WATCHING TV

Is Watching TV an addiction?

Table of Contents

Table of Contents2

Abstract3

Introduction4

Basic hypothesis: Watching too much TV5

Literature review6

Is Watching TV an addiction?6

"TV Is Part of Them"9

Can TV? media games and computers run people's life?11

Methods13

Data analysis16

Results17

Conclusion28

Abstract

Watching TV is a major human activity. Because of its immediate benefits at negligible immediate marginal costs it is for many people tempting to view TV rather than to pursue more engaging activities. As a consequence? individuals with incomplete control over? and foresight into? their own behavior watch more TV than they consider optimal for themselves and their well-being is lower than what could be achieved. We find that heavy TV viewers? and in particular those with significant opportunity cost of time? report lower life satisfaction. Long TV hours are also linked to higher material aspirations and anxiety.

Is Watching TV an addiction?

Introduction

Scientists have been studying the effects of television for decades? generally focusing on whether watching violence on TV correlates with being violent in real life [see "The Effects of Observing Violence?" by Leonard Berkowitz; SCIENTIFIC AMERICA N? February 1964; and "Communication and Social Environment?" by George Gerbner; September 1972]. Less attention has been paid to the basic allure of the small screen--the medium? as opposed to the message.

The term "TV addiction" is imprecise and laden with value judgments? but it captures the essence of a very real phenomenon. Psychologists and psychiatrists formally define substance dependence as a disorder characterized by criteria that include sp ending a great deal of time using the substance; using it more often than one intends; thinking about reducing use or making repeated unsuccessful efforts to reduce use; giving up important social? family or occupational activities to use it; and reporti ng withdrawal symptoms when one stops using it. All these criteria can apply to people who watch a lot of television. That does not mean that watching television? per se? is problematic. Television can teach and amuse; it can reach aesthetic heights; it can provide much needed distraction and es cape. The difficulty arises when people strongly sense that they ought not to watch as much as they do and yet find themselves strangely unable to reduce their viewing. Some knowledge of how the medium exerts its pull may help heavy viewers gain better c ontrol over their lives.

Basic hypothesis: Watching too much TV

Two opposite views are possible when qualifying the huge amount of leisure time spent in front of the TV. At first glance? it might seem obvious that watching TV produces high individual utility. TV watching is a voluntary activity and people can freely decide how much time they want to devote to it. However? an alternative view does not take consumer sovereignty as given but takes the possibility of a systematic error in TV consumption into account. In fact? studies suggest that TV viewing is only rated as below average or just as average enjoyment. American women? surprisingly enough? even rate it behind cleaning (Robinson & Godbey? 1999? p. 250). Moreover? TV is identified as that activity which would ...