According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released in June, employed adults living in households without children under 18 engaged in leisure activities for 4.5 hours daily. Leisure activity included watching TV, socializing or exercising, according to the report. For households with employed adults living with a child under age 6, about an hour less, or 3.5, was spent on leisure activities.

In 2013, nearly everyone older than 15 (95 percent) engaged in some sort of leisure activity, with men spending more time in leisure (5.9 hours) than women (5.2 hours). And of the three main activities cited, watching TV was the one activity that occupied the most time (2.8 hours per day), accounting for more than half of leisure time, on average, for those over 15, according to the report.

Between the ages of 15 and 44, the number of hours spent watching TV during the weekdays ranged from a low of 1.89 hours (25-34 years old) to a high of 2.05 hours (20-24 years old). The older we get, the more TV we watch, the report said.

Between the ages of 45 and 54, television watching consumed 2.46 hours of each day and those between the ages of 55 and 64 watched 3.10 hours. Between 65 and 74, the daily dose of TV watching was 3.92 and for those 75 years and over, 4.15 hours, half of a regular work day, was spent watching TV.

Those trends hold true on weekends and holidays, with 15 to 44 year olds watching between 2.76 and 2.95 hours of TV. The 45 to 55-year-old set watched just slightly more, 3.14 hours, and then a jump was made by the 55- to 64-year-olds, who watched on average 3.57 hours.

The age group that watched the most TV on weekends and holidays was actually the 65 to 74 years olds (4.51 hours) while those 75 years and older dropped to 4.19 hours.

All of this data points to a lot of television watching. However, a social media query turned up a number of individuals who have been without a tradition television with cable for four or more years, with some claiming television abstinence for 10 years or more.

And a daily newsletter published for marketing professionals by Watershed Publishing said: "In percentage terms, traditional TV viewing among 18-24-year-olds in Q2 2014 was down by 11.7 percent year-over-year. Between Q2 2011 and Q2 2014, weekly viewing fell by 21.7 percent, a sizable figure. Although that 21.7 percent figure is a composite figure over three years, there's no denying a steady decline in traditional TV viewing by 18-24-year-olds; the weekly average has now dropped on a year-over-year basis for at least 10 consecutive quarters."

Watershed Publishing's MarketingCharts newsletter also suggested a growing presence of "cord-nevers," who are people who have never subscribed to a pay-TV service and are instead getting all their programming from other service providers.

And then, there are the cord-cutters. That's our term, though we aren't coining it and you're free to use it or embellish it as needed. And these are the people who used to have a pay-TV service but don't anymore.

Camden resident Gideon Bok said he hasn't had television for 30 years. And Susan Dorr, also of Camden, said she hasn't had a television for 25 years.

"Not since I was living with my parents," said Bok. "I haven't had cable or anything like that. The only thing I've had is DSL with my landline for Internet. For a long time my friends thought I was nuts, but I definitely preferred being without."

Julie Dutille, of Rockport, said her family has been without cable for 4.5 years. They do subscribe to Neflix streaming and most recently are trying Hulu Plus, she said.

The reason they cut the ties to cable TV was to put an end to the constant back and forth with their children.

"We did this as the boys wanted to watch TV all the time and it was a constant battle, so we were able to gain a lot of control over what they were watching with the streaming," said Dutille. "We also like not having televised news, as it is so sensationalized that you feel that you should live in constant fear."

Sarah Ruef-Linquist, of Camden, "killed" her TV in 1995. She now only has a television to watch DVDs on.

"When they stopped making Seinfeld, I thought in the words of Jerry himself, 'Let's end on a high note,' and figured that was as good as it was ever gonna get. I took my life back! I was newly single and living in the Old Port...there's was plenty else to do," said Ruef-Lindquist. "And since we have enough local drama, who needs TV?"

Meg Barclay, of Camden, said she also only uses her television to watch DVDs. Same with Jane Filos Merrill, also of Camden. Merrill said she and her husband, Rob, only have "limited cable" and only watch MPBN "and that only rarely."

Bill Packard, of Union, rarely watches TV, but when he does, he watches a lot of one thing: NASCAR racing.

"Some weeks I don't watch anything other than the race," said Packard. "When something comes along that everyone is talking about, I Google it so that I can sound somewhat informed in a conversation."

Some avowed non-TV watchers say they only now watch movies on their computers via Netflix or Hulu, while others use services like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or Chromecast. In addition to streaming movies off Netlfix, these services also provide network television shows, so it's hard to accurately determine how "non-TV" these watchers really are.

By and large, Netflix and YouTube are the go-to places for movies and videos, with YouTube being free and Netflix online streaming costing $7.99 a month.

For many, like Dutille and Karen Ruggiero, of Camden, the move to cut the cable was due to the cost. When she left cable, Dutille said the service cost $65 per month.

"We were sick of the ever increasing cost $$$$. It is crazy the amount of money the cable company charges for nothing but advertising," said Ruggiero.

And for many, the option seems to be cable or Netflix.

"We are unplugging next month, when our contract is up. Have Netflix," said Patricia Moran Wotton, of Rockland.

For some people, until they can choose and only have to pay for the channels, movies and/or network shows they watch, they won't go back to cable television. Some can't get enough of cable TV, love it and wouldn't give it up for anything.

And for many others, it seems that watching TV in its traditional form, with lots of channels to choose from, and the cost to bring it into the home via cable or satellite dish — it just isn't worth it anymore. With technology and the battle for viewers quickly and ever changing, this may be a different story in a few short years. Stay tuned!

Contact Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com.