Americans and TV

Americans watch an average of 160 hours of TV per month according to latest poll.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/americans-watching-more-tv-than-ever/

That's an average of 5.3 hours per person, per day!

5.3 hours!

Where on Earth do people find the time for this? Do people not have jobs? Do people not have hobbies? Families? Friends?

The average American will spend 13 years of their life in front of the TV. They will have spent 4 years of their life watching advertisements alone. Think about that. 13 years out of an already too short lifetime spent in front of the idiot box.

The total number of man-hours that go into watching TV advertisements alone in the US on a single weekend is equal to the total number of man-hours that have gone into the entire wikipedia project - articles, comments, edits, everything. In a single bloody weekend. Think of all that could have been accomplished with a nation's worth of wasted talent.



btw. Not having a go at yanks in particular, it's just because that's what I've got the statistics for. I don't think any other country is quite as bad as the US, but many are hot on your heels.

Kazza wrote:Americans watch an average of 160 hours of TV per month according to latest poll.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/americans-watching-more-tv-than-ever/

That's an average of 5.3 hours per person, per day!

5.3 hours!

Where on Earth do people find the time for this? Do people not have jobs? Do people not have hobbies? Families? Friends?

The average American will spend 13 years of their life in front of the TV. They will have spent 4 years of their life watching advertisements alone. Think about that. 13 years out of an already too short lifetime spent in front of the idiot box.

The total number of man-hours that go into watching TV advertisements alone in the US on a single weekend is equal to the total number of man-hours that have gone into the entire wikipedia project - articles, comments, edits, everything. In a single bloody weekend. Think of all that could have been accomplished with a nation's worth of wasted talent.



btw. Not having a go at yanks in particular, it's just because that's what I've got the statistics for. I don't think any other country is quite as bad as the US, but many are hot on your heels.

YUeah, nobody likes us but they all want to be like us and have what e have

the way i figure it, after my husband comes home after working a 10 to 12 hour day, six days a week, he can do whatever the hell he wants on his time off.

kids that are planted in front of the tube, as though it were the babysitter, is another story. imo, parents should lead their kids down a well-rounded path which would include perhaps sports, music lessons, time spent with nana, papa, family and friends; and, of course, time well spent on their studies. but after all that, in their spare time, kids get to relax in front of the tube, too, if that's what they enjoy, with parents closely monitoring the programs they watch all the way up to and including high school.
as far as adults go, hey, i don't have a problem with what they do in their spare time; does not phase me in the least, as long as they are not living off my tax dollars ie welfare. if that's the case, it's my business:get off your ass and get a job.
in a perfect world, ya, it'd be great if we all had diverse interests but, hey, not everybody likes, on a daily basis, golf or art or even going out with friends. so if tv is how you choose to pass your daily spare time, have at it.

And everybody should have a hobby. Me, I like " Standing on the corner waching all the girls go by. " Thought about trying to catch me a blonde so I asked my doc for some pep pills. He told me that the only blonde I was going to catch would be old and increpitent. and then he asked me what I was going to do with a blonde if I ever did catch one. And yeah he was laughing the whole time to. And believe it or not this is a true story.

Many times we just keep the tv on for 'background noise' while on the pc. Which begs the question... how does the pc compare to tv as a diversion. I've seen people that seem to spend the entire day in forums or chats. Then there's gamers... they'll think nothing of spending all day in a game. the WoW geeks are a prime example... they even allow the game to bleed over into real life, as if they're acomplishing something by having a 4th level palidin (or whatever they're called). Oh well, enough ranting...

Given my work schedule, I'd say I watch about 3 hrs per day of programming... IF there's something worth watching even on.

I rarely turn my TV off. I'm not watching if I'm at the house it bugs me if it's off. And I have a hard time sleeping without it on. Oddly enough, when I was married or had "company" with me, I had no problem sleeping without the TV. And between instructional vids for guitar and for building my websites, plus research for the content of my main website, I spend hours online.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Australians spent an average of 89.9 hours a week consuming media
which is equivalent to 81% of waking hours - which is possible as people multi-consume different media at the same time.

Australian internet usage 20% greater than TV - Nielsen
Here is a media release from Nielsen (PDF) from March this year indicating that internet use by Australian internet users reached 16.1 hours per week in 2008, soaring ahead of TV at 13.3 viewing hours per week (radio sits at 9.9hours).

This suggests that the average Australian internet user is spending 20% more time online than they do in front of the television - although there is also a high instance of multi-channelling - 62% of Australians watch TV and use the internet at the same time and 52% listen to the radio while surfing the net.

Also, the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Google is on target to crack $1 billion in revenue in Australia - a larger revenue than the entire Australian commercial radio segment, or magazines and outdoor advertising markets.

With the new financial year approaching it might be a very good time to reweigh communications strategies and budgets to ensure that they are being spent on the medium where Australians are spending most of their leisure time.

Here is the breakdown for down under of hours per week/Nielsen's media consumption chart is below:

Internet 16.1
TV 13.3
Radio 9.9
PC Offline 8.5
Video Games 5.4
Exercise 5.3
MP3 5.2
Books 5.1
Online Radio 4.9
PC Video 2.5
Mobile Phone 3.8
DVD/Video 4.1
Newspapers 3.1
Magazines 2.1

Plenty of Aussies sitting on their duffs using the computer and watching tv as well.

You have to consider also, that in the US we have literally hundreds and hundreds of channels available 24 hours a day via satellite which are simply not available to the rest of the world, let alone on a 24 hour a day basis. Ever seen what is available in Europe and the time available for viewing for instance? Not to mention the enormous variety of shows and movies produced in this country just for the cable channels that simply do not exist in other countries. Many, many shows are very, very educational as well. It's not all drek out there that people are watching either. lol

Also, according to labor statistics, the average male in the US works more hours per day and per week than the average male in Australia. And in this economy, many people are working secondary part-time jobs just to stay afloat. I don't blame anyone for being too damn tired to do much else than to often come home and plop down in front of the tv frankly, as they just are mentally/emotionally drained, stressed out and physically tired. Many people also cannot afford to go out and spend the the money to do many activies which cost money right now either. Many extras and frills have simply gone from their budgets. It's all down to the essentials and the basics right now for many Americans.

I am sure millions of people here would love to be able to take all the kids and go on a nice vacation somewhere, have the money for the flights and the hotels, eating out in restaurants, rental cars, etc. They just don't right now. Do you have any idea what it costs to go to a sporting event here or even a movie? How about the cost of putting your kids through College or a Univeristy in the US??? Gas prices alone, are climbing by the day. Let's not even get into rising taxes here, and grocery bills. Give folks a break!! People are facing lay-offs, cut backs in their work week, having their pay reduced, are having trouble paying their mortgages, have health issues, businesses and companies are folding faster here on a daily bases than a bad hand of poker, and more. Many have taken huge hits in their retirement plans, stocks and the value of their property as well. They have more than enough to cope with on their plates as it is, let alone being chastised now for "watching tv". lol Sheeesh

What's next? How many times Americans don't or do have sex??? How many hamburgers we eat per year? LMAO Americans can't even take a piss anymore without someone criticizing, analyzing them and finding fault with them and Americans having to even justify now, how much tv we watch. It's rather ridiculous.

CarolinaHound wrote:I rarely turn my TV off. I'm not watching if I'm at the house it bugs me if it's off. And I have a hard time sleeping without it on. Oddly enough, when I was married or had "company" with me, I had no problem sleeping without the TV. And between instructional vids for guitar and for building my websites, plus research for the content of my main website, I spend hours online.

in my house they watch a lot of the science and history programs and the news, news, news ad nauseum. personally, i'm not a fan. i have the tv off when i'm doing my stuff around the house and have it on only if i want to watch it. if i'm in bed and i hear even the faintest sounds from a tv, i have to get up and ask them to turn it way down, and that's been a thing with me since i was a child. i only have one rule about tv:at mealtime-breakfast, lunch and dinner-we sit at the table and the tube is off. other than that, it's a pass time, they enjoy. but, one thing i've notice is they've been playing a lot of board and card games lately and playing pool in the family room and, usually, they do turn the tv off unless Dad tell them no, i'm watching it.

I will watch sports at times. Oh and I never miss an episode of lost.

Other than that I'm doing stuff like chores, walking, reading, or my stupid job.

Theophilus wrote:I will watch sports at times. Oh and I never miss an episode of lost.

Other than that I'm doing stuff like chores, walking, reading, or my stupid job.

a couple of my kids are obsessed with lost. i wish i could get into it but i have a problem with shows in which you are forced to watch every episode or else you're lost, haha, pun intended.
btw, and this is just a general comment not directed at you theo, but i didn't have a prob with K pointing out that americans watch lots of tv. as a whole, we do.

Wow, people are a little touchy on this subject. Like I said in the OP, I wasn't having a go at Americans in particular, it's just that the article I came across was about America. People in all developed nations watch a lot of TV. Rephrase it in terms of Australians, Brits or Germans and it's still a phenomenon worth discussing, IMO.

I just found the numbers shocking to be honest. I hardly watch any TV myself, maybe 6 or 7 hours a week, and 90% of that is the news while I'm eating breakfast and dinner.

I understand that people are often exhausted after work, and I'm not saying that watching any TV is a bad thing (I love scrubs), it's just the magnitude of it that surprised me. I mean, if work/travel takes up 9 hours a day, and cooking/eating/personal hygeine another 1-2, then people are spending pretty much 100% of their free time watching TV.

Kazza wrote:Wow, people are a little touchy on this subject. Like I said in the OP, I wasn't having a go at Americans in particular, it's just that the article I came across was about America. People in all developed nations watch a lot of TV. Rephrase it in terms of Australians, Brits or Germans and it's still a phenomenon worth discussing, IMO.

I just found the numbers shocking to be honest. I hardly watch any TV myself, maybe 6 or 7 hours a week, and 90% of that is the news while I'm eating breakfast and dinner.

I understand that people are often exhausted after work, and I'm not saying that watching any TV is a bad thing (I love scrubs), it's just the magnitude of it that surprised me. I mean, if work/travel takes up 9 hours a day, and cooking/eating/personal hygeine another 1-2, then people are spending pretty much 100% of their free time watching TV.

Your post didn't bother me. I was just owning up to it, I do have the tv on way too much. i know a lot of folks that never do anything else but watch tv when their not working.

If I came across as touchy I apologize... I didn't mean to. Just tossing another angle into the mix & presenting my viewing habits.

PaulM wrote:Many times we just keep the tv on for 'background noise' while on the pc. Which begs the question... how does the pc compare to tv as a diversion. I've seen people that seem to spend the entire day in forums or chats. Then there's gamers... they'll think nothing of spending all day in a game. the WoW geeks are a prime example... they even allow the game to bleed over into real life, as if they're acomplishing something by having a 4th level palidin (or whatever they're called). Oh well, enough ranting...

that's an excellent point, paul. like i said, i've never been a big tv fan, but i am guilty as charged with the computer. in fact, in my spare time, i prefer to get my news, general info regarding health, cooking, finance etc, on the net and i bet the number of people who are on my team make the tv affectionados pale in comparison. the numbers must be huge, worldwide, i would suppose.

very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

Old Timer wrote:

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

OT, you are spot on...... And if you look at the report, it states just that.

Plus it's 153 hours of tv and not 160. If you click on the three page report, and look at table 3, it breaks down the demographics and confirms exactly what you are saying OT. The numbers increase between the ages of 45 to 54 and again between 55 and 64 and increase again over 65 years of age.

This is why statistics are just that-statistics. One has to think about all the many, many factors, issues, facts, causes and reasons that go into any statistics. Look at widowers and widows who are elderly and live alone for example. What about those (and we are talking millions in this country) who live below the poverty level and this is all they can afford? What about those who live in the middle of nowhere? I mean much of this country and in many states have thousands and thousands of little of towns and cities out in the boondocks. What about weather conditions where you live and there are just several feet of snow and ice in much of the winter? What about those living in gang/ghetto and high crime areas? Not to safe or nice to venture outside much there is it? Look at the disabled. Again this is millions of people. Not all of them get out much do they? What about the weekends, which is when most people have the time and energy to get "out" and do other activities? They are off (if they work during the week) and are not home watching tv as much then are they? I sure see them out and about everywhere doing all sorts of things and having a life. lmao

It's always easy to criticize, point fingers and find fault for some reason, rather than to accept people and actually understand them isn't it? Everyone thinks that everyone else should be and do exactly like them and if they aren't and don't, boy that is a problem for them. lol

I can't imagine frankly, that in the current state of this country and of the world, being concerned with how much tv someone else is watching. This certainly does not keep me up at night. lol Whatever people want to do in their spare time or how they want to live their life as long as it is not harming anyone else, is their business and not for me to judge or even concern myself with actually. People watch tv. So what? (and in many cases just have it turned on in the background while they are doing other things mostly- people are not just sitting there in front of the tv dead eyed like zombies for 5 hours a day. lol They are actually doing other things while they tv may be on -sewing, cooking, exercising/working out, cleaning, talking on the phone, doing any number of hobbies, playing cards, looking at newspapers and magazines, doing cross word and jig saw puzzles, paper work, balancing their checkbooks, watering the plants, sorting photos-I can think of a million things actually). How does this affect my life or the life of my family? If people want to or don't want to watch tv, that's fine isn't it? It is THEIR life! Do what you want to and leave others be. I just have bigger issues to ponder in my life I guess.

Old Timer wrote:And everybody should have a hobby. Me, I like " Standing on the corner waching all the girls go by. " Thought about trying to catch me a blonde so I asked my doc for some pep pills. He told me that the only blonde I was going to catch would be old and increpitent. and then he asked me what I was going to do with a blonde if I ever did catch one. And yeah he was laughing the whole time to. And believe it or not this is a true story.

..... so then you decided it was wise to continue working your cross-word puzzles and playing Dominoes!

I'm not sure what it is, but Americans get catagorised and generalized in so many various situation by foreigners; I am not sure what that is. I don't ever see Americans doing that that much regarding foreginers.
What is that?
Besides, that opening statement about "Americans... blah, blah, blah; gist/point being establishing we watch on the average of 160 hours of t.v./month. Well I don't, and I know others that don't, so I think the word SOME is appropriate here, to qualify the situation, accurately.
I will have to say that in my personal opinion, our t.v. is a shambles - I was thinking of starting an explicit thread addressing the situation. I watch the 'News' mainly and some P.B.S., some programming which is excellent; I watch this selectively: Frontline, Nova, Masterpiece Theater and some entertainment specials.
P.B.S is still pretty good. With exception that it seems that even though it is somewhat of a government and benevolent individual sponsored programming, they are ever more coming on and interrupting programming and asking for membership renewals and pledges for new members. Where once they did it once a year, now, seems like every three months. They claim that the money is to buy better programming. But I think between the greed of those provding programming and those working for the station; all of them thinking they should be wealthy, not just draw reasonably good salaries, that is the crux of the problem.
Then, CNN, HLN/CNN and MSNBC [I avoid FOX, as they are obviously such ingrained, ingrate and narrow-minded republican-speak individuals that they are just a bunch of 'howdy-doody puppets" - why watch a program where you can predict, already, the moronic mindset of the personalities on there? [sure that will stimulate some spleens! ]...
Anyhow, what ever happened to the Professional New's Caster's that gave some interest and substance to the media. ANd speaking of "Media", seems like there is twice as much Commercial COntent now as there is substantive "News Media". That's another part of the corporation greed. They no longer attempt to genrate sufficent money to pay the overhead, employee's salaries and a reasonable amount [what's that?] for them. They just tax and exhasut the viewing audience with all of this mindless, krass commercial content. Turn up the volume, make a lot of noise and generally act stupid and tasteless. I mean, if they are going to barrage us with all of this commercial crap, they could at least produce and prtovide it like it is coming from somebody with more than a moronic intelligent quotient.
Then, the individuals that 'give the news'; I've stated it this way because they read from these t.v. prompters, have dull personalities and are just talking-head-hacks, that are about as interesting to listen to and watch as bridges rusting or grass growing! If they lost their prompters [which I have observed happens to them from time to time] then they assume the "deer in the headlights" appearence and mode. If they are supposed to "hand" any further comment on a subject to another individual, if that individual is not there, doesn't 'take the pass', then they appear to be paralyzed. ANd all one gets to see, mostly, is these dunder-heads talking [in readin that is]. Any worthwhile, substantial spot filmed, interesting media is not provide. This signals that as with the rest of the crap they provide, they are "reporting the news on the cheap" - as cheap as they can get it.
You say: "well, if you don't like it, turn it off? Well, guess what, not need ing that sort of advice from anyone, that's what I do. Only think I regret is the time when there was better than now. But then I think: this is someone's "good old days" so what the hell is coming in the future?
p.s. Perhaps I would 'watch' more t.v. but there just really isn't that much there to attract my attention...

Old Timer wrote:And everybody should have a hobby. Me, I like " Standing on the corner waching all the girls go by. " Thought about trying to catch me a blonde so I asked my doc for some pep pills. He told me that the only blonde I was going to catch would be old and increpitent. and then he asked me what I was going to do with a blonde if I ever did catch one. And yeah he was laughing the whole time to. And believe it or not this is a true story.

He gave you very good advice... don't want you having a heart attack...besides you can see all the blondes you want and some redheads too, on the internet sitting confortably in a nice cushie chair.. . Who's thinking of you darling...LOL!!!

Kazza wrote:Americans watch an average of 160 hours of TV per month according to latest poll.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/americans-watching-more-tv-than-ever/

That's an average of 5.3 hours per person, per day!

5.3 hours!

Where on Earth do people find the time for this? Do people not have jobs? Do people not have hobbies? Families? Friends?

The average American will spend 13 years of their life in front of the TV. They will have spent 4 years of their life watching advertisements alone. Think about that. 13 years out of an already too short lifetime spent in front of the idiot box.

The total number of man-hours that go into watching TV advertisements alone in the US on a single weekend is equal to the total number of man-hours that have gone into the entire wikipedia project - articles, comments, edits, everything. In a single bloody weekend. Think of all that could have been accomplished with a nation's worth of wasted talent.



btw. Not having a go at yanks in particular, it's just because that's what I've got the statistics for. I don't think any other country is quite as bad as the US, but many are hot on your heels.

Hey Kazza, look at it this way, TV is like JELLO. There is always room for it

Old Timer wrote:

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

i understand all that, ot.
like i said, and please read my two quote below carefully, it doesn't bother me whatsoever what an old or young person does in their spare time:

HotParadox wrote:as far as adults go, hey, i don't have a problem with what they do in their spare time; does not phase me in the least, as long as they are not living off my tax dollars ie welfare. if that's the case, it's my business:get off your ass and get a job.
in a perfect world, ya, it'd be great if we all had diverse interests but, hey, not everybody likes, on a daily basis, golf or art or even going out with friends. so if tv is how you choose to pass your daily spare time, have at it.

and what i said here:

HotParadox wrote:the way i figure it, after my husband comes home after working a 10 to 12 hour day, six days a week, he can do whatever the hell he wants on his time off.

so, i think you and i are on the same page as far as all this goes. my only other point is i don't think Kazza was belittling us or mocking us or anything of the sort. he was just posting the news on tv and americans; it was just an observation, really. i found it interesting.

HotParadox wrote:

Old Timer wrote:

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

i understand all that, ot.
like i said, and please read my two quote below carefully, it doesn't bother me whatsoever what an old or young person does in their spare time:

HotParadox wrote:as far as adults go, hey, i don't have a problem with what they do in their spare time; does not phase me in the least, as long as they are not living off my tax dollars ie welfare. if that's the case, it's my business:get off your ass and get a job.
in a perfect world, ya, it'd be great if we all had diverse interests but, hey, not everybody likes, on a daily basis, golf or art or even going out with friends. so if tv is how you choose to pass your daily spare time, have at it.

and what i said here:

HotParadox wrote:the way i figure it, after my husband comes home after working a 10 to 12 hour day, six days a week, he can do whatever the hell he wants on his time off.

so, i think you and i are on the same page as far as all this goes. my only other point is i don't think Kazza was belittling us or mocking us or anything of the sort. he was just posting the news on tv and americans; it was just an observation, really. i found it interesting.

I think Kazza just looked at those numbers and said to himself, same as anyone else would, "Damn! That's a lot of tv watchin'".

CarolinaHound wrote:

HotParadox wrote:

Old Timer wrote:

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

i understand all that, ot.
like i said, and please read my two quote below carefully, it doesn't bother me whatsoever what an old or young person does in their spare time:

HotParadox wrote:as far as adults go, hey, i don't have a problem with what they do in their spare time; does not phase me in the least, as long as they are not living off my tax dollars ie welfare. if that's the case, it's my business:get off your ass and get a job.
in a perfect world, ya, it'd be great if we all had diverse interests but, hey, not everybody likes, on a daily basis, golf or art or even going out with friends. so if tv is how you choose to pass your daily spare time, have at it.

and what i said here:

HotParadox wrote:the way i figure it, after my husband comes home after working a 10 to 12 hour day, six days a week, he can do whatever the hell he wants on his time off.

so, i think you and i are on the same page as far as all this goes. my only other point is i don't think Kazza was belittling us or mocking us or anything of the sort. he was just posting the news on tv and americans; it was just an observation, really. i found it interesting.

I think Kazza just looked at those numbers and said to himself, same as anyone else would, "Damn! That's a lot of tv watchin'".

you got it.

Old Timer wrote:

HotParadox wrote:very interesting, informative thread, K; something a little different

Yup, any and all of the things said here are true. But let us take into consideration how many of those that watch a lot of tv are old and retired with little else to do. Not to mention that a lot of folks can't do anything else either physically that is. So they use the tv as an secape mode to fill in the long and otherwise empty hours. You don't think so? JUst take a look at a lot of nursing homes and etirement homes.

I wasn't intending to criticise any individual person. When my grandfather used to live with us he spent almost all his waking hours watching TV, there wasn't much else he could do, and I certainly wouldn't criticise him for it.

There are plenty of people, though, that I think are just wasting their lives. I have two housemates, and it's no exaggeration to say that if they're not at work or asleep, then they're watching sport on TV. Have they ever considered, I don't know, going outside and playing some sport? Not on your life.

hehehe.. I know guys like that Kazza. Sit there and watch all the fishing and hunting shows, run to the computer to order the latest gear, and barely see water long enough to take a shower much less actually find a pond to catch a fish. lol

Are you saying that your roommates have no friends and that they never ever go out at all? They never leave the house except to go to work, ever? Then they are home all the rest of the time, every single day of the week, even all weekend long, and do nothing whatsoever but sleep and watch tv? They don't date for example or ever go to a party, or a movie ever or have friends over or ever see their families? Hmmmmmmm

At some point in one's life, we learn that you cannot control the world nor the people in it. It's their lives and their choice. You can only control yourself and your behavior. If their behavior is that abhorant to you for some reason, then get new roommates or learn to tolerate how they want to use their free time. Are they annoyed at how you choose to live and how you spend your free time? Do they even give it a second thought? Probably not.

Everyone's needs and wants are different and what makes one person happy and/or satisfied is obviously different for everyone as well. What one person considers to be a waste, makes another person happy and comfortable. Is there a right and a wrong to this? I don't think so. It's up to each person to do what they want to with their lives. And if it is not seriously self destructive or harmful to others, then who cares? Why is it anyone else's business? Why should people be expected to live up to someone else's standards in the first place? Where does this attitude come from? Others do not live as I do, therefore what they are doing is a waste? Wow. I think we get into really muddy waters when we start to judge whose life has more meaning and value and why.

While they could perhaps be making better use of some of their time, at least they are not doing drugs or other worse things and they have jobs. Everyone has the potential to change also and people may be at different stages of their lives than others. It's doubtful that they will spend the rest of their lives living this way isn't it? And even if they do, that is their choice. Live your life the way that makes you happy and that you deem fit for yourself and allow others to do the same. I don't waste much time worrying about other's harmless behavior. I cannot change them, don't care to try......it's not my job in life. And their behavior does not really affect me. We can and should choose to a large extent who we spend our time with can't we? And in those situations when we cannot.....it shouldn't matter what others do unless it becomes harmful to you in some manner. Then it is up to us to make our choices.

I think it's more valuable to make the best you can out of your own life according to what you want and need for yourself and not worry what others are doing with theirs or why they do what they do, especially when it's rather benign. It's all about perspective and what you consider to be of real significance and importance to be concerned about in life I guess. I know I have much bigger fish to fry. Que Sera, Sera.

CarolinaHound wrote:hehehe.. I know guys like that Kazza. Sit there and watch all the fishing and hunting shows, run to the computer to order the latest gear, and barely see water long enough to take a shower much less actually find a pond to catch a fish. lol

aka "True Confessions", by CarolinaHound.