Okay, so this is the most depressing piece of news I’ve seen all day.

According to Nielsen, American are now watching more television than ever before.

The research firm reports that the average American now watched 153 hours (and 27 minutes) of TV at home per month in the first quarter, up 1.9% from a year ago. That includes 8 hours, 13 minutes of time-shifted TV, up 40.1% from a year ago. In addition, Nielsen reports, the average person who watches Web-based video saw 3 hours a month of video on the Internet in the quarter, up 53.2% from a year ago.

So, 153 hours a month is more than five hours a day. Ye gads, we all need to get a life.