Idiot box. Box. Boob tube. Telefizzle. Telly. TV. Television. Whatever you want to call it, it’s taking over our lives.
According to The New York Times, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Statistical abstract of American adults and adolescents said they spend an average of 64 days a year watching television.
The University of Maryland study released in November said people who are unhappy watch approximately 20 percent more TV than an average person who describes themselves as “very happy.” Unhappy people sometimes watch up to 10 hours of TV a day, the study said.
During the study, participants kept diaries of their activities. A recurring theme among the self-proclaimed “unhappy” people was their outlook that television was appealing because it was easy, they didn’t have to expend much energy, plan ahead or dress up.
“People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged,” said University of Maryland sociologist Steven Martin, who co-authored the study. “For this kind of person, TV can become a kind of opiate in a way. It’s habitual, and tuning in can be an easy way of tuning out.”
The survey was conducted over 45,000 participants and took over 30 years to conclude.
Although, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corp. in 2008, an overwhelming 71 percent of Americans disapprove of President Bush’s nation leading skills, at least he knew what he was talking about when he said, “they put an off button on the TV for a reason. Turn it off.”
The case of addiction to television could have been foreseen throughout the decades. An addictive personality mixed with low self-esteem is a recipe for addiction-even to something like TV.
The scary question raised regarding the study is this: which came first; TV or depression?
As the 1991 Disposable Heroes of Hipocracy song says, “TV-is it the reflector? Or the director?”
Lane Blackmer
