Is there really such a thing? CNN thinks it’s real:

“TiVo guilt” isn’t a new development — a quick Google check offers articles using the phrase dating back at least two years — and it has its parallels with procrastination involving previous technologies. (Who didn’t have a stack of never-watched VHS tapes collecting dust?)

Well, there you have it. The gold standard of reporting: I Googled it, so it must be real. As dumb as TiVo guilt is, this could be one of the more inane things I’ve ever read:

You want to watch TV, and what do you have? You turn on your DVR and you have a homework assignment,” says Brad Berens, chief content officer for iMedia Communications, who analyzes how media advances change people’s behavior.
“Economists call this ‘opportunity costs,’ ” explains Berens. “You’re sitting there and you have to weigh, well, ‘I have to watch this thing, because I promised myself when I told TiVo … I want the whole season of that! Go get it! And go get things like it!’ And so you’ve committed to this decision and it’s a burden — suddenly your relaxation has turned into more work.”

Next on CNN: men who cheat on their TiVo with younger, sleeker DVR models provided by their cable company.