My elderly parents watch so much Fox News that the logo burned into their TV screen. Have you ever felt like your boomer parents might get too much screen time?
Posted by nerdkraftnomad@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 369 comments
Does anyone else here have boomer parents who get an unfathomable amount of unhealthy, mainstream media screen time?
I moved home a year ago to take care of my disabled parents and they keep Fox News playing at an ear splitting volume, 90% of the time they're awake. When the talking heads get my mom riled up, she likes to come summarize the issue for me while I cook, even though I could already hear the segment from across the house and she knows how I feel about mainstream media sensationalism and divisiveness. I try to remind her but she insists on finishing the story, because she's so mad about it and she can't bounce her thoughts off my dad anymore, because he has dementia (I'm not 100% convinced the constant screen time wasn't a contributing factor).
Left-leaning mainstream news isn't any healthier. It's all engineered to make gullible people adopt an us vs them mentality and frankly, it's gross.
We worry about the volume and quantity of our kids' screen time but I'm sure many of our parents are meeting or exceeding that. At least kids' screen time is somewhat within our control.
The Fox News doctrine is burned into my parents' brain and the Fox News logo is burned into their screen.
No-Satisfaction-1542@reddit
I have the exact same problem as its my parents watching msnbc 24/7. They are so brainwashed they think the country is going to end soon and are looking to move overseas. This propaganda needs to stop.
thaKingRocka@reddit
All those concerns about how different and new entertainment media would rot our brains, and in the end, it was actually 24-hour cable news that would do it. They don't seem to be reporting on that though.
JoySkullyRH@reddit
They are cable news, they are an entertainment network. Or so they claim when they got sued.
R0botDreamz@reddit
When Fox admitted they lied and tricked their viewers and paid $750 million in damages, the viewers after watching for decades just switched to one of the other alternatives (NewsMax and such) to keep hearing the same rhetoric.
It's like these people can't be helped. It's mental illness in the form of political affiliation.
positivecontent@reddit
Is it fulfilling their desire to belong and feel like they are a part of something?
R0botDreamz@reddit
I call it the "in too deep" syndrome. When you've invested so much of your time and energy into believing something, nothing absolutely nothing will make you think otherwise. You'd have to admit a large part of your identity and adulthood is a lie and most of them aren't ready to do that.
Also a lot of Boomers are prideful and egotistical. They live in fear of being wrong and if confronted they will either shut down or get super defensive.
systemfrown@reddit
I think Carl Sagan nailed it even better…
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
No-Satisfaction-1542@reddit
I think MSNBC and other left leaning channels have far less intellectual debate about Issues. They actually have no debates or discussion on fact and details. Its just an echo chamber of the same narratives. 99% of what they say are narratives not facts. At least fox news has a few leftists on their. And their news anchors (not shawn hanity or the five) are truly neutral. If anything they were left leaning at times.
ilikedirt@reddit
Aka sunk cost fallacy
OccamsYoyo@reddit
If a country really wanted to be competitive, it would invest in the mental health of its population and make it a top priority item. Most people are mentally unwell in some way and everyone should be in therapy.
therog08@reddit
And people have to start putting in the damn work.
SakaWreath@reddit
Well said, this is also referred to as “sunk cost fallacy”.
The more time and effort people put into something the less likely they are to abandon it even if abandonment would be more beneficial.
RoccoTaco_Dog@reddit
I think they call this the gamblers fallacy. Basically, the same thing. When a gambler starts losing, they can't walk away, they need to win that money back. Then they can't walk away because they can't accept they are losing. They will keep going, convinced they will catch that winning hand.
jrp162@reddit
Also known as “go the fuck outside” syndrome.
(Joking but for real though. Get your boomers outside with family and away from the idiot box. Break their am/fm radio as well, block websites on their router, and disable Facebook)
OskeyBug@reddit
I do think it makes them feel connected to the world and it provides them with emotional stimulation, unfortunately in the form of fear and anger.
CompetitiveClass1478@reddit
🎶 Come along, you belong 🎶
el_pyrata@reddit
Feel the fizz of Coo-Coo Cola!
VaselineHabits@reddit
Same with religion at this point for some
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Between Fox and NewsMax, if I had to choose one to be my sole source of news, I'd choose NewsMax, because it seems marginally less hateful. You're right though, when Tucker Carlson quit Fox, my mom briefly switched to NewsMax and it's basically the same.
Maybe they can be helped. I'm not giving up on them yet. Something will unite us eventually. Our country can't be like this forever.
SakaWreath@reddit
Outrage addiction.
https://medium.com/the-bad-influence/your-addiction-to-outrage-is-ruining-your-life-9effebdfeaca
flojo2012@reddit
Confirmation bias. They don’t want to feel challenged. They want to feel affirmed
count_strahd_z@reddit
I call NewsMax Super Fox.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
$750M to make up for trillions in global damages. 😑
heresmytwopence@reddit
https://i.redd.it/9cj8iffsphdd1.gif
Justagoodoleboi@reddit
If they were just straight reporting news it would be different but Fox News and to a lesser extent msnbc just sell a comforting experience to old people. They know they’re not gonna hear anything that challenges them on there
purplepickles82@reddit
where sebastian bach when u need him?
NatPortmanTaintStank@reddit
Are you talking about the same people who slept through the Telecommunications Act of 1996?
From Wikipedia >The number of American major media content companies shrank from about fifty in 1983 to ten in 1996, and to just six in 2005. An FCC study found that the act led to a drastic decline in the number of radio station owners, even as the actual number of stations in the United States increased.
From Wikipedia >An infographic created by Jason at Frugal Dad states that in 1983, 90% of US media was controlled by 50 companies, and that in 2011, 90% was controlled by just 6 companies.
Also, the ones who were so patriotic that they couldn't get their precious "Patriot Act" passed fast enough, which was the basis of the regulations keeping the Jan 6th people locked up?
Land-Otter@reddit
Nah better to complain about kids and their phones.
Queasy_Landscape_385@reddit
Sdog1981@reddit
Some people have hippy Boomer parents with MSNBC burned in.
heresmytwopence@reddit
What I want to know is why people watch talk news at all. Cable news, YouTube/TikTok/podcast commentators, etc are all trying to play on people’s emotions. Live coverage of unfolding events, especially local events, is more understandable, but scheduled programming is pretty much all bad news. They’re all just playing for a share of the market and those who draw the strongest reactions win. Push notification news is another one that annoys me. I disabled it in early 2017 and never looked back.
It seems like people were much happier when they caught up on current events once, maybe twice a day.
Meal-Lonely@reddit
Before cable news, there was a half hour of news at 6pm, a half hour of sports and sundries, then something journalism-esque like 60 minutes or Holmes, then something mindless like Noel's House Party or a game show. It seemed perfectly designed to give you the daily news, give you something yo think about for an hour, then take your mind off worries and ease you into a relaxing evening. For my parent's generation that was the evening routine. I'm not sure if this is still the way in NZ but it seems that routine is long gone in the US.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Yep definitely.
psilosophist@reddit
I feel so bad for folks who have parents like that. My parents aren’t perfect but they only watch the evening local/national news and then it’s back to British crime shows, home improvement stuff and whatever dumb movies with the loudest explosions my dad can find.
Meal-Lonely@reddit
My folks are in their sixties and only get more progressive and leftist with age.
Melissa_W_1967@reddit
Oh my God when I started reading that article I thought it was me. I moved him to take care of my parents from Atlanta to the Midwest three years ago. They’re both 86 all they do morning noon tonight is watch Fox News. I’m not getting drives me absolutely insane. It gives me a headache. I told him I will not come in there. If they’re watching the news not that I don’t like Fox News, but it’s an obsession beyond it’s so negative all of them are negative ….. Actually, did you watch prices right in the morning then Fox News all day and then naked and afraid and if you’re not laughing now, I’m not kidding
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Also, I applaud you for putting your life on hold to take care of them. It's quite a sacrifice and it seems to be falling out of fashion. Thank you for being one of the good ones!
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Well, my parents are more into survivor, dual survival, some Alaskan survival show and homestead rescue when they aren't watching Fox. I've learned a lot more survival skills from homestead rescue than I ever learned from naked and afraid or the others. Lol. I approve of Homestead Rescue!
Murky_Bid_8868@reddit
Past generations, it was Soap Box Series, today it's Fox. Same sh*t.
boozenbear@reddit
They used to say tv would rot your brains.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I think they were right
heresmytwopence@reddit
https://i.redd.it/xia9tzsuphdd1.gif
Ok_Broccoli_3605@reddit
It brought misery to my father and our family
aqua_vida@reddit
Mine get more than me now for sure and I don’t like it.
That photo is hilarious😂
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Aww thanks. Being a 24/7 unpaid caregiver is certainly challenging, especially with no other family nearby. I get a lot of gratitude from them though and it's a fascinating learning experience.
aqua_vida@reddit
I think looking at it like a learning experience says a lot about you👏
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Thanks. I'm a believer in the quantum universe and that everything in life is a mirror of either what we are, what we lack or what we judge. Therefore, when challenges arise, there are always important lessons to be learned.
Lol the fact that I made this post speaks to what I judge. Thanks for indirectly reminding me.
basick_bish@reddit
cnn and fox news running the same grift just different sides
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Yep. Big time. It's so saddening to watch people on both "sides" infuriated with a caricature of the other "side", which doesn't actually exist. Occasionally, I'll watch a little of both networks to see how they're going to paint an issue and as an unbiased observer, both are clearly equally full of shit.
Moist-Business-1703@reddit
Yes, exactly.
basick_bish@reddit
I'm out here hiding my family's remote controls and batteries to stall for some time away from there "news" get them to touch grass, literally.
CSWorldChamp@reddit
My Father in Law is the same way but with CNN. He’s absolutely addicted to outrage, and drinks every last drop he can find.
Moist-Business-1703@reddit
Same with my parents
Moist-Business-1703@reddit
My boomer parents literally have 3 TVs playing cnn 24 hours a day. They just sit in their house and absolutely panic all day and night. Conversely, my in laws do the same exact thing with Fox News and act equally unhinged. But, all of them wouldn’t miss an opportunity to talk about “kids today” and their “damn phones”. They conveniently forget all of their passwords and need help when it comes to the important stuff. But, all of them damn sure remember their facebook passwords when it comes to arguing with strangers online about politics. It’s insane.
Great-Ad4472@reddit
I muted r/Millenials because of politics and boomer hate. I love this sub. Please don’t do this!
heresmytwopence@reddit
We have never and will never let the sub be dominated by politics like some of the other generational subs. Many topics overlap with politics and we try to use good judgment about what can and can’t stay. We’ll continue to be pretty strict about this to ensure the sub remains fun and lighthearted. Thanks for understanding.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Yeah politics sucks. That's the point, not that I'm liberal, because I'm not liberal. It's not about politics.
Ok_Land_38@reddit
Before my mom went into memory care, I put the child whatever it’s called on and blocked Fox News with Dad’s blessing/encouragement. We just told her that their plan doesn’t have Fox News. Then she was obsessed with Blue Bloods. Thankfully, her memory care facility encourages them to go do stuff.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I hope so. From what I've seen, sometimes memory care just means a locked unit, if it's paid for with Medicare. I'm sure privately paid for memory care is much better.
Ok_Land_38@reddit
Medicare and private paying residents at my mom’s facility I really couldn’t tell a difference between the two. Yes, they’re both confined to the common spaces and allowed in their rooms but the food and amenities is the same across the board
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Good luck. Try to have someone visit everyday.
Ok_Land_38@reddit
My dad goes once a week. I have a complicated relationship with my mother so I’ll see her at the holidays. Per her psychiatrist, time is one big blur essentially to her so she thinks my dad visits her daily.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
My dad went into memory care confused and came out talking literal gibberish. He was only there 5 days. Still trying to fix it.
Critical_Liz@reddit
They should be outside playing more.
TheIadyAmalthea@reddit
Take a saying from my teen… they need to go touch grass!
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Hopefully your teen isn't on 4chan! That's where the phrase originally came from.
TheIadyAmalthea@reddit
Oh god no. She hates tik tok, instagram, and Facebook! She has zero social media, and I’m thankful for that! She has enough anxiety as it is, don’t need to add in social media.
StasisChassis@reddit
At the very least getting a drink from the hose.
Wolfwoods_Sister@reddit
Drinking from the fire hose, however, not recommended…
hereforpopcornru@reddit
I was thinking these are the same people that used to make us go outside, TV rots your brain!
I'm betting looney toons, tom and Jerry, and Ren and Stimpy combined have rotted less brains than CNN or FOX themselves.
Critical_Liz@reddit
They went us out so they could watch tv.
lucidspoon@reddit
I was just at my mom's house this morning, hooking up the new TV I got for her since her old one went out. She was talking about all the things she's been working on while not having a TV, but now she can watch again.
But now she just has a bunch of half finished projects.
BostonBlackCat@reddit
For real though; my dad is late 70s and is an avid pickleball player. Keeps him not only physically fit but social, out of the house, and connected to the community. He was always a bit of a misanthrope who kept to himself, but pickleball really has brought him out of his shell and been fantastic for his mental health.
replicantcase@reddit
And they should take their brother with them.
MrsAshleyStark@reddit
It’s 10pm. Do you know where your elderly parents are?
CY83rdYN35Y573M2@reddit
"Dad, don't come until the street lights come on. Drink from a house if you get thirsty"
StacyLadle@reddit
I would shut that crap off. If I’m going to live here and look after you, I shouldn’t have to listen to that incessantly.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I close their door and have taken up listening to podcasts on headphones a lot of the time. You can even hear it through the headphones but it's easier to tune out, at least.
red_the_room@reddit
Imagine telling someone else what to do in their own house.
VaselineHabits@reddit
Every single day my husband and I have to talk his father out of some batshit conspiracy/outrage he's getting over things that aren't real or have zero effect on him.
Cut off the source and watch The Brainwashing of My Dad
red_the_room@reddit
You post in antiwork and WPT while going on about “Russians!”. You would surely know about things that aren’t real.
Successful-Winter237@reddit
Well if it’s harmful… I mean we don’t let children play with matches.
-Fahrenheit-@reddit
Don’t even get me started. My father has always been more conservative, and my mother just goes along with him. But since Trump…. The level of just sheer stupidity and spitefulness he’s displayed, and not just toward some amorphous, generic “liberal” he’s created in his mind, but towards his own children and their spouses.
He’s taken to calling me Mr. Educated in a derisive way, because he distrusts higher education and thinks it frivolous and indoctrinating. Bitch, I’m a Mechanical Engineer. He’s never forgiven my wife for not wanting to have children, even though we came to that decision together. He has berated my sister for not having her children baptized. He hates my brother’s wife because she had the audacity to put a BLM magnet on their fridge and thinks she’s grooming their children to be liberals or some shit. And on, and on, and on…
ohmygoditspurple@reddit
Everything is “propaganda”. Except if they agree with what is being said. And it’s like my mother isn’t forming her own opinions. She’s just finding echo chamber after echo chamber online and on tv, and I’m witnessing firsthand how the current method of receiving “information” can, for lack of a better word, “brainwash” someone. My mom is changing from an open-minded, grateful person into someone who enjoys getting upset about things she knows nothing about and that frankly simply do not impact her.
Gravelsack@reddit
Recreational outrage
VaselineHabits@reddit
Exactly, these people need fucking hobbies and to invest in mental care. There's something very sick about this that we've allowed to continue
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
It may be difficult to stop our parents but can we at least agree never to hate one another for having different ideologies? Let's also vow to think for ourselves and not let anyone tell us how to feel about things.
photinakis@reddit
It’s too politically convenient for anyone in power to do anything about.
BostonBlackCat@reddit
I live in a community that has long had a large LGTBQ population, one of the oldest/most popular pride fests in the region is from the area. We are a straight married couple with a kid and are actually quite conventional ourselves as far as our lifestyle is concerned; I love to cook and dress very feminine, my husband is a war veteran, our daughter is an extremely "girly girl" obsessed with pink and fairies and unicorns, and we attend church. We are surrounded by gay and trans people; our daughter has had gay teachers and non binary camp counselors and trans neighbors who work in front facing jobs in our community, so we interact with them regularly.
I can't express how this has in no way impacted my life, my family, or my daughter. She and all the other "conventional" kids who fit gender stereotypes are not shamed or othered or being told to question their gender or sexuality, they are in fact still the vast majority. It's just that a kid can ask to be addressed as "they," or mention that they have two dads, and it doesn't ruin their or their parents or their teacher's life.
Occasionally, I note that a person I meet refers to go by "they" and try to remember that moving forward. That really is the single thing that has changed in my life. Even if hypothetically I were "against" trans or gay people...it still doesn't actually impact my family's lives in any real way. Yet people who live in the middle of nowhere, who *might* interact with one trans person in their entire lives, are absolutely losing their minds over the idea that there is a faint chance that one day they may be considered rude by misgendering someone. And they call other people snowflakes - it's insane!
Dick-Guzinya@reddit
I literally just told my wife a story from last year about a “conversation” I had with her parents (hardcore Trumpers) about Gaetz being a probably pederast. They live in Florida and think he’s a god. I sent them 3 legit proof sources (AP, Reuters, and CNBC) and they refused to believe the Lamestream media. I’ve stopped bothering. They’ll be dead soon.
quintk@reddit
For me things have gotten better. My parents are really not conservative at all. We never talked about politics growing up so I don’t know how I got the idea they were. At most, I think they are skeptical about politicians in general and the unintended consequences of new policies, but who can blame them? But they thought politics was too mean-spirited even when we were young and encouraged us never to talk like politicians or the political commentators who sometimes came on the radio. They don’t have a racist or anti-lgbt bone in their bodies, attend a progressive “open and affirming” church, and as retired public school teachers/educators are actually quite a bit more aware and empathetic of the challenges people face than I am. (Public schools serve everyone. As an engineer in a non-public-facing role, I mostly interact with people who are like me). The rise of Trumpism has actually made easier to be open with my parents about my beliefs.
Active_Storage9000@reddit
I think for middle class Americans at least (especially white), your parents are in the minority.
Key_Street1637@reddit
He sounds like an asshole of the highest magnitude. You should go no contact.
positivecontent@reddit
Does your mom sit around and wonder why her children don't want to visit her?
-Fahrenheit-@reddit
We still visit them because we're all well adjusted adults that can put all their bullshit aside. But don't think we haven't collectively said between ourselves that we have grown tired of said bullshit. All that being said, my brother and my sister are more likely to stick with seeing them with regularity for the grandchildren, I'm much more ambivalent in that regard.
JacketDapper944@reddit
Same with my dad. He used to get a fairly mixed news diet, approached things with a modicum of skepticism but over the last few years he’s just gone off the deep end. I’m grateful he’s a bit of a Luddite or he would have been full Q-Anon. He can’t help himself making snarky comments about minorities when 3/4 children are married to them… he used to admire self sufficient women who achieve on their own but now has lamented the dating culture and how women aren’t traditional anymore (I’m like you idiot, you divorced your stay-at-home do every chore bake bread from scratch trad wife… there are myriad reasons they didn’t end up working out but it wasn’t for lack of “traditional roles”). I’m his pinko-communist daughter because I use NPR as one of my news sources… what I find most grating is he (claims) he’s proud of his kids and their spouses, but then derides anyone who is not immediately in his family but make similar choices. Sufficed to say while I will call him on his birthday, Father’s Day and a smattering of other holidays I will never again subject my kids or my husband to his insanity. I’m fine with self flagellation but won’t let others be abused.
neonphotograph@reddit
My Silent Generation grandma refuses to wear her hearing aids, but at least the Game Show Network is pretty innocuous. My Boomer mom just wants silence or Yacht Rock (which I support).
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Innocuous unless it runs big pharma, reverse mortgage and bad investment ads like news channels.
heresmytwopence@reddit
GSN and Buzzr are the best. The Match Game theme song is permanently etched in my brain.
Dismal-Manufacturer3@reddit
Your boomer mom is me in 20 years. I just want to chill, put on Yacht Rock, (underrated summer channel) and work on my yard and garden with my dogs.
EastTXJosh@reddit
My mom is on the cusp of Silent Generation and Baby Boomer. She does watch Fox News, even though she claims she quits because they “went woke.” Her bigger addiction is Facebook. She recently got a new phone and when she was setting up apps on her new phone, she couldn’t remember her Facebook password or her recovery email. She went on rant after rant how there was a government conspiracy to prevent people from accessing Facebook and how the person at the phone store must have changed her password on purpose. It was actually quite troubling to watch. My sister and I both told her she has a problem. She wouldn’t quit complaining until she got Facebook access on her new phone. It was the only thing she worries about during that time period. She would text us in the middle of the night, complaining about loss of access.
YearofTheStallionpt1@reddit
Why do they always blame the phone store people? This comes up from time to time in the retail workers subreddit- some angry old person yelling at a poor minimum wage worker because they forgot their own Facebook password.
I mean my parents aren’t any better. My dad lost a bunch of money in a tech support scam, even after being warned that it was a scam. It’s like all our parents collectively forgot everything they taught us.
ronnie-james-dior@reddit
When you’re helpless with tech you’ll pay anything to “fix it.” My dad got scammed by Geek Squad
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Mine too and I live in town and worked in the tech industry at the time. I could have easily helped him. When I did, inevitably, end up having to fix geek squad's fixes, I noticed they'd put all sorts of bloatware and spyware on the device, which ran constantly in the background. I understand how some of it could theoretically be useful for remote troubleshooting but it could easily be misused by anyone who scanned their device and noticed it was running. Ew.
stalelunchbox@reddit
Replace “facebook” with “crack.” Your mom was experiencing physiological withdrawals which is terrifying.
____cire4____@reddit
My parents are like teenagers now that they are retied. No hobbies, they sit with their phones, iPads, and TVs on scrolling Facebook and IG. It's really depressing honestly. Anyone have tips on what I can do to get them more motivated in their older years (note they are both into their 70s and in poor physical shape - mom has rheumatoid (genetic) arthritis, dad was blue collar his whole life so his knees are shot).
blewdleflewdle@reddit
Sign em up for activities? Or encourage them to sign up.
They've got to have somewhere to be, with people doing things, not with devices consuming content.
Something like a bridge group if pickle ball is out.
Low impact exercise groups for seniors might be an option too, if something like a walking group.
Are they doing physio?
____cire4____@reddit
They cant join anything too active. My mother's arthritis (again it's rheumatoid so genetic and not treatable in any way, just manageable) makes it hard for her to be too active.
My father has trouble walking more than a few minutes at a time, and that's with doing PT on the reg. He does an exercise bike daily which is good but that's in the house. It's rough. He's also a "former" smoker who still sneaks a cig now and then.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Help them start a garden?
juel1979@reddit
Maybe some sort of swim exercise classes or meet ups?
CallitCalli@reddit
My dad used to love to travel - but between his medical issues and the medical issues of my step mother they just sit at home and watch TV all day.
They live in a cruise departure city - I've begged to buy them a cruise... No dice.
It makes me so sad. I don't want to grow old like my dad.
heresmytwopence@reddit
Holy crap. We’re 2 hours from Port Canaveral and <90 minutes from Tampa and I thought we had it pretty good. If I could just Uber to the terminal and not have to pay for parking, I’d be walking on next-day cruises left and right! They practices give them away.
Zorgsmom@reddit
My parents joined a fitness club; it's like a social club for the elderly during the day. My mom takes special classes for people with Parkinson's.
Sunshinehaiku@reddit
I take my parents to a senior's club to socialize.
Jestermaus@reddit
Parental controls on their internet.
Slippery-Pete76@reddit
Get them into gardening? Jigsaw puzzles?
My parents spend quite a bit of time scrolling through news online, but thankfully when they have the TV on it’s local news or stuff like MeTV or History Channel. They also have hobbies to keep them busy (sewing and quilting for Mom, woodworking for Dad).
Loeden@reddit
Water exercise is amazing for people with osteo arthritis, although I don't know if it's any good for rheumatoid. It does allow you to move around pretty easily in general though and a lot of local pools or YMCAs will schedule a senior version of this and it's usually very affordable.
Of course they have to be willing to actually go out and do these things but I'd start looking at your local senior center for activities in general, since socializing would probably be good for them on whole.
RobinSophie@reddit
My mom's knees are shot as well. She LOVES cruises.
espressocycle@reddit
Mobility scooters maybe. They've gotten really lightweight with the lithium batteries instead of the old style.
rebelopie@reddit
Geez this really hits home. I was visiting my Mom this weekend helping her box up stuff to move into a different assisted living facility. After a long day of boxing, we plopped down to relax. Immediately, she turns on Fox news and there's the shooting. After about 5 min, I got the gist of it and was ready to watch something else. Not her, she was prepared to hunker down to watch hours of the same footage being replayed while the commentators speculated and created alarm. I got up and said, "I'm going back to the hotel. I will see you in the morning."
SeasonPositive6771@reddit
My father is in his 70s and has some mild dementia.
It wasn't until I started caring for him occasionally that I realized how perfect Fox News is for the elderly and confused. It's colorful, repetitive, and highly emotionally evocative. Like Teletubbies or Cocomelon for the elderly.
If he watched it long enough, he would just start repeating what they said almost word for word. He would be extremely angry and defensive about it, but if you questioned him, he wouldn't have anything deeper than those words.
He's extremely angry, and he votes.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Then, on any cable news network, once they're in a suggestive state, big pharma comes in with ads that make people sick and reverse mortgage companies and other bad investment brokers come in to steal their houses and money. My parents fell for the reverse mortgage and big pharma ads and all kinds of news commercial garbage.
ohmygoditspurple@reddit
My mom does the same. She has been watching some movie called Hillbilly Elegy over and over and won’t stop talking about JD Vance and how he is the “real American dream.” It’s weird how she now reveres these people that she used to want nothing to do with. I won’t engage in conversation with her about anything that is going on right now because she gets so riled up and starts speaking bizarre conspiracy theories. Then she calls me a woke Karen, which admittedly is hilarious.
PegLegPopsicle@reddit
I think “Woke Karen” is an oxymoron, no?
Particular_Cost369@reddit
No, it's certainly not. Anyone who thinks that screaming at someone and forcing their view on others is a Karen. They know no single political allegiance, coming from all sides.
ohmygoditspurple@reddit
Yes, that’s part of why it is hilarious haha.
MrVeazey@reddit
Tell your mom that Vance went to Yale because he did.
ohmygoditspurple@reddit
She told me that haha. That’s what is part of him being the American dream for her.
MrVeazey@reddit
Oh, because she loves the globalists?
I'm only commenting that to encourage you to troll your own mother, not because I actually believe any stupid right-wing conspiracy theories.
ohmygoditspurple@reddit
I’m not going to waste my time trolling someone who is already trolling themselves.
Active_Storage9000@reddit
I showed your comment to my partner, who is from WV.
He said if he had to spend the rest of his life burning copies of Hillbilly Elegy, he would die happy.
He has strong feelings about that book, to say the least.
FuzzyScarf@reddit
My dad hates watching any sports pre game show “because I hate speculation.”
Also my dad: watches Fox News all the time.
tarzanacide@reddit
My mom at least tries to hide it from us, but even she pulls up the recorded shows on her cable box to find a movie, there are tons of Fox shows recorded. It's wild. Neither my sister nor I have cable so we never see it.
My mom is very gay friendly and even volunteers with refugees to help them get settled. Whenever national news happens, she has a window of rational thinking until she gets to her Fox and they tell her what to think. She does a 180 and just accepts what ever reasoning they give her. It's like having a family member in a cult. It's really disturbing. She swears she only watches one of their programs occasionally to "get balance."
blue_groove@reddit
My aunt is a lesbian and still watches Fox News religiously (and votes the way they tell her to). I just don't understand it.
juel1979@reddit
This is how my mom can get. She had so much more progressive views, but with my dad having Fox News on as background noise for the past decade or so, they get eroded. It kills me. Can’t even have a conversation without politics brought up.
usababykiller@reddit
I bet they are afraid of someone stealing from them. Yet they spend hundreds on cable tv just to only watch this. You’d probably be better off financially just getting mugged for your wallet a couple times a year.
VancouverSativa@reddit
"Left-leaning mainstream news isn't any healthier."
It's bad, but not even close to being in the same league. It is, in fact, far healthier.
It's like comparing cigarettes and cyanide.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I watch both occasionally and I don't see a very big difference. They're both basically making up straw man arguments about the other side and trying to convince their viewers that the straw man is evil.
The only recent difference is that Fox now has a messiah.
VancouverSativa@reddit
You consider something like MSNBC to be just inverse Fox?
That's incredible to me.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I thought you said NBC. MSNBC isn't as bad.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
It still wouldn't be good to watch 24/7 though.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
To each his own. You're certainly entitled to your opinion.
Bear_Salary6976@reddit
I honestly think this has less to do with them being Boomers and more to do with them just being old and watching a lit screen is the most mentally stimulating thing that they do anymore.
I remember visiting my grandparents' retirement community (a condo complex in Miami) and walking around outside, you could hear loud and clear who was watching TV. And they watched a lot of it. I found it funny that as kids, we were always told to watch less TV, but retirees seem to spend all of their time watching TV.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Maybe that's it.
WorthPersonalitys@reddit
I used BePresent to limit my own screen time and it helped. You might want to look into it. Anyway, sounds like a tough spot with your parents. Maybe try having a calm conversation with your mom about how the news is affecting her, and see if you can find some alternative activities to do together.
biigsnook@reddit
Please help them.
No_Bee1950@reddit
Did everyone's parents have them really old? My mom is still working 16.hours a day.
abrendaaa@reddit
I was born in '81 and my parents are now 80
yearoftherabbit@reddit
My parents are young but retired. Some of the parents' ages in this thread are closer (or the same) age as my grandma!
systemfrown@reddit
Even worse, it’s burned into their brains.
OkMap8351@reddit
My dad spends a lot of time playing solitaire on his phone and it drives me crazy lol.
Purple-Haze-11@reddit
Could be worse, could be a CNN logo burned in there
RL_NeilsPipesofsteel@reddit
Y’all always think this is some massive own. Liberals do not extol the virtues of CNN
Purple-Haze-11@reddit
Like I said, it could be worse. That CNN logo could be burned in their TV. Sounds like you grew up around good parents, not liberals. You probably grew up with structure and were held accountable when needed.
RL_NeilsPipesofsteel@reddit
It sounds like you shouldn’t speak on things you have no fucking clue about, slick. Have a good night.
red_the_room@reddit
Funny how GenX is about equal in political affiliation, but this sub has turned to leftist trash like the rest of the site.
Nancy-Drew-Who@reddit
Fox is on the tv all day at my parents’ house, whether they’re actually sitting and watching or it’s just on in the background. If they’re driving, they’re listening to the Fox station on Sirius. And they also listen to the Fox News app in their air pods while shopping, gardening, and doing chores. They literally never take a break from it and they wonder why we don’t come visit more often.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Do they like to try to explain the Fox News spin on things and expect you to share their shock and dismay?
Nancy-Drew-Who@reddit
100% I always tell them I don’t want to talk about politics when they bring things up, and then get told I’m “too sensitive” when I have to repeatedly rebuff their attempts. It makes visits with them exhausting and unenjoyable.
RedBurgandy01@reddit
I've been at my in-laws' all week, and that crap has been on the entire time. I've been trying to tune it out, but it's rough. That shit will rot your brain.
montecarlos_are_best@reddit
They still have an old CRT tv? That’s kind of cool
therog08@reddit
I’m also going to say the constant CNN watchers equally suck. Any constant news is just no good.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Happy cake day. I agree. Most news is a downer and not safe for 24/7 consumption.
Steve539@reddit
Very ironic to me... 54 y/o GenX here...and my mother told us growing up that watching too much tv would ruin our eyes...her tv hasn't turned off in 3 years and is stuck on Newsmax...lol
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
And how are her eyes?
Steve539@reddit
Seem to be working fine...it is just her constant stage of agitation (CSA I like to call it, that drives me nuts)...and her not knowing what to be mad about until Newsmax tells her...what the hell happened to so many of our older folks...she is scared of everything...immigrants, electric cars, shower heads, the power grid, etc... and "they" are going to take my gas stove is my favorite!
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Pretty sure her gas stove is safe.
BenjTheMaestro@reddit
I worked for geek squad in the field for about 15 years (minus a lot of injury time). This is so so so incredibly normal to see amongst boomer and older clients for repairs, sadly. May not always be FoxNews (it typically is), but it’s almost always one of the 24 hour news channels. Used to see it with plasmas occasionally, but constantly with OLED over the past 8-9 years. I want to believe it’s because they fall asleep with the tv on, but I’ve spent enough time in a lot of their homes with repeat clients to know that’s not always the case lol.
Oh well. It’s unnoticeable if they never change the logo and the user never changes the channel.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Wow. That's nuts and very true. It probably doesn't bother them.
Calm_Examination_672@reddit
I'm lucky. My boomer dad and his wife may get a lot of screen time, but it's never been Fox news or anything in that political realm.
S1ayer@reddit
My mom watches the same movies over and over again.
The Mummy 1 and 2. Jurassic Park and World trilogy, The Meg 1 and 2, Tremors, Jumanji 1 and 2, The Day After Tomorrow, and Dante's Peak.
A year ago she got into the Marvel movies, so she watches those (mostly Avengers 1).
NativePhoenician@reddit
Your parents need deprogramming.
AwkwardPersonality36@reddit
The news is literally the only thing my parents watch and it's really sad. From the time they wake up to the time they go to bed, it's news on repeat. They shush anyone in the house during local "news hour" and you better dare not speak or else they might miss something important!
It's awful to see how brainwashed they are, but it's also eye opening to not succumb to the same thing and fall into that trap. Do I like watching the local news hour after work? Sure. But it's mostly because I grew up with it. Do I need to watch it every night? No. It's fine to miss it for a few days/weeks/months...but then again, I'm online a lot and tend to stay up to date with current events via other channels; and also subject myself to different viewpoints which is what my parents are missing IMO.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Kudos to you. I do the same and form my own opinions. When we're the oldest generation, I'm sure there will be less extremism.
AwkwardPersonality36@reddit
We hope, anyway!!
earache30@reddit
Ragetainment
earache30@reddit
Angertainment
ZyberZeon@reddit
My mother is addicted to her phone. Luckily, she is incredibly technically illiterate. I had all the notifications and occasionally delete the apps. 🫥 It's kinda crazy how the media radicalized the boomers.
Worse, they still have a lot of power over governance and resources. I hope the growth and pivoting will be radical when that generation dies off. It will have to be for our survival.
Rude_Man_Who_Shushes@reddit
You do know that when Fox News is on the TV it isn’t just a giant logo in the center of the screen right? Right?
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
It's in the corner, except during commercials.
BassSounds@reddit
Buy then a $300 Amazon FireTV. It shows so many ads on the home screen they might get distracted by something else.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Eh Roku is the same way but my mom goes straight for Fox.
PlaneAsk7826@reddit
Seems like a good time to enable some parental controls on the TV.
Successful-Winter237@reddit
Thank god my parents are super liberal.
cortesoft@reddit
Yeah, was going to say, my parents have been super liberal my whole life, and are probably even more left wing now they are in their mid 70s.
They used to take me to protests and pride parades in the 80s and 90s, and they sent me pictures of them protesting the Iraq war when I was in college. My mom has a “Fight the Radical Right!” sign that has been in her garage since the early 90s, and has moved houses with them.
It always seems so foreign to me to hear about conservative older parents.
Successful-Winter237@reddit
❤️
kevint1964@reddit
They have MSNBC burned into their screens, right? 😄
Successful-Winter237@reddit
Ha ha yes!!!
-Crazy_Plant_Lady-@reddit
I’m sooooo jealous!!!
Successful-Winter237@reddit
❤️
Drgrabon@reddit
Reddit did this to my old phone.so yeah I'm a huge loser
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Lol at least Reddit isn't an indoctrinating echo chamber... Oh wait... Um... I mean, at least there's reading involved.
Jk. Reddit isn't all bad, like some people think it is. A lot of reddit isn't bad at all.
tultommy@reddit
Unplug the cable wire and pretend you have no idea why it's not working. Then tell them the cable company is booked up for at least two weeks. Maybe all they really need is a little break. Taking care of aging parents means being their parent and making them take a time out when they need one. Stop enabling them.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Yeah they use some kind of streaming service on Roku. I considered DNS blocking the app, so they'd get a DNS error when they tried to open it and then suggesting they watch NewsMax for free on YouTube. It's still pretty far right leaning but less hateful and more fair in their news coverage. I just hate to lie.
tultommy@reddit
I don't. When parents regress to acting like children you have to treat them like children. Do what they likely did when you were little. Make them go outside and play. Lock the door behind them.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Lol they never had to ask me to go outside and play, because I'm the outdoorsy type. They let one of my sisters stay inside and play video games all day. I guess that's where I get my laissez-faire approach.
It's a serious issue though, so I think I'll run Wireshark next time they're on the Fox News (I've got them watching Mythbusters now) and get those IP addresses. I think I'm gonna do it and see what happens. I think my mom will be less stressed without Fox. Maybe I should wait til after the convention, so the fact that they can't access Fox News doesn't drive my mom totally nuts.
AlanStanwick1986@reddit
My FIL is currently rotting his brain in retirement with Fox. He says shit he never used to say now and I know it comes from Fox. Whenever my wife and I travel to a city when we get back he always asks if "we saw a lot of homeless people." You can tell he is scared of everything. He's pissing off my MIL because he used to love to travel and now he doesn't want to leave the 1,000 person shithole town they live in.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
My parents have always been Fox News people but they used to be sensible Reagan conservatives. The tone and opinions of Fox News are shifting to be a lot more extreme right and it's damn creepy.
bturg21@reddit
If it was CNN would it be acceptable?
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
IMO - no. People need to lay off the hatred for the opposition, no matter which side they're on. Mainstream media exists to fuel the hatred and divide the population.
bturg21@reddit
True. The blatant propaganda and slander from both sides has gotten very tiresome
Busy_Winner7272@reddit
This shit WILL be a required reading course after the fall....
LucyDominique2@reddit
Block it with the child app
doctormadvibes@reddit
“all these kids rotting their brains on their phones and tablets”
1822Landwood@reddit
“Man my parents became fascists so gradually that I didn’t even notice….”
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Hopefully the extremist trends go out of style soon.
Outrageous-Yam-4653@reddit
My Dad passed a few years back but yes he watched it non stop even as a conservative myself I knew Fox was just BS cheerleaders,cable news will die with him as the average age of those viewer's are in there 60s and 70s..
God bless him fk Fox/CNN
Think_of_anything@reddit
This is my mom but with MSNBC. We’ve tried talking to her about limiting screen time, but the only compromise is she agreed to mute the television when ppl are over.
Battarray@reddit
Fox News is doing/has done to Boomers what they told us video games and Marilyn Manson would do to us.
Ordinary_Aioli_7602@reddit
Fun fact, this is why they started having the logo spin- because this happened a LOT.
mybadalternate@reddit
This must be some new definition of the word ‘fun’ I wasn’t previously aware of.
Ordinary_Aioli_7602@reddit
Yeah, I guess it’s only fun if you’re a mass media nerd lol- I got the factoid from the book “An Atheist in the FOXhole” about a liberal intern turned employee at Fox News in the early days
mybadalternate@reddit
I can only imagine the psychic damage working in that environment must cause anybody who isn’t a sociopath.
Ordinary_Aioli_7602@reddit
I was “invincible” in my 20s too lol, little do we we realize
vinciblechunk@reddit
Had a similar experience visiting some boomer relatives recently. Just... why. Life is a gift and you get to decide what to do with it. Leaving cable news on constantly is fucking doing it wrong.
ronnie-james-dior@reddit
Because it requires no expenditure of energy or independent thought
Drakar_och_demoner@reddit
That's hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I agree. My boyfriend suggested tweeting it to Fox News, in hopes of maybe getting them a new TV, because it's pretty funny.
shrimpcreole@reddit
I think it's time to update the "This is your brain on drugs" PSA to warn against cable news channels.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I strongly agree. I don't even subscribe to the vitriol of Fox News and it stresses me out just hearing it.
palescales7@reddit
There is an amazing and sadly prescient Salon article from 2014 called “I Lost My Father to Fox News”. Read it.
JonnyQuest1981@reddit
It's like the whole generation full on embraced living in 1984, the book not the year
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
JonnyQuest1981@reddit
We are and always have been at war with Eastasia.
Tylerdurden389@reddit
That was my parents last tv. And the one before that. Place your bets on the current one now.
AT442@reddit
My mother used to be an avid reader, books a week type reader. Now now she’s addicted to Facebook and Newsmax. She’ll spend hours scrolling Facebook, clicking on the links it feeds her dragging her further down the rabbit hole.
She had admitted she hasn’t read a book in a year or two. So disappointing.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Mine too. She still reads but not as much.
YT-Deliveries@reddit
r/Qanoncasualties
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Luckily they never jumped on that bandwagon.
LakeEarth@reddit
I was on a flight that had a screen that had movies, and even live TV. The old lady next to me watched Fox News for the entire 6 hour flight. It's so very clearly an addiction.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
A very unhealthy one.
RoiVampire@reddit
My wife’s father used to watch nothing but Fox but the past two years he’s switched to westerns and reruns of Mash and Bones
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
My parents switched to Gun Smoke and Mythbusters for a while but Fox is back with a vengeance.
ilikecats415@reddit
We helped my mom cut the cord and set her up with services that don't have FoxNews or other conservative media (she has CNN through Max and I think that's it). She's pretty middle of the road in her politics but we didn't want her to go full indoctrination after she retired.
She spends most of her TV time watching K-dramas so I feel like our tactic was successful.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
I tend to put mythbusters on for my dad. I was hopeful she was through with Fox forever after Tucker Carlson left. She ditched her cable and switched to NewsMax for a while but she ended up getting a streaming service with Fox News on it.
HootieWoo@reddit
My mother has it on 24/7, literally. And wonders why she can’t sleep.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Mine too. I try to tell her she shouldn't take all that negativity to bed with her.
MaxAmperage@reddit
When I open mom's YouTube TV app on her tv, one of the top three channels is Fox News. If you open it during primetime, it automatically tunes it to Fox News. When you get in her car, her satellite radio is tuned to Fox Business. When you look at her phone, Fox News notifications. If I said what I really think about Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, I'd get a visit from some men with suits and badges.
She was already a Reagan conservative before Fox News happened, but when she talks about politics, it's like you're listening to someone from a parallel universe.
Biscuits4u2@reddit
Is this an LCD panel? If so this may just be reversible image retention and not actual permanent burn in.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
It's a Panasonic plasma TV.
Biscuits4u2@reddit
Oh yeah it's toast then.
Collective82@reddit
My silent generation grandmother would watch CNN that much.
nimrod823@reddit
Tell them to go touch grass and talk to the neighbors. They will see the world isn’t so hateful as FoxNews wants them to believe. Make your own opinions on this world.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Amen to that.
mystiqueallie@reddit
My husband did this to our tv too, like 15 years ago he watched a lot of Glenn Beck at the time.
shivaswrath@reddit
They are.
itssosalty@reddit
But one logo that large? How long could that logo been on the screen? The picture should change. Something doesn’t add up
kevint1964@reddit
The logo is fixed on the screen when their programming is shown. It's on long enough even when it disappears during commercials then reappears, repeating that cycle over & over. The amount of time it appears onscreen over extended periods (which is a lot) is the primary factor.
itssosalty@reddit
Ah. I just realized it’s zoomed in to the very corner
kevint1964@reddit
Another thing is if the channel isn't changed. Casinos I frequent had the ESPN logo burned into their pre HDTV screens, since the channel was rarely changed. Very obvious when non-ESPN network commercials aired.
FewKaleidoscope1369@reddit
Does the TV have parental controls or is it too old?
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
The Roku on which they watch it has parental controls but my mom would get so mad when the parental controls prompt popped up. If I do anything, I'll block the streaming service's DNS servers or IP addresses, through the router.
dilesky@reddit
Better than CNN
jreashville@reddit
One of the things I hate most about living in Alabama is everywhere you go that has a TV, waiting rooms, barber shops, etc. it’s always tuned to FOX news (unless there is a college football game on).
Therealcanadianone@reddit
It's like a skid stain on your TV. Gross.
remoteworker9@reddit
My boomer dad lives on Fox News and Twitter.
poorperspective@reddit
To be fair, my boomer advent parents (born late 60s) and their squarely boomer siblings will admit they were raised by the TV. They bring this up often when some of my cousins will complain about kids and screen time.
I mean having a whole generation of parents that were dealing with repressed PTSD and being emotional unavailable screwed them over as much as the COVID generation of kids know getting to much screen time.
Millennials in a lot of ways with kids and screens are just copying what their parents did. My mom admits to using the TV as a babysitter. I would smile at certain jingles in my sleep as a baby. TV and the extension of media on phones have been the emotional pacifier for America for the last 80 something years.
VPNbeatsBan2@reddit
Your parents are Gen X
poorperspective@reddit
Yes, but they have older siblings raised similarly that are squarely boomers. My mom closes in age sibling is 10 years older. I’m just making a point that we have a society where a majority of people were raised by screens at this point. It’s not necessarily a new phenomenon.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
My boomer parents were raised on radio but still ended up hooked on TV.
cleamilner@reddit
That’s actually really depressing. Their poor brains
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Boy do I know it. I sometimes wonder what their golden years would have been like without Fox News. Would my dad still have dementia? Would there be less tension around here? I can't know for sure, of course, but I consider it a contributing factor.
I hope the popularity of mainstream media will decrease as the population of boomers thins. Younger generations seem to get their news from a wider variety of sources.
May Xennials and their contemporaries master the skill of thinking for themselves and the country and world be united, peaceful, caring and prosperous.
Anjapayge@reddit
My dad got so much screen time that he is now in PT to rebuild his muscles. Really ticks me off that he put himself in that position.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Damn. My mom too. I hadn't even thought about the fact that sitting there all day is causing her muscles to atrophy. No wonder she's so weak.
Anjapayge@reddit
Yep! He got fatter and didn’t want to move cos his back hurt. He couldn’t even walk to the kitchen. All he did since 2019 was be on his iPad and watch Fox News and sit in his chair.
No matter the pain, you have to keep moving. It doesn’t have to be the gym. He also doesn’t even attempt to watch what he eats.. drinking soda all the time as a diabetic.
This is my pms issue of the week - being ticked off dad did this to himself.
helpmeimpoorish@reddit
One of our TVs had the MyTV logo burned into it. Once you saw it, you couldn't unsee it.
justsumguy@reddit
My ex father in law had the ESPN ticker burned into the bottom of his TV.
kevint1964@reddit
It was really noticeable on the pre HDTV flatscreens at the casinos I frequent.
kittysparkles@reddit
OP, my dad passed a couple years ago and I inherited a 77 inch OLED.
It also had the same logo burned into it.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Lol. At least it's something to remember him by. Condolences on his passing. Since my dad has dementia, I know how it feels to lose a father. It's hard.
Poison_Ivy_Rorschach@reddit
My dad is into YouTube channels about camping and tiny homes. My mom likes playing her Nintendo switch more than tv, but does love TCM.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
Dang. You're lucky. I bet they're a lot more positive and chill.
Lobanium@reddit
I'm sure their opinions on everything are entirely their own and they excel at critical thinking.
count_strahd_z@reddit
She watches Fox News all of the time too and we also have the screen burn to prove it. :-(
redditreader_aitafan@reddit
They likely left that screen paused once for an extended period of time on that TV. That kind of shadow doesn't come from shit randomly showing up on the screen for a few seconds at a time even if it flashes 100 times a day.
nerdkraftnomad@reddit (OP)
On Fox News, the logo is always in the corner, except during commercials. They never pause the TV. They watch it live.
Glittering_Tea5502@reddit
Oh wow!
Filthy_Milfie@reddit
This hits rather close to home
VPNbeatsBan2@reddit
I like Fox News sometimes, depends who it is. I don’t like gutfeld nor his diversity hire. But there’s that black woman who looks like a Vulcan who is pretty cool
ASH_the_silent@reddit
I recall this with my grandparents, only it was the stock ticker burned in.
Hooked up a console to play Smash Bros and was constantly distracted by the burn in lines stretching across the entire bottom of the set.
jachildress25@reddit
Big time. My parents have never been political people, but now that they watch Fox News they get upset about so much stupid cherry picked shit that doesn’t impact them even remotely. I keep telling them that these things have always been happening, but they were just too busy living their lives to notice. The world isn’t falling apart, despite what people would have you believe. It is so annoying. They were just normal people, but now they need to turn off the goddamn tv.
suspiciousscents@reddit
My mother and father occupy the same house (the house I grew up in) but essentially live separately. My mom (77) - always upstairs in the master bedroom with Fox News on 24/7, goes out to Costco, chats with people on the phone, and occasionally meets them. My dad (82), downstairs, reading, going to the Y, meeting his friends for breakfast, sitting on the deck, and watching local news and/or Hallmark channel (lol). But it makes me so sad. They’ve been married for 45 years and this is how they will spend their later days.
yearoftherabbit@reddit
I am really glad your dad is doing healthy at that age though!
suspiciousscents@reddit
Thanks! IMO he looks much younger than 82. Staying active (mentally and physically) is key I think.
yearoftherabbit@reddit
Definitely! Activity is so important, people slow down then never get back up. I'm really proud of my parents for purposefully moving and being active in life, especially my dad. He has Parkinson's and he has grabbed life by the balls, I'm so very proud of him!
suspiciousscents@reddit
Oh wow - that is amazing and so inspiring! Good for him. I am making it a goal to stay active even after I retire (forever from now).
yearoftherabbit@reddit
I'm so impressed by his PT program and his gainz that I am going to join his gym. I was doing Pilates but I am hypermobile so I kept overextending and getting hurt, so the guided exercising is going to be a gamechanger! Keeping moving is so fucking important, people think it's a personal attack to say you gotta exercise but it's so true if you wanna live long and be comfortable! Being the healthiest you can be is the goal, it's a worthy one.
suspiciousscents@reddit
So true! And exercise is different for everyone - but the common theme is just staying active and moving.
United_Cry_1084@reddit
Only time I have seen screens burned like that has been old arcade games.
Flashy-Share8186@reddit
My mom usually has CNN on, and hardly pays attention to it… she just wants the sounds in the house so it’s not lonely, she told me once. (She has it up LOUD) I really don’t understand watching or listening to hours and hours of tv; personally I always blasted music playlists for that. Is it the relentless tv watching that is making their thought processes deteriorate or is it their minds deteriorating that makes tv more enticing? Or both?
cryptolipto@reddit
CNN burned in on mine. I had to get a new TV
tigerclawwwwwwwwwwww@reddit
Yes. My mother is never not looking at her phone and takes a solid 10 seconds to respond or acknowledge that she’s being spoken to.
I can only imagine the licks I woulda got for doing the same. Actually, no I don’t have to imagine it.
sicksixgamer@reddit
As much as I loved my Dad, me and my Stepmom talked about how he watched too much news. Love him to death but part of me is glad he isn't around to see all this craziness now.
InsertNonsenseHere@reddit
When my mother started getting weird politically I just deleted Fox out of the channel list. Calmed her right down. She got down right lefty in her later years after that.
FigNewton555@reddit
We haven’t been to my in laws house in a long while now.
But I would bet their tv is the same.
yearoftherabbit@reddit
So grateful my parents are young and are liberal for so many reasons, especially that I would be sick with anxiety if I had to hear that shit all day.
One-Sun-783@reddit
set the parental control blocks on their television using the remote...my parents were too old and stupid to know that's what i did and now they're much less radicalized because they're not getting their daily doses of right wing propaganda and brainwashing...why there's anti american propaganda networks in america ill never understand...
Alternative-Light514@reddit
My family is on a trip with my boomer mother in law. Whenever she’s around, I always hear her phone dinging notifications. Constantly. I assumed it was text messages from her sisters, who she’s in constant contact with. On this trip, she left her phone on the table and I found out all the notifications are from Fox News.
cranberries87@reddit
My mom is in her 80s, and is a diehard, loyal democrat, and always will be. Her TV is typically tuned to MSNBC. However, when she switches from MSNBC, she turns to some wackadoo Christian network. Although she votes Dem, she’s starting to pick up some of the same ridiculous talking points from this channel - anti LGBT, end times talk, fretting about taking prayer out of schools, hurricanes and storms being a “message”, etc.
SolidDistribution542@reddit
My parents watch no fewer than twelve hours of TV daily. A large portion of those hours are spent with an iPad in hand, as well. They usually do all this while railing that young people spend too much time on screens.
admosquad@reddit
Left leaning mainstream news is nowhere near as bad as the propaganda Fox puts out. They don’t even mention Trumps multiple trials on Fox. It’s like comparing apples to Propaganda.
pct2daextreme@reddit
Yes, and unfortunately the last of the “Greatest Generation”.
No_Act1861@reddit
My mom does this with MSNBC. I get it, I agree with their programming, but I don't understand sitting and being spoon fed opinions you already agree with. Like, what's the point?
DudelinBaluntner@reddit
Yes. My parents are outraged and stressed about every little political intrigue. I tell them all the time to turn off the news. They grew up watching Cronkite and Brokaw for a half an hour every day to get their update on world and national events. So, now that news is 24 hours a day (and they’re retired and have the time to watch), they literally think they need to have it on all day! They don’t understand that 24hour news make its money by continuously stoking the flames of political outrage.
Steal-Your-Face77@reddit
lol, this should be cross posted on r/4kTV as a warning to potential OLED buyers :)
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
It's not the screen you need to worry about, it's their retinas and brains. 💔
On the bright side, you can now just lock the tv to Sesame Street television and point out that they're still watching fox news entertainment.
gnrlgumby@reddit
When I walked into my grandparents place they were playing opera music. I have aunts / uncles who won’t even turn off Fox News during holiday gatherings. The generational downgrade is noticeable.
Active_Storage9000@reddit
I had to tell my dad he was being rude in general keeping fox on all the time when guests were over and gave him an ultimatum about my visits. That finally got him to turn it off.
But same, my grandfather listened to classical music. It's just sad.
fatherdoodle@reddit
The boomers are everything they warned us about
ToothAccomplished@reddit
Just like their favourite gun violence victim
a_seventh_knot@reddit
my mom is retired and has little to do.
she spends a LOT of time on facebook these days with cable news on in the background.
Accurate-Long-259@reddit
That’s all my parents and in-laws are able to talk with us about. Everything they watch on tv. Yet that have the nerve to tell us we let our kids have too much screen time. Uh…okay.
mybadalternate@reddit
“Don’t sit so close to the screen, it’s bad for you.”
Ok-Ease-2312@reddit
My mom is 69 and her roommate is 74. Both pretty open minded and liberal politically. However roommate watches so much Rachel maddow etc. Having all that political stuff all day just filters into their heads and creates fear too. My mom subscribes to all sorts of investing emails that warn about the end of the economy and social order. Same exact fears on the left and right about the world ending. But in different ways with different people to blame. This can't be good. My mom retired from a long nursing career just before covid. I am glad she wasn't in the trenches because she may have had a real hard time mentally. Fortunately both ladies are busy with part time work and elder care and plenty of outings so at least they see people!
Stardustquarks@reddit
Absolutely. And their gen has always been news obsessed, so both mine (genx) and my Xennial gf’s parents stare at fucking Fox News all day long
Swayjah@reddit
We had to block the channel because my father in law would come over, put it on and work himself up. Worked like a charm. Sorry IDK what happened to that channel buddy 😔
Serpentine32@reddit
My Mom only watches PBS. Apart from their news, which is very refreshing comparatively, all of their offerings are filled with such learning and curiosity about the world. I’m her caretaker now and as I watch more and more of the programming myself I keep telling myself sister that this world would be a much better, more peaceful place if everyone watched more PBS.
adimadoz@reddit
They really are the original TV generation. The first ones to grow up watching tv.
thejunkmanadv@reddit
This is so true. They are also the ones that really got brand recognition ingrained from the commercials. I seem to notice that younger (meaning young GenX, Xenials, Millennials) when referring more generic products like Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, ect.. will use the drug name, where as Boomers will use the brand name like Advil, Tylenol, ect..
At times when a Boomer says Advil for example when they really just mean any (store brand or otherwise) Ibuprofen, I have to consciously think "Now which drug is in that brand?"
That is just something that I have noticed over the last 15 years.
SlapHappyDude@reddit
Yeah, obviously we let the TV babysit them, but I already have to entertain the kids, unfortunately the parents just have to fend for themselves.
It's nice when the alphas and boomers play together and we get a break.
andiinAms@reddit
Man do I feel lucky that my parents never went to the dark side.
RoxyLA95@reddit
My parents have had Fox News on nonstop since 9/11/2001.
TheIadyAmalthea@reddit
My parents don’t have cable, thank god… but they do watch stupid shit on YouTube. All my in laws watch is Fox News and other conservative slop. I think it seriously alters their brain chemistry to be constantly exposed to paranoid rantings. They used to be somewhat normal. Now they are anything but normal.
Godloseslaw@reddit
Yeah it's pretty sad. If I was retired and money were no issue, last thing I'd do is sit around and watch cable news all day. Fortunately, my parents are not Trumpers, I just think they waste their time.
gloebe10@reddit
My in laws have this same problem with the CNN breaking news logo stuck on their screen.
nm_stanley@reddit
I remember going to my ex’s grandparents’ house in 2015 and it was Fox News literally 24/7. I can’t imagine what it would be like now. A nightmare.
sthef2020@reddit
Might be the perfect metaphor for that generation really.
Even when the channel is changed, the impact remains.
Eauxddeaux@reddit
Mine are on the same level, but with msnbc
XFrankXGrimesX@reddit
Nope but I'm lucky. An ex's parents get up, put on Fox News and sit there on the couch until it's bedtime. If they have to run an errand, they have Fox on satellite. Wonderful way to spend your golden years, sitting on your butt watching millionaires blubber about how Buzz Lightyear is woke.
Orwell was so childishly optimistic about the "two minutes hate"
SnooConfections6085@reddit
It's not a coincidence that 1984 was written just after the earliest national news broadcasts.
XFrankXGrimesX@reddit
He really nailed that right out of the gate. Thirtyish years later, if I was not a toddler in 1980 I really don't think I would have recognized the launch of CNN and 24-hour news to be such a cancer
VaselineHabits@reddit
How could have been a bad thing to be informed? Well, they had to do something to fill that time and I'm just waiting for the inevitable "Ow My Balls" reality show
pegasuspaladin@reddit
Next time you are there just child lock it and gaslight them when they call you on it. They're republican, they're here for the gaslighting
Numerous-Profile-872@reddit
See, what's weird is my conservative parents parrot Fox News talking points but go forbid I actually turn it on for them when visiting, because I'm still a guest and I'm nosy, they will freak the fuck out and ask me to turn it off or change the channel.
I'm a really, really confused person anymore.
Taco_party1984@reddit
“Video games are going to rot your brain!!!!” STFU boomer.
Slippinjimmyforever@reddit
My dad doesn’t watch it too much, but he buys into the outrage News hook line and sinker every time.
It’s sad to see, but he’s always sort of been like that.
ennuiismymiddlename@reddit
My 63 year old mother is glued to her iPad most of the day.
chevalier716@reddit
24 hour news cycle besides, the tv is ALWAYS on, even my dad has left the room. My gfs parent's are the same way, tv or radio on all the time and super loud.
SciFi_MuffinMan@reddit
My MIL doesn’t watch fox anymore because it’s now woke. She exclusively watches OAN and sits up on the side of the bed at 3am watching ultra conservatives on instagram and videos on Truth social. Good conversations in the morning, usually about Taylor swift being an agent of the devil.
-Crazy_Plant_Lady-@reddit
There are people who think Fox is…”woke”?!?! 😱😱😱
Baked_Potato_732@reddit
There are people who think that CNN is right wing propaganda, so I guess it balances out.
Dick-Guzinya@reddit
Ha! I like that they’re hanging onto that good ol CRT TV and haven’t upgraded to a flat screen for like $50.
Schtick_@reddit
That’s legit impressive, they should get some sort of boomer award
UnwillingHummingbird@reddit
My FIL spends all day watching TV, either CNN or sports. I think the sports are fine, but I'm really shocked how bad CNN has become in recent years. It's just a constant stream of shit. He's a grown man, I'm not going to tell him what to do (and as bad as CNN is, I don't think it's as bad as Fox), but I do worry about it having a negative affect on his mental health.
jw071@reddit
Mom’s hooked on the idiot box. How can anyone stand to sit and listen to all that hatefulness all day?
raikougal@reddit
Thankfully, my Mom has already passed, she was my only family, but when she was alive the only thing she really wanted to watch was home improvement shows. Yeah she liked news sometimes but couldn't stand the constant stream of negative BS coming in. So with her it was a steady diet of reality TV and home improvement shows.
ManateeFlamingo@reddit
Block that channel
481126@reddit
Yet kids these days are on their phones too much.
So many older people I know turn the TV on when they wake up and it drones on and on all day until they go to bed. They can turn the telescreens off but they don't want to.
Big-Buffalo2252@reddit
Some even sleep with their TVs on!
melikefood123@reddit
I fall asleep to some old Simpson episodes. Not sure what kind of monster that makes me...
heresmytwopence@reddit
https://i.redd.it/gpxjgog8w2dd1.gif
melikefood123@reddit
larryb78@reddit
When I walk into my moms place it’s a lock that the tv will be on and if the local 24 hour news channel isn’t on it’ll be either blue bloods reruns or some show from the 70s on Mets
-Crazy_Plant_Lady-@reddit
Hello, are you…me?
OriginalUsernameGet@reddit
I am so sorry
tommyjohnpauljones@reddit
For someone who claims to never watch the news, my mom sure watches a lot of news
BILLYsmaalls@reddit
I’m pretty sure my dad has had a weather channel on since ‘85
Successful-Winter237@reddit
🤮🤮🤮
Egodram@reddit
That and Newsmax
red_the_room@reddit
No. My parents are adults and I don’t feel the need to monitor them.
quintk@reddit
My parents are rural and don’t pay for cable or streaming services so they stop live the hour a day of major network news as far as I know. There’s nothing watching most of the time so they don’t. They share one of our streaming logging. They get a newspaper. I don’t think they’d be outrage junkies anyway but they avoid a huge trap by not having access to cable news. They aren’t elderly yet though.
News is hard though even for younger folks. I prefer “news you can read” to social media and even pay for a digital subscription for a major newspaper. That’s really rare.
Reddit is my social media fix and I lock it down aggressively for mental health (careful curation of subreddits, no public or all, browser plugins to block suggested / algorithmic content, keyword filters to hide posts with certain names on them, etc).
Big-Buffalo2252@reddit
I have some boomer relatives (not my parents, fortunately) who seem to watch TV constantly. Not just Fox News, but also other fictional programming. Lots of depressing garbage from the 1950s-70s like westerns and crime dramas.
heresmytwopence@reddit
I stayed with my parents for a few days last year for the first time in 17 years and immediately noticed how much TV they watch. SO. MUCH. TV. Thankfully, their news habits haven’t changed since I was a kid. They watch their local news station twice a day, first thing in the morning and again at 5pm, often while passing the newspaper back and forth. Otherwise it’s mostly just cooking shows and reality TV nonsense I had never heard of. I swear they’re more dialed into modern pop culture than I am.
joeybagofdonuts80@reddit
I didn’t have to look for burn marks in their TV. I knew they were consuming Fox News all day because they became increasingly political, paranoid, angry, and hyper focused on 2-3 things they thought were “ruining our country”, even though their day to day lives were always the same. By the time my dad died we no longer had a relationship and his friend group had dwindled down to a few angry blue collar guys he met at Ace Hardware.
cjandstuff@reddit
My mom swears she doesn’t watch much Fox News, but it’s on every time I visit her. A few times I’ve left her house, but had to come right back because I forgot something, and in less than 2 minutes she’s back watching it again. At least she turns it off while I’m there.
Rude_Cartographer934@reddit
Sounds like it's time for the TV to "break"
jambr380@reddit
I used to go stay with my Grandma back in the 90s on school vacations after my Grandpa passed away and I always used to make fun of her for having 'Court TV' burned into her huge rear-projection television. She couldn't believe it when I pointed it out to her and it became a running joke.
But, yeah, if you're to this point of watching Fox News, you're kind-of a lost cause. When I visit my parents, I always catch them having Fox News as the last channel that was on or with some crazy conservative radio station in their car (it used to be Rush Limbaugh). Try to enjoy the time you have left with your parents - if there's one thing I've learned, you aren't going to change their minds now.
Bourbon-No-Ice@reddit
My parents watch too much news. It bothers me for a lot of reasons 1. They get their news from one "trusted source" 2. They watch too much of only it. (They watch shows too. But only one news) 3. Because they watch so much tv they don't get out and do things as much and are becoming older, you don't use it you lose it. 4. The real world is so much greater than perceived on TV, like a lot better, and I'd say no matter your stance along a lot of things 90%.. 85% of people are truly good, or at least no ill-willed, people.
Holiday_Resort2858@reddit
There is a scene in Succession where they talk about how thier logo is burned into the screen and they had to animate it to stop that.