Yes, I am afflicted with "TiVo guilt"
It was only a matter of time. What was once the ultimate convenience for TV fans has now been labeled as an affliction. Brad Berens of iMedia, a company that analyzes the way advances in media impact people's lives, had identified the responsibility we feel when we TiVo or DVR a show or series and then don't get around to watching it in a timely fashion as "TiVo guilt." I can't disagree. I don't know about you, but I'm always checking my DVR list to see what's stacked up that I still have to watch. It's not that I feel like I have to watch these shows -- after all I recorded them because I want to see them -- but there is a burden attached.
According to Berens, what I'm experiencing is called "opportunity costs," and my TiVo viewing has become -- believe it or not -- homework!
Good grief, Charlie Brown, is that what it's come to? I don't doubt that some people legitimately feels weighed down by the commitments they've made to record the entire season of something only to find they don't have the time to keep up with the episodes. It happens. I get it. I have a Warner Brothers documentary that American Masters aired on PBS back in September sitting on one DVR in the living room -- which I will get around to watching -- and I've only just caught up with about four weeks worth of Heroes. Still, that's entertainment, not homework. Really. I love my TV, even the shows that are piled up on my queue.
Also, there's a flipside of TiVo guilt that Berens has overlooked. I call it "TiVo catharsis." It's that great feeling you get when you've caught up with your viewing and cleaned out your DVR list. When you've watched those shows and can delete them, the little gauge showing how much more space is available on your DVR climbs, that -- my friends -- is a feeling of real accomplishment!
So, while the anti-TV crowd gives you permission to delete those shows you haven't gotten around to watching, I say delete if you must, but if you can take a single day over the holidays, try TiVo catharsis instead and clean out your DVR by watching those shows you taped!

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