We subscribe to both.

Discovery+ is our “white noise” streaming source to put on when we feel we need to have “chatter” and “activity” in the background during a WFH workday.

Pull up any of the hundred generic home improvement shows, hit play, leave it on all day. Stuff goes on you don’t need to pay hard attention to, or can pay soft attention to if you’re trying to think about something else to trigger a lateral thought, just like looking up from a laptop in a cafe or open plan office.

With HBO content, you might accidentally feel you should watch something. Never happens with Discovery+!

I've always thought it was strange that so many people just watch TV for noise. Any love for silence anymore?

Back when I'd sometimes be on group trips rooming with other people, the nails on blackboard thing for me was when the first thing someone would do in a hotel room was turn on the TV. Admittedly, my brother does it at his house as well.

For me background noise is good for mind silence so I think people agree with your end but need different means to get there.

Silence is unnatural. Most of humanity's ancestors grew up in the wilderness that was replete with noises.

A forest on a still night is much quieter than most urban areas.

Yes, but not silent.

There's nature not-silence--or a computer-generated version of same--and there's TV (or even music for the most part). Also tons of sounds in my house even if I don't put something on but mostly want to work without added inputs.

Exactly. Some steady sounds mask the intermittent sounds that are otherwise more interruptive.

While I certainly use it for that as well, there are a few shows that I do like to actually watch and pay attention to.

Re-watching Dirty Jobs or Mythbusters, or watching Good eats, or Worst Cooks In America....