Turning out the big light

[Barney16]

I'm interested to know if I'm deluded or if my DP is quite mad. Every single evening at some point, whilst we are sitting in the living room watching TV, he will say mind if I turn the big light out? If he does we are plunged into virtual darkness except for a rather rubbish table lamp. It's like sitting in the dark more or less. He says he likes it because "it's like being in the pictures". It isn't, it's exactly like sitting in the dark. It's obviously a completely mundane problem but I honestly don't think the majority of people sit in the dark watching their TV do they?

@Barney16 find your inner lamp 😄

So many people living in darkness! I wonder if housebuilders will stop adding a big light in every room at this rate 😮

real lack of moral fibre among the big light haters if you ask me 😂

We watch movies with the lights off but programs with the lights on. Not the "big light" though. That's too harsh. We have lamps for evening TV watching.

You sound like me and DH. I like the big light. He doesn’t. It doesn’t help that I need to get a new bulb for one of our lamps right now either so it’s much darker than usual. Lamplight still isn’t good enough for me though. I like a bright room.

No to the big light.

We have various lamps and fairy lights. The big light only gets turned on for cleaning!

Usual 40 and 60 watt bulbs or equivalent. At least we don't have spotlights in living areas like you see in some houses 😱

DH’s parents sit watching tv in pitch darkness with the blinds closed. If you pass the house at night you can’t tell if anyone’s at home.

But I cannot abide ceiling lights. We only have them because they were there, and as it’s a Victorian house with cornicing and ceiling roses, it woukd probably look odd if we moved them. They’re never turned on, apart from in the hall and on landings, though. We have a lot of lamps.

I hate the big light. We just have one small wall light. Weekends are movie nights so no lights at all

We don't even have big lights in most rooms. Just lamps that turn on with the main wall switch.

I never have my big light on. I have two
large table lamps that sit on side tables and provide more than enough lighy

i agree I wouldn’t want to sit in the dark to watch tv

Me too… I have a big light kind of “phobia” or intense disliking is prob a better description.. I can’t sit in a room with the main light on and relax. I have lots of lamps triggered from a few switches and sometimes I don’t even turn all of those on!!

I don’t use any of the big lights, it’s too bright and everything in the rooms looks shit. Lamps and fairy lights everywhere, or under cupboard lighting

@Barney16 So you watch tv with the big light on? That’s weird for me.

I cannot stand the big light as soon as its dark outside. Lamps and candles go on, big light out. I hate overhead lights.

I'm ASD and ADHD - I gather that with some individuals there can be a link with the dislike of the Big Light!

I want rooms as bright as possible. I have 150 watt bulbs in all the rooms. Can’t stand dim lamps.

Oh god, unplugging the TV. Not even switching it off at the wall, which of course is complete electrical isolation — no, you had to physically remove the plug from the socket.

The reason for this was that TVs used to start up really slowly. So in the mid/late 1950s someone produced a model that had a little pre-warming coil that was always on, so it would start quicker. A total of about two of these caused house fires, and because it was far too complex to explain to people how to check if they had one, or how to use a socket switch properly, the mantra was reduced to "pull the TV plug out of the wall at bedtime".

My PIL still did this until they died in 2011/2012.

Dimmer big light here with warm colour temperature bulb at a low setting - with added red table lamps.

Not that expensive to change from switch to dimmer.

I love to sit in the dark it helps with my headaches and the kids can't see what I'm eating in secret

"real lack of moral fibre among the big light haters if you ask me "

How very dare you! 🤣

Lamps ftw

I still have bad memories of when I was a teenager in the 80s and my parents bought this hideous, bright white, circular fluorescent light for the living room ceiling. God, but I hated it. You just couldn't relax with this horrible, glaring white light overhead. I spent all the time in my bedroom after that, where I had a table lamp on my chest of drawers. Thankfully, they have since seen the light, 😉 and now have lamps and reading lights in their living room, which is so much nicer.

@samarrange thank you for that exquisite explanation.
I remember my parents doing it and suppose learned behaviour on my part .

Another who hates the big light on. My DS moans about how I like living in the dark and XP used to call me a mole! In my defence I have an eye condition that makes it harder to regulate my pupils, and I find all lights dazzling and/or irritating. I wear those yellow glasses for night driving as I really struggle with the glare otherwise. YABU!

Living room big light hardly comes on in my house. We just use lamps in the evening.

“It’s like Blackpool illuminations in here” is a common saying if the big light’s on 😂

We never have the big light on watching TV!

If you have a problem seeing with the big light off you probably need better lamps/alternative lights, not to make him sit there with the big light on!