11 ms·

It is always funny to see how watching TV can be so differently culturally. With my Spanish in-law family the TV is on almost the whole day in the background,

It is always funny to see how watching TV can be so differently culturally. With my Spanish in-law family the TV is on almost the whole day in the background, even during big family dinners as background sound. With often news, sports or game shows. With their late dinner times of 9pm they often watch series and movies even later. And here in the Netherlands it is with many a sin to have the TV on in the background if there are visitors and should only be on if you watch something together.

mongol 5y ago
Is it cultural? I see those differences within my own family.
- permalac 5y ago
  My family is also Spanish/catalan and the TV is always off, only turned on when seeing something together. Mi wife family, just some km away, they have the TV on during all they long, it freaks me out. My toddler is the one that shuts it down for them, because he 'can not hear them' if TV is on.
- anthomtb 5y ago
  I spent my entire childhood in the USA. Every friends house seemed to have different TV habits. No TV at all, TV always on, TV on but commercials muted. I don’t think it’s a cultural phenomenon at all.
- nicoburns 5y ago
  Depending on how you define cultural, it's entirely possible that TV watching culture varies within your family.
- nature556 5y ago
  I think it's generational as well. I haven't had cable since I moved out of my parents' place after HS.
skerit 5y ago
I'm from Belgium, I hate it when I'm at a friend and the TV goes on (or someone starts to show a youtube video, lol)
- mrspeaker 5y ago
  Oh boy, I dread when someone goes to show me something on their phone! (Here, let me show you a youtube video about it xD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EWf-wXQ3o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EWf-wXQ3o).
- glogla 5y ago
  Same here. My mother always used to have TV on as a background when I was a kid, but I never had one after I moved out. Now TV a running TV completely destroys my ability to concentrate on anything else and I am also utterly disgusted by all the ads.
brnt 5y ago
I think it's generational. My Dutch parents also have the TV on all evening (although, much less so since retirement). I would always make sure the first thing I did was mute the thing when I visit, because I simply can't have a conversation with a TV shouting over everything. My generation, few even have a TV. We're one of the few with one in the living room (hooked up to a laptop though), and I think I haven't turned it on in a month now?
- bojan 5y ago
  Agree for the generational thing. At my dad's place the TV is always on, at ours only if we're watching something. But if you don't turn your TV on at all, I have to ask - where do you watch Netflix et al? Or you simply don't?
  - mantas 5y ago
    I watch movies pretty much only at local film festivals. Pre-corona it was 2-3 movies twice a year since my city has sweet spring and late fall festivals. During corona festivals moved online and I watched a movie from each festival on laptop. Hopefully masks-in-cinemas will be over by the time spring festival rolls in! Last series I followed was Breaking Bad. Used to torrent it and watch on laptop screen.
  - brnt 5y ago
    We've a laptop in our bedroom, which is very intentionally a small screen. It's pretty variable how much we watch there.
  - oneeyedpigeon 5y ago
    I think it's just a semantic thing. Everyone watches TV, but a subset likes to describe themselves as not having/watching TV on an extremely pedantic technicality.
    - ghaff 5y ago
      I don't have "TV" in the sense that I can't watch e.g. live sports. But I have a couple large screens in the house that I can use to stream e.g. Netflix (or I can just watch it on a tablet or PC). I'm not sure it's really that pedantic. "No I won't be watching the game because I don't have TV." (Though if you had YouTube TV, that's getting into pedantic territory.)
nhoughto 5y ago
It is interesting to me that TV off is the norm (for me and people I know) except! If there is a live sporting event on that someone cares about, then it would be rude not to have it on and is expected. Weird. Makes no sense at all, humans are weird.
jdkjs 5y ago
Spaniard here and I confirm. TV always on even at a low volume is a given no matter the circumstances. I think we’d all feel weird if that background noise wasn’t there. I’ve always imagined it’s the same everywhere in the world, but perhaps I’m wrong.
jtvjan 5y ago
>And here in the Netherlands it is with many a sin to have the TV on in the background Yes. Background noise is the radio's job. Why waste energy keeping a panel on if nobody's gonna look at it?
- slim 5y ago
  and the content is fit for this purpose
- Larrikin 5y ago
  As awful and prevalent as TV commercials have become the only thing I can think of with more commercials in between content are YouTube left on in the background and radio. With YouTube some body decided during the pandemic to cram commercials in the middle of videos now, so music sets are ruined and all comedic timing as well. Anything I plan to watch more than once I use ytdlp because of the huge number of ads they've started cramming in to the start middle and end. In the car the radio is only bearable if you have atleast three stations in your area that play genres that are enjoyable or you get lucky and you happen to be in the car when a live DJ is on, usually at some point during the rush hour commute or a weekend night.
ghaff 5y ago
Back when I would take group trips and maybe have a roommate in a hotel room, one of the things that would annoy me was when they'd make a beeline to the TV and turn it on as background. My brother pretty much does the same thing in his house. It is very rare that I turn a hotel TV on unless there's some specific sports game I want to watch.
- brnt 5y ago
  I would pay extra for hotels offering no TV. I especially dislike it when someone else has it on so loud the walls resonate.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
kerneloftruth 5y ago
I use TVs as though they're aquariums... on for background ambience, and an audio-visual "optional distraction". I mostly keep it on Turner classic movies as they have no ads. I'm more likely to be interested, or at least pleased, by whatever I happen to engage with.
ajsnigrutin 5y ago
I find the difference most amusing during special events, eg. new years eve, even with similar-ish cultures. In slovenia, NY eve means a few movies on some channels, maybe even a movie marathon (home alone 1-5, etc.), and on one channel, from about 23h->00:30 the next day/year some "funny" show, with a few songs, a host+guests talking about stuff and a countdown. So basically stuff that you have to watch and listen to in whole. In serbia for example, the show lasts for 6h+, and it's basically 99.9% music, except for a joke or two inbetween songs and a countdown with happy wishes for new year, and it's designed to be played "in the background", where noone really cares about the show, unless it's a song they really really like and turn the volume even higher. example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9-w8qlpEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9-w8qlpEY

mongol 5y ago

Is it cultural? I see those differences within my own family.

permalac 5y ago
My family is also Spanish/catalan and the TV is always off, only turned on when seeing something together. Mi wife family, just some km away, they have the TV on during all they long, it freaks me out. My toddler is the one that shuts it down for them, because he 'can not hear them' if TV is on.
anthomtb 5y ago
I spent my entire childhood in the USA. Every friends house seemed to have different TV habits. No TV at all, TV always on, TV on but commercials muted. I don’t think it’s a cultural phenomenon at all.
nicoburns 5y ago
Depending on how you define cultural, it's entirely possible that TV watching culture varies within your family.
nature556 5y ago
I think it's generational as well. I haven't had cable since I moved out of my parents' place after HS.

skerit 5y ago

I'm from Belgium, I hate it when I'm at a friend and the TV goes on (or someone starts to show a youtube video, lol)

mrspeaker 5y ago
Oh boy, I dread when someone goes to show me something on their phone! (Here, let me show you a youtube video about it xD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EWf-wXQ3o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EWf-wXQ3o).
glogla 5y ago
Same here. My mother always used to have TV on as a background when I was a kid, but I never had one after I moved out. Now TV a running TV completely destroys my ability to concentrate on anything else and I am also utterly disgusted by all the ads.

brnt 5y ago

I think it's generational. My Dutch parents also have the TV on all evening (although, much less so since retirement). I would always make sure the first thing I did was mute the thing when I visit, because I simply can't have a conversation with a TV shouting over everything. My generation, few even have a TV. We're one of the few with one in the living room (hooked up to a laptop though), and I think I haven't turned it on in a month now?

bojan 5y ago
Agree for the generational thing. At my dad's place the TV is always on, at ours only if we're watching something. But if you don't turn your TV on at all, I have to ask - where do you watch Netflix et al? Or you simply don't?
- mantas 5y ago
  I watch movies pretty much only at local film festivals. Pre-corona it was 2-3 movies twice a year since my city has sweet spring and late fall festivals. During corona festivals moved online and I watched a movie from each festival on laptop. Hopefully masks-in-cinemas will be over by the time spring festival rolls in! Last series I followed was Breaking Bad. Used to torrent it and watch on laptop screen.
- brnt 5y ago
  We've a laptop in our bedroom, which is very intentionally a small screen. It's pretty variable how much we watch there.
- oneeyedpigeon 5y ago
  I think it's just a semantic thing. Everyone watches TV, but a subset likes to describe themselves as not having/watching TV on an extremely pedantic technicality.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    I don't have "TV" in the sense that I can't watch e.g. live sports. But I have a couple large screens in the house that I can use to stream e.g. Netflix (or I can just watch it on a tablet or PC). I'm not sure it's really that pedantic. "No I won't be watching the game because I don't have TV." (Though if you had YouTube TV, that's getting into pedantic territory.)

nhoughto 5y ago

It is interesting to me that TV off is the norm (for me and people I know) except! If there is a live sporting event on that someone cares about, then it would be rude not to have it on and is expected. Weird. Makes no sense at all, humans are weird.

jdkjs 5y ago

Spaniard here and I confirm. TV always on even at a low volume is a given no matter the circumstances. I think we’d all feel weird if that background noise wasn’t there. I’ve always imagined it’s the same everywhere in the world, but perhaps I’m wrong.

jtvjan 5y ago

>And here in the Netherlands it is with many a sin to have the TV on in the background Yes. Background noise is the radio's job. Why waste energy keeping a panel on if nobody's gonna look at it?

slim 5y ago
and the content is fit for this purpose
Larrikin 5y ago
As awful and prevalent as TV commercials have become the only thing I can think of with more commercials in between content are YouTube left on in the background and radio. With YouTube some body decided during the pandemic to cram commercials in the middle of videos now, so music sets are ruined and all comedic timing as well. Anything I plan to watch more than once I use ytdlp because of the huge number of ads they've started cramming in to the start middle and end. In the car the radio is only bearable if you have atleast three stations in your area that play genres that are enjoyable or you get lucky and you happen to be in the car when a live DJ is on, usually at some point during the rush hour commute or a weekend night.

ghaff 5y ago

Back when I would take group trips and maybe have a roommate in a hotel room, one of the things that would annoy me was when they'd make a beeline to the TV and turn it on as background. My brother pretty much does the same thing in his house. It is very rare that I turn a hotel TV on unless there's some specific sports game I want to watch.

brnt 5y ago
I would pay extra for hotels offering no TV. I especially dislike it when someone else has it on so loud the walls resonate.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

kerneloftruth 5y ago

I use TVs as though they're aquariums... on for background ambience, and an audio-visual "optional distraction". I mostly keep it on Turner classic movies as they have no ads. I'm more likely to be interested, or at least pleased, by whatever I happen to engage with.

ajsnigrutin 5y ago

I find the difference most amusing during special events, eg. new years eve, even with similar-ish cultures. In slovenia, NY eve means a few movies on some channels, maybe even a movie marathon (home alone 1-5, etc.), and on one channel, from about 23h->00:30 the next day/year some "funny" show, with a few songs, a host+guests talking about stuff and a countdown. So basically stuff that you have to watch and listen to in whole. In serbia for example, the show lasts for 6h+, and it's basically 99.9% music, except for a joke or two inbetween songs and a countdown with happy wishes for new year, and it's designed to be played "in the background", where noone really cares about the show, unless it's a song they really really like and turn the volume even higher. example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9-w8qlpEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9-w8qlpEY