Watching TV go down the tube

According to a new Pew Research Center poll, only 52 percent of Americans believe that having a television is a necessity.

Here is a link to the study:

"Just 52% of the public in the latest poll say a television set is a necessity -- down 12 percentage points from 2006 and the smallest share to call a TV a necessity since this question was first asked more than 35 years ago."

The report makes the finding in a broad study of how Americans view technology. It seems to suggest that people have become more thrifty, and points to various reasons why this might be the case - for example, the proliferation of cell phone adoption.

However, I think you can take many of the examples of technology that is being shunned - or at least not viewed as a necessity - by many people, and give case-specific reasons why. But in terms of television, I think it's particularly interesting for those of us in the media that are responsible for producing television content.

Here are a couple of reasons I believe that people see television as less of an essential than they used to:

1) Bad news.
The drop in quality of news is a big reason why people no longer watch. They simply don't trust the nightly newscasts on the big three networks to deliver the news properly. There is no-one that they view as "the most trusted man in America" anymore.

It's a great example of how people are not interested in dumbed-down news, as many network executives believe they are. They actually want substantive news about world affairs and important issues, especially in difficult times.

2) Partisan news.
Many news organizations have lost their credibility as straight-down-the-middle reporters of current events, thanks mostly to cable outlets.

People find right or left wing slanted news pointless. It's not news, it's opinion dressed up as news. People already do not trust the TV news organizations to tell them what is happening in the world.

3) Too much television.
Too much choice just turns people off. It's just too time consuming to find something on television worth watching. Scrolling through hundreds of channels is just a mindless waste of time, like driving around-and-around trying to find a parking spot. Stupid. Why do that when you can go out and do something interesting, like maybe even talking to someone?

4) Expensive.
It's expensive to buy cable TV service, and it's expensive to buy a TV! Who needs a gigantic television set? No-one, that's who - especially when people are now worried about energy consumption. As people view the advances in TV set technology as unnecessary, so to do they view TV itself as unnecessary.

4) Other sources of news and entertainment.
Lastly, and maybe most obviously, people have other places to go for their entertainment. The internet provides people the opportunity to gather as much news as they want, whenever they want it. That is why so many of us are now turning our attention to creating video content for that medium as well.

I think many of us in television have ourselves to blame for the lack of enthusiasm that Americans seem to have for TV. If we put on programming that is necessary, people will view television as a necessity. It's as simple as that.