When watching certain shows...

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... on television, especially ones that are done with a live studio audience, do you find it weird that the audience is always laughing even though what is being said and done is not really funny. I find it really annoying. What's motivating everyone to laugh. Maybe they're just laughing because they're feel they're supposed to.

The shows which I find really unfunny...

The Late Show, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.

There are others too. Some sitcoms are really lame...

they have a sign or light up sign to tell people when to laugh. It's crazy.

It can be annying. I see it a lot when watching Drake & Josh and Mr. Bean. I think it's just a way of trying to get viewers to laugh, but shows can be much funnier without the background laughter.

I remember an Animaniacs episodes called "Acquaintances" (parody of "Friends") where Yakko was talking, and we hear background laughter in one small scene, Yakko gets a bit annoyed and asks to get rid of the laughter.

I don't really notice the laughter anymore.

I think it's cool that MASH (maybe other shows as well) on the DVD has an option to turn off the laughs.

Canned laughter (link)

They add the laughter into the show.

Technology can do anything these days... heh, it works, laughter is contagious you know.

Stuff seems to be funnier in person. Like, if you're a fan of the show and you're in the audience and you're excited, you'll laugh at the drop of a hat. It's also, like, we're used to seeing people be funny on TV, but when the person is right in front of you, any funniness seems more like a novelty. (Hope that doesn't sound like bull, I don't really know a better way to say it..) I've even seen the phenomenon get made fun of briefly on other shows. (Like in the episode of South Park with the fake TV psychics.)

But yeah, I bet they also add laughter or cue it on a screen for some shows.

I am aware of canned laughter. It's the shows with a live audience that gets a little annoying. I mean, theres nothing to laugh about, and the audience feels compelled to laugh. It's almost as if they feel they need to laugh, because of the hype a certain show develops. So they sit in the audience and laugh at everything... even though it's not funny.

That really bothers me as well. I'll be watching sitcoms or talk shows and the audience will react in a way that I find completely inappropriate in regards to whatever has just happened. I guess it must be the whole group mentality thing. The alpha dog behaves in a certain way so everyone feels they must do the same.

I don't like canned laughter.

It's hard because I rarely genuinely laugh. Even if I appreciate the joke. So I'll put in lol and rofl on the net to illustrate that something was meant to be humorous or was understood when I may not actually be cackling.

Sometimes I laugh randomly when I can't help it.

I don't mind it so much when the jokes are actually, but with most of today's sitcoms, it's just lame (because the jokes are lame.)

I hate that canned laughter, too. It is annoying not contagious.
Three other annoying things in sitcoms: a) the aww’ing when something is supposed to be moving, b) the cheering and applauding when (presumably) a celebrity ( I rarely recognise them but then I have prosopagnosia + no interest in actors) makes a guest appaerance and c) the whistling and cheering when two characters kiss or get married.

I don't like "Everybody Loves Raymond".
Once I tried to watch it, on mute.

It was like watching the most depresing drama ever.

Try it.

I can't watch anything with canned laughter. The worst part is when the actors pause during the scene to allow the laughter tracks to play.

I guess it is a social cue. People need to be told when something is funny, and hear laughter to confirm this. Half the time that I'm laughing with an audience, I'm usually laughing at how silly people sound when they are laughing.

The best humor is the kind that makes you silently chuckle, or think to yourself, "Wow, that was good". Not knee-slapping, rolling on the floor, belly busting laughter.

I think the added laughter is unnecessary. I'm a lot more inclined to laugh without it.

I think it really distracting and fake-sounding, it really puts me off watching tv.