Silence is easier to interrupt unintentionally than constant noise. For example, if my room is quiet, I can be easily distracted by a random noise caused by my cat across the house. If, however, I have the TV on (usually with YouTube build videos), I won’t hear the random but sudden noises that provide no value to me.
This is at least partially related to my own difficulties in directing my attention. What I can’t hear can’t distract me from what I want to be focusing on. Music is also good for this.
It's a cultural/socialization thing. Lots of people grow up with the TV always on in the background at home, going to sleep to the TV, and so on, so they keep doing that when they're on their own. Some who don't do it when they're alone will turn it on when someone's over, as it's just "what you do". I doubt they even think about it, they just do it.
As to why people started doing that to begin with: dunno. Sports being on often, so having the TV on just becomes normal? Not sure.
Like many social behaviors, you could map it pretty well to one or more Fussellian class, in the US at least.
I am an only child, which likely has something to do with my preferences...
At the risk of sounding bougie, it seems kind of trashy to me to just constantly keep the TV on. Echoes of 1984's mandatory viewing, coupled with ignorance of advertising's effect on your brain.
But I've certainly observed that people fall fairly heavily into one category or the other. Either they can't stand it not being on, or they can't stand it being on.
I play music through my TV, often by finding a recorded musical performance on an app like YouTube. Does that count as “having TV on in the background?”
Point. I guess the more 1:1 analogy would be having the radio on in the background. muses
The closest I can come to explaining where my distaste seems to come from is wasted opportunity.
In the modern era, we have unrivaled access to the thing (e.g. the musical piece, specific performance, news report, piece of information, best show or movie of all time) itself. And yet we're so in need of filler that we're willing to put any damn thing on?
That seems close to it, as I don't have nearly the adverse gut reaction to music as I do to television. Or even to television-sans-ads to television-with-ads.
“I haven’t owned a TV in 10 years. Does anyone still watch TV”?
But more to the point. Between Netflix, Hulu with No Commercials, Amazon Prime Video, and occasionally CBS All Access w/no commercials and STARZ, I hardly ever see commercially.
I really enjoy complete pin drop silence, but when that isn't available (like when working at a computer that just can't be completely quiet) it's far more preferable to have some sort of conversation or music blocking out the sound instead of the whirring of fans and hard drives.
I live in the city now, and city background certainly doesn't bother me. But I don't feel a desire to artificially adding more.
Is silence that bad?