Survey finds television used in awkward social situations and for office banter

by Daniel Falconer | 4 June 2014

Panasonic have recently revealed the results from a new survey which details some interesting information about our habits when it comes to watching television.

A total of 2,000 adults in the UK were asked for opinions and answers to all sorts of questions with the survey eventually finding that a massive 85% of respondents believe that 'being up' on current television leaves them with an advantage when they're looking for a safe topic to break the ice in any awkward situations.

"Most daily conversations are what could be called small talk, particularly with people we don't know that well." says psychologist Gladeana McMahon.

She continued: "It's not surprising that TV shows feature in this, as they give us a wide range of issues to talk about - it takes the pressure off more personal discussions."

Just over a quarter of those asked (26%) believed that they get more use out of following high quality dramas than news and current affairs (23%) in order to make interesting conversation with associates.

Insight is given when you notice that the gap between news and drama widened for those aged between 16 and 24, with 35% of that age group stating that those who watch dramas make for a more interesting conversation - only 13% said the same about watching the news.

“It’s interesting that young people think watching quality drama rather than news is crucial to keeping up with conversation,” said Panasonic’s TV expert Craig Cunningham. “Young people are used to consuming news online rather than through the TV. This doesn’t mean they’re not interested in it – it just means they get their news fix in a different way. For young millennials the TV has never been about news, it’s always been more about entertainment.”

Those who haven't seen a show that everyone else seems to talk about admitted they've experience feeling left out of a social group (61%), with young people feeling this the most (85%).

The answer for just over 1 in 4 of us (26%) is to pretend we've watched a television show just to join in with the banter, and 36% of those surveyed admitted they've in the past used a joke, made a pop culture reference or stolen a catchphrase from a television show or film they've actually never seen.

TV 'bluffers' get their information from friends (50%), newspapers and magazines (35%), social media (27%), and watercooler chat (22%).

However, 'anti-social' chats are a cause for concern, as the research tells the story of how non-viewers' eyes glaze over.

Game of Thrones gossip managed to pull in the highest percentage (40%) as a conversation-killer amongst non-fans, and others with the same effect include Breaking Bad (34%), Sherlock (30%), Mad Men (11%), House of Cards (10%), True Detective (9%), The Bridge (8%) and Girls (6%).