TV on or off with visitors

lostinrates

Rev wrote: »

If I'm talking and enjoying a conversation I don't notice the TV.

So why leave it on? Genuinely question. If its not bothering you or distracting or being noticed why have it on?

Stephb1986_2

Off, I find it really rude otherwise. My Mil always has the sports channel on when we go around I'm beginning to wonder if it's stuck on it!

Steph

System

Off. Its rude to watch telly whilst you have visitors and whats the point on having it on when they come to see you?

Person_one

Rev wrote: »

Reading this thread has genuinely amazed me that people pay so much attention to the TV in both their own and others houses.

Honestly. Unless it was a formal thing it wouldn't even enter my head head to turn the TV off and were someone to then the TV off when I went into their house I'd find it odd. I really would. I'd hate people to be so formal with me. But as I have said, not a single person I've ever visited has turned the TV off and I've never done it for anyone else.

If I'm talking and enjoying a conversation I don't notice the TV.

Does that means yours is on all the time by default, even when nobody's watching it?

Tish_P

Haven't got one.

Rev

lostinrates wrote: »

So why leave it on? Genuinely question. If its not bothering you or distracting or being noticed why have it on?

Simply because I don't think to turn it off.

Person_one wrote: »

Does that means yours is on all the time by default, even when nobody's watching it?

Not at all. It goes on when I sit down to relax. But I tend to forget its on if I'm not watching it. It becomes background noise.

Treevo

It's rarely on so off, unless there's something important that I need to watch. And then I don't care who turns up - it's staying on.

Edwardia

Don't have a TV but would turn off laptop, radio, portable DVD player, iPod if someone here. Sometimes watch movies with my mother here though.

My mother turns TV on to watch news if I'm there but otherwise off unless we watch a movie.

MIL has radio on in kitchen all day even when no one listening and TV in sitting room ditto. When she used to come over to see us with FIL when we had a TV, she would moan if I turned it off. She also hated to be in a car without music but hates classical and moaned if we had that on.

OH has music on low on his PC in his office all day except during meetings, usually classical.

When I was a teenager it would bug me when my younger cousins would turn up unexpectedly with my uncle and charge in and either grab remote from my hand or switch TV on. My mother would never say anything to the brats as she didn't want to upset her brother. My uncle got p*ssed off because he would arrive with kids and I would go up to my room so I could watch own TV and not supervise his brats

People living in the house should decide on/off IMO.

hgotsparkle

If OH has one of his mates over for most of the day then yes we will have the TV on, same as if I've got a friend over, but we generally end up watching a movie or two. If we've got a group then no, we don't have the TV on and prefer to have a discussion

duchy

I don't think people realise the message they are giving "I'm more interested in watching TV than talking to you" especially if they use TV as "moving wallpaper" rather than something they actively turn on to watch specific programmes or when it is time to relax.

I'm inclined to think people are a bit socially inept who do the moving wallpaper thing ..... possibly unfairly as it probably goes back to how the TV was regarded in your home as you were growing up.

Of course as MSEers we should all be turning it on only when we want to watch something specific to keep the electric bill down