How to Deal with TV Addiction
According to one study, millions of Americans show five signs of dependence on watching TV that is usually associated with substance abuse. Though one considers watching too much TV harmless, it does have implications on one’s health, behavior, and social life.
Understanding the underlying causes
TV is entertaining, no doubt. Aside from that, there is the convenient access to entertainment that TV provides. Also, people consider TV watching as way to unwind or have the kids preoccupied when doing some home chores. Also, there is the information that can be acquired through television, such as in news and talk shows. Another cause is boredom and having nothing to do. Since the TV is just right there, it’s hard to resist the temptation of turning on the TV to pass the time.
Dealing with TV addiction
Usually, one knows when too much is too much. This feeling of shame and guilt is one indication that one is addicted to watching television. Once these emotions surface, one should take active steps in decreasing TV time and finding other means of entertainment or spending one’s time. And if you have children, also consider the negative effects that too much TV watching can do to the kids. One should also get the help of family members in cutting down on TV time, and doing some other activity to pass the time.
Understanding the effects of TV addiction
Two of the major effects of TV addiction are the increase of aggressive tendencies, especially with children, and obesity. Since TV shows a lot of violence and images not suited for young children, kids pick them up unconsciously and manifest similar behavior. And as sitting in front of the tube takes time away from physical exercise, more and more people with TV addiction become at risk for obesity and the diseases that it brings such as diabetes, kidney failure, and cardiac diseases.
Practical solutions to TV addiction
There are several ways to cut the TV habit. The most obvious is to lessen TV time. One way to do that is by taking the TV out of one’s bedroom or turning it off during dinner. Another is to find another activity, such as a hobby, or engage in physical exercise. One can also bond more with friends and family members. There are ways to stop the TV addiction, and all of them can be managed with a little willpower.
Photo Credit : Aaron Escobar
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Before the internet became a major trend, watching television is the number one source of entertainment for most people. It has become part of our everyday lives to spend at least an hour or two watching our favorite programs. However, there is a point where watching television becomes too much and exceeds the healthy level. It can also have adverse effects for younger viewers most especially if they are unsupervised. Although it can be an excellent source of entertainment, news and can serve as a way of educating people; the television doesn’t have the capability of filtering the programs it shows to match the viewers watching it. Children constantly need the guidance of an elderly so that they wouldn’t watch and pick up materials that are simply too violent and mature for them. Watching too much television hinders both children and adults from going out and doing physical activities that are good for them. There must be rules that should be implemented strictly when it comes to the amount of time in front of the television. There should be a strong desire to eliminate the addiction, in order for the intervention to work. One must engage himself/herself in other hobbies and activities to keep themselves busy while making a productive use of free time.
Addiction to TV is what we called “couch potato”. Being addicted to TV is being lazy, coz we cannot do anything at all when watching TV. This kind of addiction can lead to not studying at all for teenagers,while loosing interest on jobs for the adults. If we know someone like this, the common thing that we can able to help the person is to divert the time to other interesting things to do, like engaging to some sports activity, tennis or badminton. Find time to have a small talk or conversation to that person over the phone or by just hanging out on their house just to help the person reduced watching TV if that person is your friend. Although, we know for a fact that watching TV is not bad coz we tend to learn and know lot of information. In every household,there should be a schedule on what time they need to watch t.v. especially for kids, by doing these, it can avoid addiction.
TV addiction is something that most people tend to ignore. However, it poses as a problem for me with my kids since they just simply seem too glued to the tube (at least before they grow old enough to use the internet). I read somewhere that kids under two years old should not be allowed to watch tv. I think it also said that until age 5, children should not watch more than 30 minutes of tv because it distorts their image of reality. Above all, parental guidance is really necessary. I remember a time when my daughter was just 3 1/2 years old when she ripped one of the books of their preschool’s library. When I asked her why, she said that she was just pretending to be Stitch (from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch). I was with her when she watched that show but I wasn’t aware that she picked up the wrong lessons until I had to pay the library and replace the book.