The Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey reported that in 2010 the average American age 15 and over spent over half their leisure time watching TV.
In the article 'Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor,'
(Scientific American, February 2002) Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi describe their
experiment and results. "To track behavior and emotion in the normal
course of life we have used the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Participants
carried a beeper, and we signaled them six to eight times a day, at random,
over the period of a week; whenever they heard the beep, they wrote down what
they were doing and how they were feeling using a standardized scorecard.” Results
showed that “the sense of relaxation ends when the set is turned off, but the
feelings of passivity and lowered alertness continue. Survey participants
commonly reflect that television has somehow absorbed or sucked out their
energy, leaving them depleted. They say they have more difficulty concentrating
after viewing than before. In contrast, they rarely indicate such difficulty
after reading. After playing sports or engaging in hobbies, people report
improvements in mood. After watching TV, people's moods are about the same or
worse than before."
"In a paper entitled 'Television Dependence, Diagnosis, and Prevention,' Professor
Kubey describes a cyclical effect of watching television. Heavy TV watchers
tend to be people who feel anxious or lonely and watching TV provides a break
from negative thoughts or ruminations. Providing a pseudo-social media
experience, the television creates a virtual connection between the watcher and
other people, however this does nothing to help the real feelings of loneliness
or boredom" (Kaufman).
Kubey explains that “the possibility of
a vicious circle wherein the experience of negative moods and thoughts when
alone and when unstructured may interact with the ease with which people can
quickly escape these feelings by viewing. As a result of many hours spent
viewing television over many years, some people may become unpracticed in
spending time alone, entertaining themselves, or even in directing their own attention."
If you are concerned about your TV
watching habits, I suggest keeping a log of how often you watch and observe how
it impacts your state of mind. Do you turn the TV on automatically or plan what
program to watch? Is it enjoyable? Does it improve your mood? Would you feel
better if you chose a different activity? Take some time to consider how you
spend your leisure time, and if your choices promote mental wellness.
Bibliography
Kaufman, R. (2005). Television
Identification and Self-Help Guide. Retrieved from http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/addiction/addiction.html
Kubey, Robert and Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi. “Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor.” Scientific American. February 2002.
Kubey, Robert. "Television Dependence, Diagnosis, and Prevention." Associate Professor, Department of Journalism & Media Studies.
Other Links
http://escapeyourtelevision.blogspot.com/ http://addiction-facts.com/tv_addiction/tv_addiction.html
