74% Say Americans Watch Too Much TV
Earlier this month, a new study made headlines by suggesting that every hour spent watching television after age 25 will shorten a person’s lifespan by 22 minutes. While just over half of adults admit to watching TV every day or nearly everyday, they overwhelmingly believe that Americans in general watch the tube too much.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 74% believe Americans watch too much television. Just 10% disagree, and 16% more are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Fifty-five percent (55%) of Americans say they watch TV every day or nearly every day. That’s down from 63% a year ago. Just nine percent (9%) of Americans say they rarely or never watch television.
While just over half of adults (51%) say are more likely to watch television with family and friends, a sizable number (43%) say they usually watch by themselves.
Only 28% of all Americans say they are more likely to eat snacks while their watching television.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on August 22-23, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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