TiVo Inspires Rudeness

As infrequently as I actually use my TiVo, I've come to realize that it affects natural conversation by making it too easy to knowingly annoy someone. Similarly, it gives high-definition (heh, heh) to the finite end of a discussion.

Say you walk in on someone watching TV and start talking. One of two things will happen: they'll either begin interacting, or they'll pause the show they're watching. If they pause the show, that's an admission that either a) they want to concentrate on the show and you're bothering them, or b) they want to give you their full attention.

Now, the cynicist in me rules out b) easily enough: I know of *no one* who has ever shut off a normal television during idle chit-chat. Shutting off a television (silencing the distraction) is equivalent to pausing TiVo (though, TiVo can certainly inspire some "bwahhahaha, look at her face!" comments).

Continuing on with the pausing eventuality, you're chittering away when there's a lull in the conversation. Suddenly, they unpause the show. This is dramatic: they are done talking to you. This also means you must think twice about talking again: starting anew creates an awkward "pause the show; what was that?" moment. Likewise, with the other person in control of the remote, they can determine the end of a conversation you yourself started.

This is different than sitting down and watching a Movie: that is an Event. Whether you're renting a movie, or watching the clock, you're Planning to sit through two hours of fixed concentration, where plots (can) be a lot more involved then situation comedies. TiVo is about futzing with live TV, the Great Detritus, the thing to do when there's nothing to do. Giving TV more power over conversations, even with fringe benefits like pausing and Season Passes, isn't a good thing, but rather equivalent to the disappearance of regular meals at the dinner table.