Why do old people leave the TV on all the time?

It keeps them company.

They may not be watching but its a way to mark time passing. They know what's on when.

Not a lot of people listen to the radio anymore.

It gives a secure feeling - will keep dangerous strangers away - the house is "busy".

R1 I agree. Its like there's activity in the house and they aren't alone.

I know the type, OP and agree, it's annoying.

but It's a low intelligence thing, not an old person thing.

My parent's do this and it drives me nuts. I do not think people realize how much electricity newer big screens take to power. They are pissing away money.

Oh goodie. Let’s bash the “olds” some more. You haven’t been around your aunt for at least two weeks, so why the urge for this thread?

Fuck off millennial ass!

She probably doesn't want to hear her own mortality calling.

That’s an old person thing. What drives me nuts is when a guy won’t turn his bedroom TV off during sex. I’m too polite to ask him to.

My bro in law has done this since he’s been 60. He’s got a TV in literally every room, and they’re all on Fox. He’ll fall asleep, and if I turn the volume down so I can talk to my sister, he’ll wake up, and turn the volume up. If we change rooms, he’ll follow us, then fall asleep there. Another reason I don’t visit there anymore.

You sound like an old bitchy aunt yourself. You must be a blast at parties.

A TV is just a monitor. Between our smartphones, laptops and streaming services we’re far more engaged in noise and visuals than our elders.

Damn that old woman for being lonely and getting some little comfort from the sounds of voices coming from the TV. I feel your pain OP. I just wish I could administer a little more pain to you.

Before televisions it was the radio; people get lonely. That or it gives them some sort of security to hear voices in an otherwise empty house.

Yes, people do it even when living with others; but usually you'll find these are older folks who came up during a different time.

My exes mother in small town Oklahoma did this. The TV was always blaring, and when I would call her, you could hear the jewelry home shopping network in the background the whole time. When I was there, I would turn it down or off. Then she would wave her grabber at me and yell “ what happened to the television?!” She couldn’t hear because in 1980 she had had the TV on during a thunderstorm and she got struck by lightening and it made her deaf in one ear.

Some people are afraid of quiet. Whether it be music or TV they need some background noise.

OP, are you my cousin?

Yes to keep them company.

So there's some noise or human voice in the house.

For some people it helps them fall asleep.

To keep connected with the world.

To be aware of the news.

Maybe it’s because they grew up in big families with a lot of noise

Oh, dear god in heaven. I am old and it wouldn't occur to me to keep the TV on unless I'm watching something.

I prefer quiet and even keep the radio off while I’m driving. I do watch TV, but only since 2010 when I finally bought a wide screen TV. That’s just my preference.

Oh Honey,

Why didn't you mention that this bothered you?

You know, it was so easy...to write you out of my goddamned will anyway.

And now you think I give a fuck about your opinion...you're adorable and destitute!

The commercials are what kill me. Radio as well. At my old work place, the radios would be blasting shitty music plus commercials.

People just get desensitized to that crap, I guess.

I have the TV on almost all the time and if not the TV then music because I have severe Tinnitus or ringing in the ears, having some background noise helps distract from the ringing sensation. I would love to have silence but that isn't possible.

Having my TV on makes my tinnitus sound worse, or more annoying. It's like they fight each other. I find it helps to listen to a source that's not as far from my head. Listening to computer speakers at my desktop is betther than either TV or music from all the way across the room. I keep a radio about 3 feet from my head in the bedroom.

This is why Fox is so dangerous. It’s 14 hour a day indoctrination of the old people who are lonely and need company. I’ve trie to get my elderly mother to watch something else - but she has been brainwashed.

[quote]It's a low intelligence thing, not an old person thing.

It's been said that a sign of low intelligence is the need to point out the low intelligence of others. You might want to look inward a bit, R3.

IMO, constant background TV/radio is both a low-intelligence thing and an old people thing. In a Venn diagram, there would be some intersection. How large the intersection, I am unable to accurately calculate.

Fox 24/7.

As long as it's not on FOX why do you give a fuck? Wait until you get old and then you'll know the answer.

It used to bug me that my mom had the tv on all the time. I bet by now she knows the dialogue to every episode of Law and Order. But if she enjoys it? Her house, her rules.

What bugs me way more is going over to the house of some guy I met online (those days are over, but I went through a crazy phase of it) and he’s got porn on the tv screen, a regular movie going on his laptop, the music is cranked up, he’s texting, and he might even be playing a video game - all at the same time. I met a lot of guys like that who could never turn off the noise. It was the second worst thing about hooking up.