Is the Television Addictive?

A detailed Summary of Is the Television Addictive?

Desire can be a very powerful and harmful emotion for both human and non-human creatures. To the fish a baited lure may be its demise, as well as cheese on a trap for a mouse. For humans a simple desire can become much more, however. Indulging too much in ones attractions can lead to an addiction, which can be much more serious. This is illustrated well with the example of alcohol usage. In limited amounts alcohol can be fairly safe, unfortunately though, alcohol is an incredibly desirable substance to many people. This fact causes many people to desire alcohol to the point of obsession and addiction, and when these levels are reached, harm to the individual is almost assured. The harm caused by addiction is not limited to drugs and alcohol, though. Other addictions can arouse in the use of computers, work, and games. Even the television can become a severe addiction.

The television has had its hold on nearly everyone at one point or another, the average American spends around three hours a day in front of a television. This is nearly half of the average Americans free time, this works out to be nine whole years in front of a T.V. for the average American who lives to be 75. To som

Extensive studies have been conducted to determine the effects of watching gratuitous violence and the like on television, but very few studies have been done to show the effects of what watching television does to a person both physically and emotionally. One such study took measurements of brain wave activity, skin resistance, and heart rate, while subjects were sat down in a room and let to watch television. There was a problem with this study though; the subjects were not in the confines of their own homes to watch television but rather in the artificial conditions of a lab room. The strange surroundings could alter the readings taken. To reduce this source of error, another test was done in which participants carried beepers and were sent of to their own homes to watch television, where they were beeped six to eight times a day at random intervals. The participants then were to write down what they were doing at the time of being paged and how they were feeling using a standardized score card.

A person with any addiction should seek help from either their friends and family, or a trained professional. A television addiction is no exception. As stated above an addiction to television can be just as devastating to a person's life as an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or any other addiction and should not be taken lightly. If you feel that a person you know may be suffering of television addiction you should confront them about the issue and express your worries to them.

As you can easily see, the television can be an addictive desire to anyone. It does not discriminate from person to person, and is much easily acc

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Approximate Word count = 1106
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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