Addicted to TV
Studies show that the desire to watch television excessively may not be completely within our control.
November 2015
Anna Shick '19
It is no secret that most people love to watch TV. We watch when we’re tired, when we're bored, upset, happy, and for almost any other reason. However, as much as we try to deny it, watching television shows is unhealthy for both our psychological and physical self.
In order to describe the problem, one must start at the source. A neuroeconomist named Paul Zak recently performed a study showing how TV shows have been created to make our brain program itself into causing an addiction to TV shows. Although this may be an advantage for television companies, it is not so for viewers. A test group, whose blood samples were tested prior to and after the study, were shown a video. The results showed that after watching the video, two specific hormones increased and appeared to have a prominent correlation. A stress hormone, called cortisol, increased, as well as oxytocin, which is associated with personal connection and caring. Therefore, the desire to “binge-watch” a show may not be completely in our control. You may think that you are far off from being labeled as a “binge-watcher,” but binge-watching is classified as viewing two or more episodes of the same show per week.
Furthermore, this has also led to some problems in the psychological department. Binge-watching TV shows has proven to increase the chance of depression among viewers. The reason behind this is that people turn to TV when they are sad or angry. They find comfort in it. If a person becomes overly attached to a show, and something bad happens within the context of the show, it can be considered detrimental to the viewer. Binge-watching also increases loneliness and self-isolation in viewers.
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The desire to "binge-watch" a show may not be completely in our control. |
On average, a person spends four and a half hours a day watching TV. According to the Journal of the American Heart Association, watching more than three hours of TV a day can cause people to be twice as likely to die prematurely. Watching TV for a long time has also been linked to obesity and sedentary problems.
Although facts like these probably won’t cause many people to stop watching TV forever, it is something very important to think about and keep in mind. Even though we may enjoy something, it is not always good for us. So next time you sit down and turn on the TV, think: is it really your choice at all?