Yet the relationship between TV and leisure time is far more complicated than it looks. Yes, we watch a lot of TV. But time-use researchers who look not only at what people are doing but also how they’re feeling and what else they’re juggling at a given moment have found that people often turn on the TV because they feel too exhausted to do anything else. And for many people with a lot to do, TV really does function more like a blank wall, perhaps with a bit of distracting colorful wallpaper on it.
