kitchen.

[karlrschneider]

104. My DP & I have seven. Three in the living room because we like to watch

football games...and one in each other rooms in the house except the 3rd bedroom that's used only for storage. However, we -bought- only one of them. We are Dish installers and do a lot of service work on antennas, home theaters, etc. and people often give us their "old" televisions
when they upgrade. We don't accept all offers but do when they are fairly new and work well...so we are actually keeping them OUT of the landfills. They've already been manufactured so we don't feel any guilt over using them.

[movie_girl99]

105. 1 big/wide screen and 2 regular

we all watch the big TV mostly but my son has one in his room to play video games on when he has friends over. We have one in our bedroom to put us to sleep.

[cobaindrain]

106. 4

[rinsd]

108. 3 in the front room during football season....

We have the DirectTV package for the NFl so I can watch my beloved Giants.

We have another smaller TV that we do VCR recordings also in that room with very basic cable so we can watch the Padres(DirecTv doesn't carry local channel 4).

During football season, my roommate takes out his rarely used 13" TV so we can watch 3 games at once.

[zippy890]

113. I'm so glad to see others who have one TV

I thought we were the last people in the country with just one tv set

I love coming to DU.. it gives me faith in the people in this country

:toast:

[Bunny]

114. I have five TVs in my house. Three people live here.

Anybody who thinks I may have a "problem" of some sort is heartily encouraged to go fuck themselves.

[Katarina]

117. LOL!

:toast:

[Bunny]

119. I know. They set it up as a slam, and then feign surprise and

wonderment when someone responds in kind! Too funny, isn't it? ;)

[Wild Bill]

116. 2 for one person.

No cable or satellite. Don't watch much too. I only make it a point to watch two shows. The Amazing Race and Boston Legal are the only shows i watch on a regular basis.

[Swamp Rat]

121. One TV for: CSPAN, The Daily Show, and the Sci Fi Channel

I like Fawlty Towers (PBS) too (Black Adder, Monty Python, and Young Ones when they were on). If I didn't need the TV for school/video work and the occasional DVD, I'd forego the sins mentioned above. :)