Retired Mother in Law watches TV 14 Hours a Day- 7 Days a week (friends, years)

[Dingler]

Some times I wish they had never invented TV. I suspect that the boob tube has stopped people from communicating for 50 years. Without TV maybe more people would spend time talking.

My retired Mother in law is addicted to the TV set. She turns it on when she wakes in the morning and basically watches it until the evening news ends at 11:30 PM. She may talk a little but the TV is her main source of communication. Most of her comments are about something that is on the TV.

Do you know anyone else who has moved into retirement who just sit in front of the TV all day?

[tasmtairy]

To her, TV is like having someone in the house, my TV is on a lot and I live alone so there are no other voices. There is no human touch. This forum has become my human touch and form of communication. If a person retires without something that interests them besides the work that they did, then it can be very difficult. Getting her to turn it off for a while may be even more difficult. Maybe puzzles, that kept my Mom from watching too much TV. Is she healthy? Then she needs to walk. Try anything, something to get her to move. My Mom died last month and she was in too much pain too walk with me, but she did puzzles and when she felt good, did everything she could like wash, cook and clean. She cherished every good day!!

Your Mother In Law will become sedentary, which is bad, bad. Try something. I feel for you and her. Good luck

[Miss Blue]

I know some who sit at the computer all day

[NewToCA]

Thank God for cable!!! Imagine spending 14 hours a day limited to NBC, ABC or CBS (I know the posters in this area of the forum know what I'm referring to here).

My 78 year old mom leaves the shopping channel on all day and calls in a few times a month, she believes those folks are her friends.

Us folks today are much more sophisticated than those oldtimers, we have disembodied discussions with folks using false names.

[Lisa_from_Debary]

Is it posible that your Mother in law is depressed??

I love to watch TV I have to say.
My Dad treated the TV as if it were some kind of flaw in your morality if you watched it, he got VERY controlling about it which really annoyed me...

As long as no one is forcing you to watch it then don't worry about it, unless like I mentioned you fear she is depressed. Then its only a symptom of a larger problem that should be addressed.

[Sgoldie]

My mother has made a rule for herself that she doesn't turn the tv on till 5pm. In the morning she reads a book and the newspaper or does things around the house. Now she has a computer and plays solitaire too.

I've gotten into the habit of turning the radio on during the day and the tv on at dinner time just for the change of input.

[Marlow]

Is it possible you're my husband???? You've just described my mother exactly. And when I go see her, if I even look at the TV she turns it up like I'm interested in watching it.

I know that she is depressed (on medication) but television itself is depressing.

But yes, we use the word "addicted" to describe her. A few years ago she had a bad bout of pneumonia and then from the hospital to a rehab center for 2 weeks. On the day we moved her from the hospital to the rehab center she said "I want to be in the room by 3 p.m. That's when Dr. Phil comes on." And she was serious!

I feel for her because she can't do much--but the more time she spends on the couch watching television, the less she's able to do.

Originally Posted by Dingler

Some times I wish they had never invented TV. I suspect that the boob tube has stopped people from communicating for 50 years. Without TV maybe more people would spend time talking.

My retired Mother in law is addicted to the TV set. She turns it on when she wakes in the morning and basically watches it until the evening news ends at 11:30 PM. She may talk a little but the TV is her main source of communication. Most of her comments are about something that is on the TV.

Do you know anyone else who has moved into retirement who just sit in front of the TV all day?

[ontheroad]

I think I may know one or two others!

Originally Posted by blue62

I know some who sit at the computer all day

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by blue62

I know some who sit at the computer all day

Me too. Especially on City-Data.com.

[LindaC in OK]

My tv is on 24/7 just because I want it on. I don't truly watch it all the time but it is on for noise. I am at my computer many hours a day now here at this site plus bird boards and I do a lot of genealogy research. When I go to the couch to put my feet up I often work on organizing research pages in the many binders I have going.

I also love to embroidery and make tied quilts which I can do on the couch in front of the tv. Give me a good movie or a marathon of a favorite show and I can flat put out the work >>> My thought is for her to find something productive to do in front of tv. Maybe you need her to make you an embroidered tablecloth?? It would enhance her thinking. Maybe she has photographs stuck away in boxes that she could work on putting into albums. The ironing board set at low level is a great work space :-)

Doctors so many times ask me at my 66 years old if I am depressed and I tell them I am too busy to be depressed.

Time to feed the birds their veggies dishes so off I go.

Everyone have a good one.

LindaC in OK