What does 면서 있다 mean in this case?

Question

What does 면서 있다 mean in this case? Why not just TV를 봐 or TV를 보고 있어?

가 : 뭐하고있냐?
나 : 그냥 TV를 보면서 있지

Answer 1

가: 뭐 하고 있냐? (What are you doing?)

나: 그냥 TV를 보면서 있지. (I'm here just watching TV.)

This question–answer pair shows their styles. We cannot judge whether these sentences are correct. Obviously,

가: 지금 뭐 해? (What are you doing right now?)

나: TV 봐. (I'm watching TV.)

is simpler and clearer. I prefer to say something in this way.

Answer 2

I cannot say for sure, but I suspect that the 면서 있지 implies that the speaker is just haphazardly watching TV with no particular interest in what he or she is watching; just lying about, passing time, watching whatever.