The Key to Family Bonding Is TV Time

June 15, 2021

Families are watching more TV than ever – but the research says that may not be a bad thing.

Americans love their TVs. An estimated 121 million American homes have a TV. Families gather around the screen to catch up on daytime soap operas, rewatch low-budget film favorites, and binge-watch new family TV series on popular streaming services. Could all of that screen time harm family relationships?

The team at CenturyLinkQuote decided to find out. After polling 1,000 US families about their TV habits, we learned a few facts that may surprise you.

So, if you’re watching TV right now, do us a quick favor and hit pause, just for a little bit. We have some good news to share.

According to survey results, 41% of respondents watch 2–4 hours of TV with their family every day. Does that sound a bit too high? We don’t think so—TV time can help loved one’s bond, spend more time together, learn about new points of view, and teach viewers new skills or facts.

Here are a few more of our favorite findings from the survey:

Survey Stats:

TV brings families closer. 62% of people said they enjoy watching TV as a family because “it’s a great way for us to bond.” Similarly, 41% of people said watching TV is valuable since “It’s the one time we can sit down together despite our busy schedules.”
TV can be a looking glass into diverse perspectives. 82% of respondents said watching shows about different cultures and lifestyles has helped “remind my family that there are other ways to see the world.”
It can help teach kids decision-making skills. 72% of parents said watching TV gives them opportunities to “teach their kids how to make good choices.”
Screen time can be educational. 43% of respondents say they “always learn new things about cooking, home improvement, math, science, and other topics by watching educational TV.”
Some Americans have bumped up their TV time. 30% of respondents said that, over the past year, they have watched TV for more than three hours a day longer than they used to.

If your TV watching has increased, that could be a good thing. That time in front of the TV isn’t wasted—it’s quality time spent with your loved ones.

If you’re not satisfied with what’s playing on your TV right now, you may need to upgrade to a new TV provider. To catch top programming in glorious high-definition, check out DIRECTV programming, offered via CenturyLink.

The team at CenturyLinkQuote.com polled 1,000 US families using Pollfish. After ensuring our participants had at least one child under the age of 18, we asked them ten questions about their families’ TV habits. Questions included:

“How much time per day do you spend watching TV with your family?”
“Do you learn new skills or gain new insights when you watch TV with your family?”
“Of these TV shows, which one does your family watch the most?”

We then summarized the survey results and created the infographic above.