VLVL2: Tubal Culture in 2003

[Tim Strzechowski]

[...]

Ornelas, 25, now lives with his mom in Denver and welcomes the chance to escape with the remote control.

"Everyone I know watches a lot of TV. I don't think it's a problem," he says.

Watching TV has become Ornelas' part-time job. His reasons seem dire, but marketing experts say he reflects an emerging demographic of unhappy, unsatisfied twentysomethings who rely on TV for comic relief.

InsightExpress, a Stamford, Conn., Internet research firm, recently polled 500 Americans in their 20s and determined that a third feel disillusioned with their careers, close to half have money troubles, and many rely on their parents to make ends meet.

While younger Americans tear up the digital superhighway and older Americans are steeped in real-life drama, this TV poll found restless twentysomethings are leading viewership trends away from the major networks.

Despite popular belief, these young adults often bypass substance-induced escapism at bars and clubs, along with the adrenaline-based high available at the gym. Endemic money problems prohibit such expensive fun, according to InsightExpress. [...]


http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-030903twenty,1,2905416.story?coll=chi-homepagepromo451-fea
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