Television addiction is no longer questioned by anyone. Television has been a revolutionary audiovisual tool that has transformed society. The importance of television lies in the fact that it is not only a source of information, but that it has gained more and more prominence in families . Sometimes television has become a new member of the family.
Index
Television addiction
What is an addiction?
An addiction is an activity or a habit of a person, which dominates his will. The addicted person is totally dependent on the consumption of a substance, the exercise of an activity or the satisfaction of a desire. Examples include: addiction to alcohol or drugs , gambling or pathological gambling .
It is important to emphasize the concept of dependence: addiction provokes in the subject the need to satisfy his desire. The addiction takes over the will of the individual and he lives by and to satisfy that desire, either by consuming or performing some activity. If you cannot do it, you feel great discomfort. Addictions profoundly alter people’s lives.
Is television addicting?
There is no doubt that television radically changed people’s lives. It was like a miracle, the result of technology, pressing a button and seeing people who were hundreds or thousands of kilometers away on the small screen.
Now, this audiovisual revolution has caused many people to limit their lives, spending more and more hours in front of the television, to the point that when they cannot “watch TV” they feel anxiety . They are generally unaware of this need and dependency, but when deprived of the “silly box” they feel nervous, irritable, or depressed.
A nostalgic addiction.
Technology evolves at such a frenetic rate that it is hard to keep up with the latest news. Television was the revolution of the 20th century. Half humanity saw Neil Armstrong, on July 21, 1969, put his foot on the moon, on black and white televisions. Today we find it hard to imagine watching a program other than on color television.
After television came the first personal computers in the 80s. With them came the Internet, with a modem that allowed us to send messages of few words at a speed that today would seem ridiculous.
Then came the revolution of mobile phones, increasingly smaller and with more functionalities. Mobile phones, broadband internet and wireless wifi networks were the foundations of the whatsapp revolution and the current social networks: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Pintorest, Instagram….
Addiction and dependence on television
Addiction to new technologies.
The evolution of audiovisual technologies is so dazzling that many people are unable to keep up to date and are left in the gutter of the advancement of social networks. Today, any teenager has more fluency and skill with their Smartphone than their parents.
Television is becoming obsolete for these new generations who consume their time and their diopters devouring the screen of their mobiles.
Today, television addiction has been reduced to those who have not been able to keep up with technological advancement. Today’s young people are addicted to YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Some of his parents are addicted to television. Television is the addiction of those who have succumbed to the unstoppable audiovisual advance.
In this sense, this article on television addiction is a bit nostalgic, because for the youngest, who do not leave their mobile phone or eat, they will find it strange and even not very credible. However, everything we say about addiction to television is perfectly transferable to addiction to new technologies.
The television and the couple.
Many men and women are the silent members of a hellish “menage a trois” in which the television is the third member of the trio and the only one speaking. There is no love relationship that can endure this three-way relationship for long.
What would you and your partner do tonight if when you returned home you discovered that the television was broken? If you have life programmed according to television schedules, it is most likely that you will find yourself totally lost.
If, on the other hand, television occupies little place in your relationship, this incident will have no consequences. Surely both of you will discover a thousand different ways to have a good time together.
At first, when television was born, it was thought that this new invention would affect show business, lead to total disaster for the film industry and empty restaurants. But what no one ever dared to imagine is that it would become a serious threat to the life of the couple .
Actually, this wonderful invention enriches curious spirits, relaxes and distracts. But if there is no limit to its use, it enters the deepest corners of everyday life, even invading the privacy of the bedroom.
Addiction to new technologies
From telephilia to TV addiction.
Television has changed everyone’s life. It brings us incredible images to our home. In the beginning, television was an excellent pretext to meet family and friends who, not having their own television, gladly accepted to go and spend some time, in front of the small screen of their hosts, who proudly showed their new acquisition.
Subsequently, all households ended up having their own television set. From then on, couples began to watch TV alone at home and, as it was something new for them, they even found the opportunity to comment on what they saw.
It is true that television has provided us with wonderful moments since its inception: We saw the first man walk on the moon, we have seen royal crowning ceremonies, spectacular weddings, high-altitude sporting events.
At the same time we have witnessed the most cruel news today: the assassination of President Kennedy, the attack on the Twin Towers, the war in Iraq, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, repression and executions.
Television can be a source of knowledge and a form of entertainment with shows or movies, which can lead to interesting conversations within the couple. Television, provided it is watched in moderation, can be enjoyable and sometimes instructive entertainment.
One afternoon in front of the television.
There are couples who settle down comfortably to spend the evening in front of the television: an event that is repeated every day! They hope to find in “the silly box” a diversion that will help them escape from their problems, their silences and their lack of communication.
But they are very wrong: passively receiving everything that television offers them, not only do they not escape the mediocrity of their relationship, but they aggravate it.
A study carried out on this phenomenon revealed that couples who watched television an average of 20 hours a week, did not talk to each other for more than 20 minutes a week.
In these cases, telephilia (love for television) has become television addiction (dependence on television).
Slaves of programming.
If your life as a couple is scheduled according to television schedules, chances are that you are getting dangerously close to TV addiction.
First of all, this gadget imposes its hobbies on you. You have the impression that you cannot miss anything that they put on you. Every afternoon you have a date with your favorite social gathering. You cannot miss any chapter of the telenovela of the moment.
The table has to be up to see the news or the weather forecast. You have to make the purchase the week before the police series. You can even skip a traffic light to get home before your soccer team’s game starts.
Television and the couple: a dangerous “menage a trois”
Couples addicted to couch potatoes are next to each other, but in front of the television, as soon as they have finished lunch or dinner or even while they are sitting at the table. Thus they spend the whole evening, without finding the opportunity to exchange a word or a glance.
Television speaks, thinks, travels for us. You stay glued to the small screen even when what you are seeing does not interest you at all. You’re just waiting for a show to end to see if what comes next interests you something else.
There comes a time, when it is to see to see, without making any critical assessment of the programming. The point is that the television remains on.
Communication becomes difficult.
Television can temporarily silence the difficulties that a couple may be going through. Indeed, it leaves little time to meet face to face. In this way, those who have less and less to say to each other or do not open their mouths other than to argue, find some peace by watching television.
When one of the two does not want to hear the other, he can take refuge in front of the television and pretend to be very interested in what they are showing. After a while, your partner will settle in next to you, furious that you have not said everything you wanted to say and because you know that interrupting the viewing of the television program would only serve to make things worse. In this “menage a trois”, the only one who has the right to speak, in those moments, is the television.
In addition, the small screen imposes its schedules on the couch potato couple. At what point can one sit face to face to talk quietly? When is there time to make love? If you have children, when can we play with them? What time of day do we have left to take care of them, listen to them and talk to them?
Failure of the television and panic in the couple.
There are many couples who when they see television disappear in the hands of the technician feel almost anguished. The indispensable companion has just left home. What do we do today after dinner? Let’s go to the cinema? Shall we call friends? Anything is valid, except meeting the two face to face without knowing what to say to each other, because they have already lost the habit of telling each other things.
For couch potatoes, it is easier for televised characters to face and solve the problems of ordinary life than to try to do it themselves.
Anxiety makes its appearance when the television breaks.
Two people, two televisions, two solitudes.
The breakdown of communication is enshrined in the couple when they buy a second television.
And what is a couple without communication? Can you talk about the existence of the couple, when there is no longer communication? The man can then watch the football match without problems, while his wife watches the film on another channel. Each of them thus lives, in total solitude, the emotions that correspond to their tastes, to their personality.
Once this abyss in the relationship is opened, it may even happen that both spouses are watching the same program, but each one on their own, in front of their private TV in different rooms.
When they are together it is to do some housework, fulfill social or family obligations and, of course, to sleep. In many cases the sexual life of the couple is already dead.
You cannot have frequent and satisfactory sexual relations, when television does not free us from its clutches until late at night and the next day you have to get up early.
Breaking the habit.
Television is a source of fun and information when used wisely. But, when it is not, it can become the grave of the couple. Those who have decided to break the habit of seeing her constantly, observe how their physical health and the quality of their relationships, both personal and social, begin to improve.
Now, for many people addicted to television, it is not an easy task to disengage. Quitting television can be as difficult as quitting alcoholism. When you stop absorbing the “daily dose” of television, you suffer a strong psychological shock similar to that seen in other addictions.
Couch addicts with “the monkey” can become irritable, look like a lion locked in its cage, feel deep anguish or dull panic. All this, you can feel like a couch potato, unless you are offered a substitute and attractive product.
Luckily, it is not as difficult for everyone to break free from TV addiction. In many cases, a new external stimulus or a different proposal is enough to get the television off.
In this regard, couch potato couples who wish to revitalize their relationship should never refuse the chance to escape, even for a few hours, to the dominance of the small screen.
This means that you have to have the desire and the firm will to break this habit. But what drug addict could give up his addiction and regain his freedom and dignity without a strong and determined will?
The same thing happens to the couch potato: You must want to quit your addiction and you must fight for it.
The couch potato is caught by the television
Tips to escape from couch potato.
– When you don’t know what to do one afternoon, go out! Pay a visit to a relative, or a friend. Go see a show. Go out for a walk. Go to some sporting activity or, even better, do some sport!
– If you stay at home, don’t turn on the television “just to see what’s on.” Grab a good book, or start a topic of conversation with your partner: see what happens!
– Take the television set out of the dining room and especially the bedroom. In bed you must be the protagonist of the night movie yourself.
– Improve your relationship with your partner: reserve a few sacred moments each week to dedicate them to romantic and sexual activities: late and prolonged dinners just the two of you, walks in the park, mutual massage sessions, outings, sexual relations, etc.
– Never buy any programming guide. Trust what they tell you, to know the programs that you cannot miss. And if you miss one, you will quickly discover that it is not the end of the world.
– If you are very interested in consulting TV programming, make smart use of it: choose beforehand the programs that really interest you during the week and do not watch any other. (This is highly inadvisable for rehabilitated ex-couch potatoes: you don’t want to expose yourself to temptation.)
– Every time you turn on the television mechanically, ask yourself if you really want to see this program and not the one that starts in half or an hour. If the answer is no, turn off the device. Silence has never killed anyone.
Use television in moderation
Replace television with other activities.
– Listen to the radio from time to time. This “old” means of diffusion allows you to do other things at the same time: read, cook, go for a walk, etc.
– Banish television from your trips, vacations and weekends. Finding yourself in a different environment than usual offers a lot of more pleasant occasions to distract and enrich yourself. Take advantage of them!
– Adopt an active lifestyle: exercise, enroll in a course of some activity that you like. You will not have time to waste it in front of the small screen.
– Do not see on television life pass before your eyes. Live the!
Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.
