Who's hooked on TV?

American Demographics, August, 1991 by Judith Waldrop

AMERICANS HAVE A LOVE-HATE relationship with television. They appreciate its ability to bring them in touch with the world, but many feel guilty about the amount of time they spend with it, according to the Gallup Poll.

There is no evidence that Americans are watching less television than they did 20 years ago, but the share who say it is their favorite way to spend an evening has dropped from almost half in the early 1970s to less than one-quarter in 1990. Just 31 percent of adults said they watched too much television in the late 1970s, compared with 42 percent today.

Despite their guilt, nearly 60 percent of Americans say that watching television is a good use of their time. Young adults are most likely to agree that watching television is a bad use of time: nearly half of those under age 30 agree, compared with less than 30 percent of those over age 55.

For the most part, Americans endure commercials. But 42 percent say they dislike or even hate them. Those annoyed by commercials are most likely to be affluent college graduates in western states. These groups also dominate the 14 percent of Americans who are willing to pay for commercial-free broadcasting.

Almost half of all Americans say their lives would not be significantly changed if they gave up television. Nearly 40 percent say they would read more books if they didn't have a television set. But 72 percent of Gallup's respondents said they don't plan to change their viewing habits. Only 14 percent say they will watch less. And only 13 percent of all Americans admit to being addicted to TV.

--Judith Waldrop