(BPT) - Remember when you had to stand up and turn the dial through a mere three or four stations to watch what were really pretty mediocre shows?
If this sounds like a scene from before your time, consider yourself lucky. Just as TVs have physically changed from square blocks with wire antennas into the flat screens with flawless picture quality found in top-of-the-line models like the LG Signature OLED series, so too have dramas and comedies evolved from real groaners to a legitimate form of art and entertainment.
Truly, this is the golden age of television. As such, it has given rise to a new form of viewer: The Serious Watcher.
These are the people who do more than casually watch an hour of TV a night. They are committed viewers who plan long binge-watching sessions with friends and families. They obsess over characters and plot lines and have been known to make a pot of coffee at midnight to fight off sleep and finish a series. On a weekday.
Does this sound familiar?
If you watch more than 10 episodes of any show and subscribe to more than two streaming services, you might count yourself among these dedicated Serious Watchers.
What are some other habits of Serious Watchers? Take a moment to read some of the surprising results from a recent survey of 1,000 Serious Watchers. You just might recognize yourself!
Party or stay home? Swanky restaurants, hip bars and wild parties are fine, but when asked whether they had ever skipped a party or event to stay home and watch a TV show, 75 percent of Serious Watchers replied that they had.
I love you, but... There's no shortage of romance on TV, and oftentimes it carries over into real life. Forty-one percent of respondents say they have brought up their favorite show on a first date and 30 percent have included their favorite show on a dating profile. And for those of you who get a sick delight out of spoiling the end of someone else's favorite show, be warned: 31 percent of Serious Watchers would break up with you.
Working hard or hardly working? Ah, the things we do at work. If you're a Serious Watcher, chances are that one of the things you don't want your boss to know about is your TV habits, but 80 percent of respondents admitted to watching television at work. Almost a quarter admitted to playing hooky to stay home and watch TV and 35 percent snuck out of work early to hurry home and watch.
I love my family, but I have some catching up to do. Love them though we may, we've all been stuck in a tedious family get-together and tried to get out of it. For the Serious Watcher, it's easy. Sixty-two percent of Serious Watchers have streamed a show on their phone during a family event. What's more intriguing is that 59 percent of parents said they frequently put their kids to bed early in order to watch TV shows and 37 percent confessed to missing an event for their child (such as a play, sports game or parent-teacher conference) because it overlapped with a TV show. What's more, 36 percent of respondents said they would likely cut a family trip short so they could get home and watch their favorite show.
But really, how dedicated are you? A weekend marathon is one thing, but when asked how far they went to show their love and devotion to their favorite show, the responses were pretty astonishing. Eleven percent have named a child after a character in their favorite show. Twenty-seven percent have decorated a room in their house according to their favorite show's theme and, because nothing is like being there in person, 17 percent of respondents said they had traveled to a city or country where the show was being filmed.
Did any of this sound familiar? If so, congratulations, you can proudly call yourself a Serious Watcher. And with so much great television, from comedies to dramas to sports and documentaries, it's a wonder everyone isn't.