Whether it’s a date with Hulu, a lazy Sunday reality TV marathon or a stolen moment of procrastination in the Reid TV lounge, this week Whitties confessed their television habits and obsessions to The Pioneer.
The form and time spent watching TV varied widely. In an online survey, 46 percent of Whitties reported watching one to two hours of television per week, while 15 percent watched three to four hours, nine percent watched five to six hours and five percent watched seven or more hours. 25 percent of students said they do not watch TV at all. Some reported watching TV online, while others watched at home, at the gym or in Reid. The five most popular shows were “Doctor Who,” “Modern Family,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Glee” and “Arrested Development.”
Junior Alfredo Villaseñor shared his thoughts on the subject.
“I don’t have a problem with [TV]; I just find other things that are worth my time,” said Villaseñor. “I always have work just because of all my science classes. And I do karate too, so that’s kind of my extracurricular activity. I kind of just switch off between school, karate and friends and I think that’s enough of a day already.”
Other students accorded TV a much more central role in their schedules. Junior Rosie Loring shared her weekly watching habits.
“Five hours? I don’t know. It depends on how much work I have,” said Loring. “Like, I had midterms, so I haven’t watched any TV. But I watch TV at the gym a lot, and I work at the art building, so when I work there I watch TV.”
Setting also affected the amount of TV-watching among Whitman students. While many students find that TV is a form of leisure and entertainment, for some, it is also a form of socialization.
“I generally find watching too much TV to be a waste of time,” said first-year Marijke Wijnen. “But as a social activity, I like watching TV shows occasionally. I never watch TV by myself.”
Fellow first-year Julia Thompson disagreed.
“I usually watch alone. TV’s kind of my last-resort thing,” said Thompson. “Like, if I have nothing to do, I’ll watch TV.”
