Today’s newspapers and internet headlines scream the score of last night’s game and point me to repositories of the advertisements to watch. Considering I didn’t follow pro football all season, why be an ignoramus and pay attention at the final hour? No thanks, not my style. I spent the day out of town instead and had an enjoyable evening.

My sentiments are not alone as scores of people sent Twitter updates throughout the night that they weren’t watching the game either.

Despite our indulgences in other pursuits, over 51 million American households tuned into the CBS broadcast, says Nielsen. Inclusive of DVR playback after the fact, 106.5 million Americans watched the game and defined TV history — making Super Bowl XLIV the most watched television program, surpassing 1983’s M.A.S.H. finale, which previously held the record.

Think about that for a moment. More Americans — let alone people around the world picking up satellite broadcasts or watching online — preferred to tune into a television program than use the web. I grant you that socialization in person is more important than socializing online, but when a mere 12% of the Super Bowl audience watched the game while Facebooking their friends, maybe TV’s not as prone to doom as pundits predict?

If the web is not taking people away from broadcast media, then which has a higher chance of survival? Or, is the reason for my question because people are not ready to cash in on their TVs for computing experiences?

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