# Do you eat at restaurants with NO televisions sets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2022, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210 "2022-06-15T02:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/61 "2022-06-16T17:11:58Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The study referenced in this article says that: It looks like that was an on-line poll. I wonder how much that skewed the results. People already glued to their screens were the most likely respondents. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/62 "2022-06-16T17:16:35Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > It looks like that was an on-line poll. I wonder how much that skewed the results. Fair enough. Here’s another stat, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey, which (last time I checked) was not necessarily an online survey (and certainly not an opt-in survey; it’s generally seen to be statistically and methodologically rigorous): > [@](#): > > The secondary eating data show that 36.8 percent of those who spent time watching TV on a given day in the 2014­–16 period spent some time eating while they watched. In layman’s terms: on any given day, among Americans who are watching TV (the vast majority of them), over one in three are eating at some point while they are watching TV. Now, that might be a meal, or it might just be a snack. [https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-7/television-capturing-americas-attention.htm](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-7/television-capturing-americas-attention.htm) ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/63 "2022-06-16T17:29:06Z")
I hadn’t thought about this topic previously, but now that I do, the only places I can think of that don’t have TVs are the very high end steak houses and fast food places. Here in Corpus Christi that means if you don’t want a TV around while dining, you’re going to some place like KFC, Subway, Whataburger, or the fanciest place in town, Republic of Texas. Every other restaurant I can think of, whether a taqueria, barbecue place, seafood, buffets, steakhouses, big chains or local places, they all have TVs ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/64 "2022-06-16T17:33:37Z")
The presence or absence of TVs is of no import to my dining experience. I can ignore them just fine if present, and I don’t mean miss them if absent. Music, ambient sound, etc.? Only matters if the sound level interferes with conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/65 "2022-06-16T18:50:55Z")
I wish I could do that. The only thing I can usually ignore is children. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/66 "2022-06-16T19:10:34Z")
We eat out rather infrequently, but the restaurants my wife and I choose have no sets. All things being close to equal, an absence of TVs would encourage us to choose that restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/67 "2022-06-16T21:08:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In my experience, more often than not when there’s a TV, or especially when there’s more than one TV, in a restaurant, the sound is turned off. It’s much better when the sound is off, but I still dislike the visual noise. TVs produce unnatural-looking imagery, with flashing and scene cuts and scrolling banners so on, and even in my peripheral vision it takes mental effort to ignore. I’d be fine if it were just nature scenes. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210/68 "2022-06-17T00:48:02Z")
I exclusively eat out where there is not tv. One place we like has a tv in the bar, but not the dining room. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-at-restaurants-with-no-televisions-sets/966210.md?page=3)