What Happy People Don’t Do
Nov 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 am by Susie
Even though I have the TV on a lot, I have to say that I don’t really watch it - as in, sit on the couch and give it my undivided attention. Even when I do assume the position, I’m usually reading at the same time. (Compulsive multi-tasker.) Maybe that has something to do with this, because I do seem to be happier than most of the people I know, and the people I know who are the kind who turn would invariably down a chance for human interaction in favor of a TV show are the ones who seem the most unhappy (hard to tell from the outside, of course).
What do you think?
Happy people spend a lot of time socializing, going to church and reading newspapers — but they don’t spend a lot of time watching television, a new study finds.
That’s what unhappy people do.
Although people who describe themselves as happy enjoy watching television, it turns out to be the single activity they engage in less often than unhappy people, said John Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the author of the study, which appeared in the journal Social Indicators Research.
Hmmm…I think maybe correlation, not causation. People who have the social skills to have friends and be comfortable in public are naturally going to be a little happier. Those who don’t, stay home.
I agree with merciless that people with social skills and self confidence go out more often.
Still, I think watching too much TV increases anxiety. The commercials are all aimed at making you feel inadequate, unsafe or just plain smelly. The life styles on the shows are usually high end and again, can make you feel like your own life is inadequate. The dramas often have a pretty bleak view of life and can be depressing.
The commercials are the worse though. They push fear at you all day long.
I love my TV nights, but that’s because they are the nights I’ve designated as “Stay home, curl up with the dog, and munch on popcorn. Watch my predictable shows, fade away on the couch, and then stumble to bed.
Lovely.
As a couple with a child we don’t socialize much. Most of our friends and family are far away. But we watch TV together and argue about Star Trek (should Deanna have married Worf or Will a perennial argument we will never resolve) and that makes us happy. So does our time watching “Bones” or him telling me all the plot points of “the Shield.” Should I be worried that I’m not really happy?
I love TV, all kinds. I watch just about everything. I just don’t sit and give it my full attention very often.
I love TV too, even though I think it can be depressing. Tivo is the best invention since the wheel - you can hold on to your favorites and skip through the ads.
This was the most important line in the article:
But the researchers could not tell whether unhappy people watch more television or whether being glued to the set is what makes people unhappy.