Poll of the Day > I feel like watch TV is necessary to function in society today

(+) Yeah! (+)

I dont like watching television shows. I prefer playing games and watching streams.

But it seems that every family gathering we end up discussing shows we are watching. And mist of NY social interaction with non gamers involves TV discussion as well.

So I feel I need to start watching things just to fit in.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

---

doesn't match my family events at all :x

mine are all about food that people make, talking about potential health issues for bit of small talk (i have a lot of old people in the fam), and then just playing tons of boardgames, cards, dominoes, etc

Not what my friends talk about. We talk about school, families, jobs, the news, research, politics, or podcasts we're listening to, and then we usually play board games or video games. My friends and I also play music together and are trying to get into beer making, so there's talk of that too. of course we occasionally talk about movies and tv, but we all actually watch very different stuff. I like newer cartoons and documentaries, my girlfriend likes anime, a friend likes comedies and tech shows, his girlfriend likes Korean dramas, etc. so there's not really a lot of overlap.

with my mom I usually talk tv though because she watches a lot.

---

This is one of the things that's a big difficulty for me with dating sites (and getting to know new people in general), I feel like pop culture really dominates what people are interested in. Movies and music too, not just TV.

I guess I can see the utility there, if you're trying to guess what people might be interested in it's good to cast a wide net. And I find that the more you do get to know people that stuff doesn't matter as much but it does still feel sometimes like you are getting silently judged if you aren't into whatever popular thing

---

Depends on the group.

---

It makes for good conversation but it is not "necessary"

---

Weirdly, this was the justification for Fahrenheit 451 - it wasn't initially about censorship, but homogenization of media

---

If people are watching the shit on TV these days, that's a gigantic red flag that I don't want to interact with them in the first place.

I don't have HBO, Netflix, or Disney+, and I have no desire to get them. When people talk about Game of Thrones, Tiger King, Stranger Things, or The Mandalorian, I have no idea what they're talking about.

---

Red_Frog posted...

If people are watching the shit on TV these days, that's a gigantic red flag that I don't want to interact with them in the first place.

??

I don't watch TV but most people would say it's basically better than ever. Unless you're not counting streaming but most people lump that in as "TV"

---

Red_Frog posted...

If people are watching the shit on TV these days, that's a gigantic red flag that I don't want to interact with them in the first place.

---

I guess the flag could also be green.

lol

---

Don't you have any other hobbies to talk about?

---

I don't have a family so I wouldn't know.
I don't watch television, and haven't in years. I haven't owned a TV since 2009.

---

It goes the other way too.

I dated a girl just after college who lived her life through TV. She talked about characters as if they were family members and there wasn't really anything below the surface. She had a fairly rough family life, and I'm sure it was an escapist / affordability thing but it was still weird.

kukukupo posted...

It goes the other way too.

I dated a girl just after college who lived her life through TV. She talked about characters as if they were family members and there wasn't really anything below the surface. She had a fairly rough family life, and I'm sure it was an escapist / affordability thing but it was still weird.

There are modern equivalents to this. Let me tell you about the cult of AmeSame...

---

kukukupo posted...

She talked about characters as if they were family members

me after playing the last of us part ii

---

DrPrimemaster posted...

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

I only ever watch soaps for the most part on TV these days and even then I watch them on catch up services that is basically streams. I can't say I feel I'm missing anything.


---

I don't know anyone that watches TV anymore. At most people will talk about old sitcoms they're watching on Netflix.

---

Is your family exclusively boomers? Because it sounds like a them problem.
---

DocDelicious posted...

I don't know anyone that watches TV anymore. At most people will talk about old sitcoms they're watching on Netflix.

I'm pretty sure Netflix is considered TV these days, and not just because you can watch it on your TV. It's an actual TV provider. I wonder how many people still think TV just means cable or broadcast...

---

kind9 posted...

I'm pretty sure Netflix is considered TV these days, and not just because you can watch it on your TV. It's an actual TV provider. I wonder how many people still think TV just means cable or broadcast...

By that loose standard, the entire internet is television.
---

I get together with my sisters like three days a week and I'm more likely to hear about their sex lives than tv shows unfortunately. One of my brother-in-laws will specifically refer to his wife as "Ben's sister" when he's going to say something particularly dirty. Doesn't really affect me at this point though.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

By that loose standard, the entire internet is television.

I mean if you're torrenting the latest TV shows, then maybe so. Or you could pay for an actual TV provider such as Netflix or Hulu.

---

Nope. I love saying "I haven't seen any of the mandolorian".

---

kind9 posted...

I mean if you're torrenting the latest TV shows, then maybe so. Or you could pay for an actual TV provider such as Netflix or Hulu.

Netflix and Hulu are video hosting sites, they're not TV.
---

You do realize that pretty much all the streaming services produce their own content now, right? I mean that's not even really a new thing.

You're just being pendantic because most people can recognize the differences between a large professional TV production and a youtube series


---

I haven't watched TV in almost 15 years.

I don't find it comes up all that often. Occasionally I miss out on a conversation about Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or The Mandalorian or something, but then the conversation moves on pretty quickly.

---

dud posted...

You do realize that pretty much all the streaming services produce their own content now, right? I mean that's not even really a new thing.

YouTube produces its own content, YouTube isn't TV.

dud posted...

You're just being pendantic because most people can recognize the differences between a large professional TV production and a youtube series

1) They can both be ridiculously expensive or cheap
2) They both can be dramas, commentary, drama, etc.

You're just playing fast and loose with TV, when all it is is exclusive YouTube.
---

I mean there have been TV shows produced for YT but that's different than regular ass YT videos which seemed to be the argument you were making as being TV


---

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Netflix and Hulu are video hosting sites

I wouldn't call them video hosting sites since that usually refers to sites like youtube and vimeo that host user-generated content. Google the term and good luck finding Hulu or Netflix in the results.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

You're just playing fast and loose with TV

No I think you just have a very narrow idea of what TV is. Internet/streaming TV is TV.

---

kind9 posted...

I wouldn't call them video hosting sites since that usually refers to sites like youtube and vimeo that host user-generated content. Google the term and good luck finding Hulu or Netflix in the results.

Good thing I didn't say it was a user-content hosting site then!

Amazon is a storage solutions conglomerate, but it still isn't what comes up on google. Use better references.

kind9 posted...

No I think you just have a very narrow idea of what TV is. Internet/streaming TV is TV.

You're not streaming TV, you're watching shows. You know, like you do at a Theatre (which also is not TV, in either dramatic or movie form).
---

It's TV dude. You can split hairs all you want but we're just talking about common vernacular, not some scientific truth, and it's generally accepted to be TV now.

---

I use a webcam to stream my TV live to my phone. Checkmate kyuubi.

---

Believe me, even if you tell people you don't watch anything - they will still regale you with what is going on in their show. It usually doesn't matter if you can't keep up.

Now I just listen politely and ask questions. Then I tell them about the Eric Andre show, or about a game, or a band. As long as you listen and ask questions, I don't think it matters that much if you aren't up to date on the 9050 shows people watch today.

---

I might give something a try just to see what all the fuss is about, but I certainly wouldn't watch a show just for the sake of having something to talk about.

---

I find media and humanity's relationship with it very interesting, so I keep up with a lot of shows and stay informed on, but don't regularly watch, others that are less interesting to me. All this is done out of my own interest and not a desire to keep current or have something to converse with family about.

But let's be honest. If your fallback conversations in your family are reliant on current pop TV that speaks to a deeper lack of intimacy in those relationships that watching TV isn't going to fix. Almost everyone has deeper desires, goals, motivations, and aspects to them as people. Get to know those and find other things to talk about with them.