The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

How did you do in the switch to digital TV?

Since I signed up for Comcast last year, I wasn’t affected by change from analog signals to digital TV or DTV on June 12.

However, I have an old TV set. The Comcast technician hooked me up through my DVD player because my TV didn’t have the right plug ins. I’m not able to watch DVDs now, so I need to call about how to get that fixed.

I may need to buy a new TV set.

The switch to digital TV on Friday went off without any major hitches, the Federal Communications Commission reported in the article “Switch to Digital Television (DTV) Went Remarkably Well” on GovCentral.com.

More than 900 full-power TV stations shut down their analog signals on Friday, and they now broadcast only digital signals.

The analog shutdown affected 20 million TV households in the U.S. that received signals over the air, not via cable or satellite.

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps described the handling of the transition as a major success for the government, which has been planning the switch for more than a decade.

“For TV broadcasting, it was a final farewell to the Dinosaur Age and the dawn of the Digital Age,” Copps said in a prepared statement.

However, ConsumerAffairs.com said millions of taxpayers fumed as the 60-year era of high-powered, free, over-the-air television faded abruptly to black or, in some cases, broke up into tiny digital fractals.

The commission received nearly 800,000 calls from citizens complaining they had lost their free TV signals as the nation's TV broadcasters switched to digital transmission on a different set of frequencies than those that have been in use since the early days of commercial television.

The largest volume of calls per TV household among markets registering 1,000 or more calls came from the Chicago media market, followed by the Dallas-Fort Worth, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore markets.

While the focus has been on the analog-to-digital transition, the change in frequency bands is a more significant contributor to the problem, according to ConsumerAffairs.com. Hundreds of broadcasters had to move because the federal government auctioned off the frequencies formerly used by VHF broadcasters for several billion dollars a few years ago.

The new frequency band assigned to TV broadcasters doesn't have the power the old one did. Therefore, those in the far reaches of suburbia are suddenly finding they can't get a decent signal.

Many close-in urban dwellers have for years been able to get by with a set of "rabbit ears," inside antennas that can pull in a strong local signal. But the new frequencies don't penetrate buildings as well as the old ones, so the rabbit ears no longer "hear" anything.

Even though D-Day for DTV has occurred, the government still is offering two $40 coupons per household for converter boxes. But you have to act fast because the coupon program is ending on July 31.

For more information you can contact the FCC’s hotline: 888-CALL-FCC or go to www.dtv.gov.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Super Bowl's best, worst ads

If baby boomers were one of the target audiences for the Super Bowl ads this year, it must have been the baby boomer male companies and ad makers were pitching to. Ads for beer and cars seemed to predominate.

Of course, upcoming movies and NBC shows were also heavily advertised.
 
Steve Johnson rated the ads as follows for his blog on the Chicago Tribune:

• The Best – Monster.com, with an Honorable Mention to Career Builder.

• The Worse – Teleflora, with an Honorable Mention to Doritos.

• Best Proof That 3D Is Not Advertising’s Future – “Monsters vs. Aliens” movie ad.

• Best Animal Ad -- Budweiser’s Clydesdales.

• Should Have Been in 3D – Coke.

• Best Deadpan in Super Bowl Ad (Ever) – Hulu.com.

• Most Cringe Inducing – Cash$Gold.com.

• Nice Try, But… – H&R Block.

USA Today rated these ads for how they matched recessionary times:

• Bud Light: Corporate bean counter proposes no Bud Light at meetings to cut budget – 7.49

• Career Builder.com: When you know it’s time to get a new job – 7.37.

• E-Trade: Babies discuss "brutal" economy and E-Trade -- 7.27.

• Monster.com: Old job gets the wrong end of the moose – 6.95.

• Denny’s: Tweaks rival’s fancy pancakes, offers everyone free Grand Slam breakfast – 6.62.

• Cash4Gold: Ed McMahon and M.C. Hammer trade gold mementos for added cash – 5.58.

• Hyundai: Assurance program lets buyers return car without credit penalty if they lose job – 4.68.

I thought the Super Bowl ads were often too violent. Bill Swain, writing for Associated Content, agrees:

Super Bowl commercials have become as much a part of the celebrated game as the actual game itself. Super Bowl XLIII was no exception to the rule; although the year 2009 might go down as the year of violent commercials and lame remakes. Almost every commercial, from Cheeto's with the attack of the birds, to Doritos with their crystal ball and the Diet Pepsi commercial with the lightning had violent overtones mixed in with bad comedy.

A recent study by Common Sense Media – a group that provides ratings and reviews of TV shows, movies, and video games to parents – reported half of the commercial breaks during NFL telecasts show at least one advertisement featuring sex, drugs, or alcohol.

Almost 500 of the ads showed an increased form of violence, including murders, explosions, and gunfights. The CSM staff watched 50 NFL games this season and logged more than 5,000 commercials.

Among the study’s findings:

• 40 percent of games showed ads for erectile dysfunction drugs.

• 46.5 percent of the sexual or violent advertisements were promotions by the broadcast networks for their own programs.

CSM wants ads of this type to be shown when children aren’t watching.

Meredith Lopez, blogging on the Huntington Post.com in the article “Super Bowl? Yes Please! Sexist Ads, No Thank You!” wants football ads cleaned up so kids who watch football will receive a better image of women.

What bothers me is the prevalence of sexism in football ads. In the 21st century, how can anyone be O.K. with this? How do these ad companies – and the companies they represent – even do it? Sexism in ads, to me, is not only offensive, it's beyond outdated to the point of being pathetic. Do we really still need half-naked women in bikinis to increase beer sales? Or dancing supermodels in mini-dresses to sell some vitamin drink?

I agree. 

I’d like to see better quality ads on TV that are less violent and sexist.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Are baby boomers shopping on Black Friday?

What draws people to Black Friday, the big shopping extravaganza the day after Thanksgiving, and are baby boomers among those getting up in the middle of the night, standing in line, and looking for huge savings?

Baby boomers – 36 percent – and the silent Generation – 18 percent – are less likely to shop on Black Friday than Gen Y – 53 percent – and Gen X – 46 percent, according to a Martiz Poll on consumer opinions.

Forty-one percent of those responding to the poll said they would shop on Black Friday, compared to 37 percent who said so in 2007, the Maritz poll reports.

The boomers who indicated that they’d be shopping on Black Friday said they’d be going to these stores:

•  Walmart – 57%

• Target – 47%

• Best Buy – 34%

• Toys R US – 23%

• K-Mart – 27%

• Kohl’s – 27%

• Sears – 29%

• Macy’s – 17%

• Circuit City – 18%

• Victoria’s Secret – 13%

• Apple Store/iTunes – 6%

What’s the attraction for Black Friday, which seems to become more intense each year?

People are looking for deep cuts in price. They’re willing to wait in line in the cold for hours and push their way through the crowds. They often have in mind specific items they want to give for Christmas gifts such as toys, iPods, and videogames. Or, they’re looking for a big ticket item for their households such as a flat-panel TVs, laptops, and digital cameras.

For a number of shoppers, beginning their seasonal buying on Black Friday helps them to complete it early or to make good progress toward finishing it.

Black Friday shoppers often check ads for prices, and make lists of the items they want to buy. They’ll dash through the first store, buying items, then move on to other stores. This year, since the economy is in a recession, Black Friday shoppers are more cautious about their spending than in previous years.

In many stores, only a few of the deeply discounted items are available. As a result injuries and even deaths have occurred due to shoving and trampling by shoppers.

The day is called "Black Friday" because of its importance in determining a store's profitability for the year.

My next post will be on “Why Baby Boomer Women Aren’t Spending Money on Themselves This Holiday Season.”

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Is your cable company raising prices in the confusion about the switch to digital TV?

Complaints from throughout the U.S. are being received by Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports, as cable companies transfer channels to digital-only operation.

Cable companies are using confusion about the upcoming digital TV transition – which applies to TVs with antennas, but doesn’t apply to TVs with cable – as a chance to increase the bills of cable customers, according to the article “Confused About Cable?” in the October issue of Consumer Reports.

The cable companies indicate the changes are needed to free up bandwidth. However, Consumers Union believes that when consumers pay more for the same channels, it’s a rate increase.

Some cable companies are requiring customers to rent a digital cable box for each TV set to see channels that used to be available without one. The costs add up at $10 per box per month.

Here’s what Consumers Union recommends that you do:

• Talk to your cable company about free installation and a lower monthly fee for a set-top box.

• Notify your state’s attorney general if the cable company says the channel changes are due to the DTV conversion mandated by the federal government.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Survey gives baby boomers information on who makes the decisions at home and which gender is preferred in seven jobs

It’s women who are the “deciders” at home, but people are mixed on whether they’re more comfortable working with men or women in positions of authority.

Women call the shots at home

In 43 percent of couples interviewed, it's the woman who makes decisions in more areas than the man, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Men make more of the decisions in about a quarter of the couples. And about three-in-ten couples split decision-making responsibilities equally.

The survey also asked whether people are more comfortable dealing with a man or with a woman in positions of authority – doctor, banker, lawyer, police officer, airline pilot, schoolteacher, and surgeon.

Men are preferred in some jobs and women in others

Attitudes are mixed. Among respondents who have a preference, men are favored in some roles – airline pilot, surgeon, police officer, and lawyer. Women are preferred in others -- elementary school teacher and banker. The results were evenly divided about whether the family doctor should be a man or a woman.

Some jobs have no gender preference

However, for the seven positions, many say they have no gender preference – ranging from the 33 percent who say this about teachers to the 54 percent who say it about surgeons.

Older couples are more like to share equally in family decision making

The survey finds that age makes a difference when it comes to decision making and consensus-building at home. Men and women 65 or older are twice as likely as those under the age of 30 to say they and their partner share equally in making family decisions.

However, income doesn't make as much difference. In dual-income couples, it’s the woman who has more say, regardless of whether she earns more or less than her partner.

A total of 2,250 adults were interviewed by telephone for the survey, including 1,260 who were married or living with a partner.

See the survey to learn who makes the big household purchases, who handles the budget, and who controls the TV remote. Statistics also are available on shared decision-making and money and power in the home.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Do you need TV Turnoff Week?

Baby boomers spend 2.83 hours a day watching TV. And they spend 2.69 hours a day online.

What’s wrong with watching television or spending time online?

Excessive screen time can lead to:

• Lack of time to spend with family and friends. Excessive screen time limits communication and bonding.

• Obesity. Excessive screen time increases body-mass index.

• Increased risk of diabetes. The average time spent watching television is strongly associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

• Addiction to TV. Some people watch more TV than they want to, but find they’re unable to reduce their viewing.

• Increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Adults between 40 and 60 who watched a lot of TV are more likely to have Alzheimer's when they reached 70 or older.

• An altered emotional state. Television induces an emotional state described as relaxed, drowsy, and passive.

• Less time to spend on important activities. People have less time to engage in community activities.

Understanding the negative consequences of watching too much television and engaging in too much computer time can help you and your family make changes. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

• Limit screen time. Plan a schedule for yourself or with your family in advance for days and time TV can be watched and the computer can be used. Turn off the TV during meals.

• Know what your children are viewing. Make sure the programs your children are watching are age appropriate.

• Get up and get active. Engage in sports, recreational activity, and work around the house and yard. If you have children or elderly parents who are active, encourage them to join in these activities with you. Walk and bike often.

• Plan adventures. Play board games or go to the library, the park, a museum, or the zoo.

Nation TV Turn Off Week is April 21 through 27. For more information, visit the Web site of the Center for Screen-Time Awareness.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist