Television Equals Unhappiness or You’re Just Lazy

By Jessica Caswell

If watching a lot of television makes you an unhappy person, then writing this column should make me and a lot of other television column writers from around the world pretty damn miserable.

A study released by two sociologists at the University of Maryland is saying that people who are unhappy watch more television. On the other hand, 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,” said University of Maryland sociologist 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.”

The study also says that with the economy going down the drain, television watching is only going to go up.

With people having so much time on their hands these days, the only logical thing to do is to turn on the tube.

People can’t get jobs, which then turns into being bored with no money, and then that turns into a lot of hours of being a couch potato with the remote as your ally.

But is it really pure laziness or is it an addiction?

“Addictive activities produce momentary pleasure and long-term misery and regret,” said University of Maryland sociologist Steven Martin. “People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged. 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.”

Television being compared to a drug may seem like a bit much, but television can be a much needed fix at the end of a long day’s work for some people.

Maybe it’s because television can be your best friend without asking for anything in return.

The study suggests that television viewing is “easy.” Through television, we can do or be whatever we want.

“Viewers don’t have to go anywhere, dress up, find company, plan ahead, expend energy, do any work or spend money in order to view. Combine these advantages with the immediate gratification offered by television, and you can understand why Americans spend more than half their free time as TV viewers,” says the study.

It’s obvious that watching the television is easy. Maybe that’s why people relate television watching to people being lazy. Easy equals lazy for some, but for others the television is an escape.

“TV is not judgmental nor difficult, so people with few social skills or resources for other activities can engage in it,” says the study. 

This quick fix for the socially challenged will not help in the long run, the research also suggests. Most likely, it’ll lead to overall unhappiness for most people.

So what is the solution for the unhappy socially challenged people who like to watch too much television?

Well, the best suggestion is to get up off your butt and engage in some other kinds of activities besides watching the television all day.

It’s easier said then done is probably ringing in your heads, but the best way to find out is to try.

 The best part about tying a new activity is that at the end of the day if all else fails; you can always go back to watching your television alongside me and all of the other miserable television column writers around the world.