Can anyone else not focus on the TV without looking at their phone or something else?

[Donthaveagoodusername]

I struggle to sit and watch anything for a full hour or whatever (unless it's incredibly captivating and amazing maybe) without needing to play on my phone or do something else at the same time.
Anyone else ? Same with books, I really struggle to sit and read a book for more than a few pages st once. Not sure if there's something wrong with me?

Glad its not just me, I can mange about 20 minutes before I'm checking my phone. Im not eve fully aware that I am doing it.
I used to read books for hours, now I only read on holiday ( if there's no 4g!)

no i dont have this prob , i mainly like watching true crime docs though or something based on true history and both of these tend to run an hour , i just get engrossed in them and if im reading , then i will be reading the book in silence , i dont get distracted by anything ,
the only thing i might do if im watching something is pause it , i watch them on ytube to pop out to garden for coffee and fag break halfway through

Reading is not a problem.

TV - it's rare that I find anything which actually interests me. Most programms are either boring reality shows, quiz shows, sitcoms, repeats or serieis which are so similar I can't remember which one it is.

I like watching a movie but most evenings it's too late to start it as I don't like going to sleep straight after TV, I need at least 1/2hour with a book before light is out.

Yeah I realised I wasn’t enjoying tv so much anymore because I was always distracted.

Now I knit blankets for a local charity - mindless and easy but keeps my hands busy so that I can actually focus on the show without fiddling with my phone.

As a teen I often had a book reading while watching TV - drove my DDad mad for some reason but I followed both stories and missed boring bits on TV.

Sometimes now I do same with kindle - sometime I'm looking stuff that comes up and other times I'm sewing and watching - and sometimes I'm dealing with converstations - especially if IL are here but sometimes when teens/cats need something - have also ironed to TV.

It's easier these days can can stop TV and can re-wind so if miss something it's not so bad. Actually with box sets and streaming usually catch little things that usually forgotten or missed with terrestial TV and week long gaps.

Yes, always been like this. Used to drive my sister mad when we were little as I'd be reading a magazine while watching tv, still the same - playing online games, painting my nails, brushing the dog, reading mumsnet. I have ADHD!

Me too, I know it's terrible. I get less enjoyment from what I'm watching. I've got into colouring and watercolour pencils to keep me half distracted without 2 screens but I have to remember to get the bits before I sit down.

I'm worse on my own, if I watch something with my boyfriend it gets my full attention but alone I'm often scrolling. I have noticed when im tired or anxious it gets worse

I've always done something else when watching TV, from homework decades ago (😳), to reading, studying and craft work.
So it would be difficult to assess whether my concentration span has deteriorated.
I found that re reading certain books would remind me of long gone TV programmes!

I have bought a phone safe!!

And I have blocking apps!

It’s the only way to reclaim my attention.

It’s tragic.

A lot of the time no. Phone, tablet or the mountain of washing that needs folding daily 🤣

Only when the ads are on

Me too. We've just watched the Tourist which got properly weird (anyone agree?) half way through and I wasn't concentrating so lost the thread of it completely... mind you, think I might have got confused without the double screening.

To really focus on reading I have to leave my phone and ipad in a different room. My best reading time is in the bath and first thing in the morning as the phone is on a different floor!

One of my new term resolutions (last September) was to focus on and enjoy one thing at a time more. So I do try to leave my phone / ipad in a different room when I'm watching TV or indeed working.

DS drives me mad doing a language app (for his GCSEs) while watching TV. I tell him he won't learn anything if he's just clicking through without focusing.

I find as soon as adverts come on I'm reaching for my phone. Terrible really.

Weekend mornings are the worst though... we usually get woken early by DD but instead of getting up we sit scrolling on our phones whilst DD watches TV.... lose so much time which could be used more productively!

If I'm watching a film and think "that bloke looks like the man from another film" I might look it up (e.g. Seth in "Superbad" looks like a younger version of Nice Guy Eddie in "Reservoir Dogs" but couldn't have been him because it was made 15 years earlier)

I do similar, always on IMDB with a "what else was he in" question. (the answer is always "law and order")

I rarely watch TV, I've usually got something on the go on the iPad in the background but sitting watching a programme or film, I've never been very good at that.

DS drives me mad doing a language app (for his GCSEs) while watching TV. I tell him he won't learn anything if he's just clicking through without focusing.

I'm with your DS. I focus better with something on in the background. Otherwise it's too quiet and I can't focus.

Yeah I think I have adhd

Yes - I prefer to knit whilst watching TV

DH gets wound up by me knitting as “due to your job we don’t see a lot of each other and you want to sit knitting”

We’re watching someth8ng on tv - hardly likely to be getting foot rubs etc lol

I'm very much the same. I find it very difficult to concentrate on anything nowadays. My phone is to hand far too much. I'm embarrassed about how often I'm on it, quite honestly.

Same here. I'm always googling who the actors are or the writers or even the plot of the film I'm watching. I often watch a YouTube video on the side or search for something I might buy that's related to the programme I'm trying to watch. I do my own head in with it.

Yes, I have actually started ironing more as it means I can watch TV without fiddling with my phone.

@TurquoiseDragon

I'm quite happy to focus on the TV, don't have a problem with that. I just do crochet while I watch, because I fidget if I'm not doing something with my hands.

Same here. I usually knit.