book

TV Addiction by Marie Winn

21 Pages 1589 Words 1557 Views

It is possible for someone to devote himself or herself habitually to television which can lead to him or her being refereed to as an addict. Winn states, "Not unlike drugs or alcohol, the television experience allows the participant to blot out the real world and enter into a pleasurable and passive mental state (PAGE #), this is a state similar to that of a drunk alcoholic or high drug addict. Both television viewers and alcohol and drug addicts can use either television or drugs, respectively, as a means of escape. Due to this, television viewers may frequently disregard obligations and responsibilities much like an addict. For example, a student may immerse himself or herself into a show and neglect to do his or her homework. Another case may be one who watches too much television will spend less time exercising which can cause him or her to be less healthy. In her article, Thinking Outside The Idiot Box, Dana Stevens states that, "watching TV teaches you to watch more TV ”a truth already grasped by the makers of children's programming like Teletubbies, which is essentially a tutorial instructing toddlers in the basics of vegging out,  which is yet another example of how TV can captivate its viewers attention for an extended period of time. Strictly in this regard, Winn's statement that both television and drug addiction are similar is valid. In her article Winn intended to make an analogy between watching television and drug and alcohol usage, in order to expose the dangers of television. However she fails in this but succeeds in making a homology between the two by just outlining some similarities where an analogy would require the two things being compared to have the same function or effects. Even though both television and drugs have similar qualities in the sense that they distract one from their responsibilities, they differ because television is not a necessity, therefore its not an addiction. Winn states that viewers are, "aware that it is an unproductive experience, that by any human measure almost any other endeavor is worth while.  Nevertheless, this still doesn't make television an addiction but rather demonstrates that its an activity done out of laziness or boredom which are both common sentiments among humans. Also, television, unlike drugs or alcohol, can provide knowledge whether it be through the news or providing cultural awareness through documentaries or international films. In his article, Watching TV Makes You Smarter, Steven Johnson poses the following thought, "Think of the cognitive benefits conventionally ascribed to reading: attention, patience, retention, the parsing of narrative threads. Over the last half-century, programming on TV has increased the demands it places on precisely these mental faculties.  In sh

Read Full Essay