EXP. ESCRITA III LIC.

GABRIELA LLANEZA ESSAY 1 (FIRST DRAFT)

10/10/13 MAGALI MEACA

When TV becomes an addiction

Does the idea of missing your favorite television series stress you out? My personal expierence may tell you that this can actually be true. I have always been attracted by different TV shows and series and the fact of not been able to watch them, whetever the reason was, have made me feel real upset. There are several studies that show that this is in fact a modern addiction, but as it is considered socially acceptable it is quite harder to recognize it and even more to deal with it. The abuse of watching TV is now known as a behavioral addiction. This type of addiction is related to a strong desire to engange in certain actions or activities, rather than abusing a substance such as alcohol or drugs. Television then, represents for most people a daily and sometimes bad habit that helps them to feel relaxed and at ease and sometimes it is used as a way of dealing with negative emotions like sadness or loneliness. An important issue that concerns scientists and doctors as well, has to do with the risk of detonating silent diseases such as arteriosclerosis, diabetes and overweight. This compulsion to watch TV and the sedentary lifestyle that is associated with it, would open the door to these evils, and the possibility of suffering a stroke, a heart attack or develop diabetes, would be much higher than in those who perform other activities. The confusion between reality and fantasy is another side-effect caused by the box. What happens is that people forget about themselves and govern their lives according to a character or series. Therefore, instead of making decisions according to their opinion, tastes and aspirations, they do them, thinking about what would the character do, and try to make their lives an extension of that series. TV addiction is more than a bad habit. As I mentioned before it not only can cause obesity and sedentarism, but also a much more harmful effect, in which reality seems to be distorted by what it is shown on TV. In conclusion, it's clear that television can teach and entertain us and it does provide the distraction and escape that we all need, however, the difficulty arises when one feels the strongly need to watch much more TV and still is not able to reduce it.