The average person today spends approximately ten hours a week watching TV, and the average household has three televisions. Thirty years ago, the average person spent twenty hours a week watching TV, but the average house only had one television.
Each of the following, if true, helps resolve the apparent discrepancy above EXCEPT:
A)Televisions are difficult to dispose of or recycle, so many people keep televisions even if they are not in use.
B)There were fewer TV channels thirty years ago, and most Americans only watched mainstream programming, thus needing fewer television sets.
C)The statistics for television watching today do not include television programs watched online or on DVDs.
D)Many Americans today have larger houses with guest rooms with television sets that are rarely, if ever, used.
E)The quality of television programming has decreased over the past thirty years, making it less popular than movies or video games.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Television programming quality decreasing over the past thirty years does not explain the discrepancy in the passage. All other answers explain why there are more televisions that are not being watched (A and D); less need for multiple TVs thirty years ago (B); or why the statistics may not be entirely reliable (C). A decrease in the quality of television programs does not explain why there would be more TVs in homes today despite a decrease in television's popularity.

The Average Person Today Spends Approximately Ten Hours a Week