Lifestyle
Top Ten rows over television habits
Have you ever sat down to watch TV with your partner and are still arguing about what to put on an hour later?
Or maybe your better half mistakes you for an IMDB page and peppers you with questions while you’re trying to concentrate? You’re not alone. The average couple bicker over the TV four times a week. A poll of 2,000 British couples who live together, found the television to be one of the most argued about topics at home. 87% of us squabble about it at least once a week, with what to watch, volume levels, and talking while the show is on topping the list of biggest bugbears.
TV streaming pioneer Roku, reveals in a survey it commissioned that almost one in 5 (19%) get frustrated with their partner’s TV habits on a daily basis! Instead of offering us escapism, TV-related beef is causing people to escape from their partners, with two in five (44%) moving to another room so they can enjoy programmes in peace.
Falling asleep mid-episode (snoring is nobody’s favourite show soundtrack), the height of the TV and spending too much time choosing what to watch also made the list of top 15 things that annoy people when watching something with their other half.
TV is the third wheel in these relationship tensions, and the telly itself might point to a way to keep the peace. Over a quarter (26%) of couples believe increasing the size of their TV would help reduce arguing, and 27% of those who have rowed over TV habits have ended up buying another TV as a result.
When it comes to preferences, it was revealed that size matters the most for Brits as half of the population (50%) admit screen size is one of the most important features of their TV, with sound quality and price completing the top three. Picking what to watch can be a fine art and, when asked who they would rather battle with for control over the remote, more than half (56%) of parents surveyed admitted they would choose to bicker over their partner than their children.
Seventy-one percent of UK households have at least two TVs at home currently, with one in three people surveyed (35%) wanting an additional TV for private watching to guarantee argument-free entertainment.
But the key might be picking the right TV in the first place – with the average couple bickering about TV over four times a week, finding the right one could improve harmony at home. To help people choose the best option for them, Roku shares tips for being smart with your TV size and looking beyond size when picking your next TV.
Top 10 Arguments over TV
- The volume – my preference is too loud or too quiet for my partner
- Deciding what to watch
- Asking too many questions while watching something
- Talking over something we are watching
- Spending too much time choosing what to watch instead of watching
- Falling asleep during something we are watching
- Having to rewatch something because they missed it e.g., fell asleep, went out
- Using their mobile phone or other devices during a show or a film
- Hogging the remote
- Losing or misplacing the remote
