Reading a book, you're imagining the setting, the characters, following a plot, foreshadowing, etc.

Even playing video games, or talking on the phone, you're reacting to something, and need to formulate a response- whether it's to throw a grenade or tell a joke.


Watching a TV show is incredibly passive, but even then you're still interacting with the plot, characters, directing...


Watching a sports game, you're literally just sitting there and letting someone else's actions hit your eyeballs. You need just enough brain activity to tell the difference between the two teams, and watch the ball move around the screen.


If I must, I'll make the concession that watching football is as least as active as watching, say, Rikki Lake. But Rikki Lake doesn't take over the brains and mouths of half the population every year.