There are days when I feel like everyone around me is arguing. Political junkies are like pigs in slop, of course, but they are no less animated in their discourse then the sports fans or my family when we discuss who should get our take-out business this weekend.
If there is anything we can agree on during these dog days of summer (pre-Olympics Games, of course) it is that there is nothing good on television. Zero. My DVR is just about empty of shows for people over age 8.
A logical person would think this is great news. Nielsen reports that the average American watches more than five hours of television per day, so the summer void of good programming would allow me loads more time to read; catch upon household projects; and do things outside with my neighbors, husband and children. But that logical person would be wrong, friends. Science says that television is good for our relationships.
Propeller Insights and Xfinity released in July the results of study for which they surveyed 1,935 adults age 25-49 about their interactions over television. In it, 66 percent of couples said watching TV together has strengthened their relationship; for millennial couples (people born between the early 19802 and mid-1990s), it’s almost 75 percent.
Toward that end, nearly 30 percent of couples have canceled a social engagement to watch their favorite TV show.
Singles reported that television preferences affect them, too. Forty-three percent of respondents have gone on a date based on a potential mate’s television preferences, and 28 percent have chosen not to date someone because of their television preferences.
I’m not sure what I think of this news. My television preferences skew toward crime dramas like Chicago PD, while my husband watches baseball – lots and lots of baseball.
So for the sake of your relationship, stream something to binge watch during the next heatwave. Consider one of television’s classic couples.
Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy never fail to draw a laugh. Her ambition, combined with his short fuse, are delightful.
Kevin and Winne from The Wonder Years remind us of first loves, in the shadow of the insightful adult who narrates the series.
For office romance, consider the comedic Pam and Jim from The Office, or the dramatic Doug and Carol from ER. Both present good friends as great loves and stick out in my mind among the best television romances of my lifetime.
Tell me which show you and your spouse are watching together before the fall television premiers, via email to Joanna@northshoreweekend.com