Unhappy People Watch More TV 193
Hugh Pickens writes "A new study by sociologists at the University of Maryland concludes that unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as 'very happy' spend more time reading and socializing. 'TV doesn't really seem to satisfy people over the long haul the way that social involvement or reading a newspaper does,' says researcher John P. Robinson. 'It's more passive and may provide escape — especially when the news is as depressing as the economy itself. The data suggest to us that the TV habit may offer short-run pleasure at the expense of long-term malaise.' Unhappy people also liked their TV more: 'What viewers seem to be saying is that while TV in general is a waste of time and not particularly enjoyable, "the shows I saw tonight were pretty good."' The researchers analyzed two sets of data spanning nearly 30 years (PDF), gathered from nearly 30,000 adults, and found that unhappy people watch an estimated 20 percent more television than very happy people, after taking into account their education, income, age, and marital status — as well as other demographic predictors of both viewing and happiness. 'TV can become a kind of opiate in a way. It's habitual, and tuning in can be an easy way of tuning out.'"
Re:On the flip side of that coin.... (Score:4, Interesting)
I read a good article in new scientist (IIRC), that studied the addictive nature of TV.
It was the sudden transitions that you get with advertising and music TV that caused people to get hooked and also feel drained and zombified after long sittings. So yeah, it's not really the medium but what you choose to watch.
Have you looked at the faces of people "watching" MTV? Creepy.
Re:Cause and effect reversed? (Score:3, Interesting)
That was my first thought when I read the summary. I'm happy, and I watch a good amount of TV right now... But it's all shows I actively want to see, and I watch them when I want to. (And without commercials.) In fact, I generally end up fitting TV in around everything else in my life. If there came a time when TV was what I had to fit things around, I just wouldn't watch TV. (I know, because I was there a few years ago... I actually didn't watch TV for about a year, and then I got cable with a DVR and things suddenly worked again.)
I wouldn't necessarily say 'socialization' has anything to do with it, though.
Re:I don't have a tv.. (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't have one either. I like more control of my media experience than TV provides. I watch very occasionally at a neighbor's place.
It's interesting, though: my experience of TV is different when I do watch it. I get angrier at villains, more repulsed by violence. Part of that is obviously just not exposing myself to it as much. I wonder, though: how much it is about my general immersion in more interactive media? Usually when something happens in the spaces I spend my time in (mailing lists, facebook) I can say something about it, and change the action.
Which does change my response to things like TV, too, but in a way that's hard to sort out.
I "watch" a lot of TV... (Score:5, Interesting)
Do I consider myself "unhappy?" I suppose a little lonely at times, but who isn't?
Worked for me! (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, I don't watch a lot of TV normally but a few years ago I hit a very bad time where my anxiety disorder took over my life. There were a few times where I spent more than a week laying on my couch watching Seinfeld. I have all the episodes on my MythTV box and I would start at the beginning and watch as many episodes would fit in a day. It was an escape and got me through it.
Let me tell you, mental disorders suck. I used to think people should just get over it but I now realize it's not that simple. It's really hard to put yourself in the same position as someone else with a serious problem like this. I can't even put myself back in the place I was when I had the most severe anxiety problems. Now I can't imagine sitting on the couch watching TV day after day like that... In other words I can't even put myself back into what I was feeling back then even though I went through it!
Re:I "watch" a lot of TV... (Score:3, Interesting)
I guess the opposite is also true.
I live with my girlfriend, and have a rather active social life - and I have no TV. Never found the need for one, either.
I do travel a lot, and when I travel, there is almost no time between work and socializing with the clients and the team. When I'm home, all I want to do is either spend time with the woman, read, go climbing or work on something personal (e.g. my portfolio).
I consider myself neither lonely nor unhappy in any sense. If anything, I am extremely satisfied and very, very happy. Sometimes, I wish for the opposite - a moment of quiet when I'm away from it all.
Re:Unhappy? (Score:3, Interesting)
if one were to rub the worst half hour sitcom from one's daily tv viewing and substitute that for an equivalent amount of time getting aerobic exercise such as riding a bike, rowing, stair stepping, treadmilling, jogging, or using an elliptical trainer, one's happiness would take a quantum leap in the positive direction.
Skip the jogging, take it easy on the bike and the machines. "Light" aerobic exercise is healthier than "heavy". Better yet, stick to a half hour of moderately brisk walking. If it's not getting your heart rate up, carry some weight on your back. Running is something you reserve for when you're trying to escape tigers. Why resort to a method of getting your cardio up that beats the crap out of your joints when you can get the same exact effect another way?