Why must I always watch TV alone?

Post Reply New Topic

I've been like this ever since I was a kid. I can only really enjoy a TV show if I watch it alone with absolutely no one else around. If people come into the room, or even worse, sit down to watch or talk about what's on the show, I get highly uncomfortable. One time when I was younger I rented 101 Dalmatians (the original cartoon version) and my brother just HAD to watch it sitting next to me. He said I was acting like I was "sitting on thorns". That's because his presence made me feel as if I was. back then I would watch a lot of cartoons on TV but I could only watch them alone. If someone enters the room I would either turn it off or turn the volume down until it was barely audible. I also find it very hard to have a conversation or eat a meal with other people when they don't turn the TV off. My parents are the two biggest couch potatoes on earth, when I come visit they are usually watching a movie or looking for something to watch. My dad is hard of hearing and he has speakers hooked up that make the TV so loud I can hear it all over the house, and sometimes I sit down with them only because they want to chat, but then something disturbing happens on the TV (like graphic violence) and I have to get up and leave and I don't think my dad can hear what I say anyway. And he doesn't always turn the TV off when we sit down to eat and one time I had to cover my ears because there were disgusting bodily noises coming from it and my dad seemed really annoyed to have to go turn it off. I don't watch a lot of TV now, most shows are just reruns or completely stupid or I just have no interest in them. I am also very uninterested in most movies and the thought of sitting through one makes my skin crawl even when I think I might enjoy it. I've also gotten lot of "help" from my very anti-TV brother who made me feel ashamed and embarrassed about almost everything I used to watch. He also only likes foreign movies.

i am the opposite, in that for the longest time i hated being made to do everything alone. i felt i was being punished by society by means of shunning or denial of pleasant company.

I also perfer to watch movies and TV shows with other people, but most of the time I end up watching them alone because nobody in my family ever really wants to watch the same stuff I like.

I much prefer watching TV on my own.
For me, watching TV is a form of escapism, getting away from the banalities and pains of my everyday life. I need the show or movie to completely draw me in, so anything that makes me aware that I'm actually sitting somewhere looking at a screen (e.g. someone asking a question or just making noise, getting up to get a drink, etc.) ruins the experience for me. For the same reason, I prefer serialized TV shows; episodic shows feel too artificial and contrived, and their story arc isn't long enough to draw me in.

I can only watch with someone who's as involved as the show or movie as I am. Otherwise, I'd rather watch alone.

Why watch t.v at all?

OP, my TV experience growing up was similar to yours. Watching movies with friends was hard sometimes...especially if they were movies I had zero interest in.

Watching TV with my dad and sister is terrible. We were all watching "2012" and my dad was pointing out stuff almost narrating the movie to us and my sister was getting into that too and MAN it got annoying! I wanted to scream at them to shut up so bad! My dad and I would watch "Once Upon a Time" but I can't tolerate it anymore because my dad would constantly ask questions cause he can't remember what happened in the episode before. Plus I've lost interest in the show fairly quickly so that doesn't help.

There are some TV shows and movies that I can enjoy watching with others who watch them too...mainly comedies because it's fun to see if they'll respond to jokes the same way you do. My friend and I will get together to watch some of our favorite comedies that I would record until we met up again. Anything serious is hard unless we see it in the theaters where talking is not required. One particular show I watch myself never share with anyone. It's my favorite show to watch although none of my friends and family watch it. Watching this show alone is 10x better than watching with others.

Some people have the annoying habit to comment on anything that they don't like when watching a show. You know... As if they were offended by what they are watching. Then why do they keep watching it if it's not worth it in their eyes anyway?

Apart from that, I can watch films and TV shows with other people around.

If it's a compelling show or movie I can get "lost" in, I certainly don't want anyone else lost in there with me, but if it's something less, I enjoy it more with company.