IT was once said that generations of children were in danger of developing square eyes after spending too much time in front of TV screens.
But now it appears that it is their parents and grandparents who could be facing life with letterbox vision after the first official report into Scotland's viewing habits revealed that it is they who are addicted to the goggle box.
A wide-ranging study of the nation's telly time has revealed that the over-55s have claimed the crown as the chieftain of the couch potato race, spending almost four times as much watching broadcasts compared to their offspring.
Last year, those heading for retirement age spent and nearly six hours a day transfixed by their living room screen, compared to just an hour and a half for those aged between 4 and 15.
And while the number of minutes whiled away by the older generation watching soaps, dramas and documentaries has fallen in recent years, it is still almost two hours greater than the national average of nearly four hours a day uncovered by Ofcom's first Media Nations Scotland report.
Overall, Scots watch more TV than people living in other parts of the UK, the report said, with viewers north of the border spending a daily average of three hours and 46 minutes in front of their sets - 24 minutes more than the UK average of three hours and 23 minutes.
And they are watching a wide range of programmes. The report delved into the most popular shows last year and found that terrestrial TV is still pulling in audiences in the millions.
It helps to go big; 'event' TV, such as the final of Strictly Come Dancing the Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas special, pulled in the most viewers as did reality shows I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here! and Britain's Got Talent.
But there was also a place for 'quality' television, with the ten-years-in-the-making series Blue Planet II and big-budget dramas Broadchurch and The Moorside also proving to be hits with the audience.
The Strictly final was the most-viewed broadcast programme on television across Scotland in 2017, with more than 1.1 million viewers tuning in to watch Scottish actor and Former Holby City star Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones lift the glitterball trophy.
Other hits for the year included the BBC's long-running Hogmanay show and its football-related stablemate Only and Excuse, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Sherlock.
The BBC and ITV dominated terrestrial viewing habits, sharing all slots in a top-20 league table of the nation's most-watched programmes between them.
Yet while both channels remain strong, Ofcom found that people are slowly turning their backs on traditional TV.
On average, Scots are tuning in for 46 fewer minutes each day than they did eight years ago, and the decline is even steeper among children.
Youngsters have cut the amount of TV they consume each day by an hour - and the trend is accelerating.
But while people in Scotland are watching less broadcast television, they are spending more time watching other things such as online streaming on their TV set.
Daily viewing of non-broadcast content, such as YouTube and subscription on-demand services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, increased to 40 minutes.
BBC iPlayer was the most popular on-demand/streaming service among adults in Scotland in January 2018, with almost half saying they used it, followed by Netflix and the STV Player.
The report found the use of Netflix is "heavily skewed towards younger viewers".
While a third of adults in Scotland claim to use the service at least once a week, the number doubles among 16-24-year-olds while half of 25-34s say they use it.
But the service, which relies on an understanding of new technology, has not been taken up by baby boomers - with fewer than one in ten saying they tuned in.
The report said that the BBC, STV and ITV spent a combined £53.9m on first-run, UK-made programmes for viewers in Scotland, an 8 per cet real-terms decrease year-on-year.
It said this decline was the result of lower spending by the BBC, down by 10 per cent year on year, while STV/ITV spending remained broadly stable.
The report also examined trends in the radio and audio sectors and found the amount of time people spent listening to digital radio has continued to grow, with two thirds of Scots now owning one. Almost nine in ten (88%) of adults listen to the radio every week.
On average, adults in Scotland spend 14 hours four minutes each week listening to any type of audio, the majority of it live radio.
Glenn Preston, Ofcom's Scotland Director, said: "Today's research shows that the way people in Scotland watch TV is changing rapidly.
"Although viewers in Scotland watch more TV than in the rest of the UK, they are spending less time watching 'traditional' broadcast TV and are turning to online streaming services, attracted by their exclusive programmes and vast libraries of classic shows.
"Broadcasters in Scotland must confront the challenges posed by both online streaming companies and the changing way people are watching television, to ensure they continue to make great shows to appeal to Scottish viewers in the digital age."
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