Nielsen: TV viewing reaches all-time high (chart)

More data from Nielsen suggesting that the number of hours Americans spend watching TV is continuing to increase despite people also spending more time in front of their computers and PDAs.

The average person spends four hours and 49 minutes per day in front of the tube, up four minutes from the 07-08 season and rising 20% from 10 years ago. 

Here's a track of the last 18 years, updated to now include last season:

Nielsen has tracked average household TV viewing all the way back to 1949-50. Today the average household watches 8 hours and 21 minutes per day. In 1949-50, the typical household watched about half as much -- four hours and thirty-five minutes.