TV Addiction
Addictive or Not Addictive? That Is The Question
Marie Winn, author of “TV Addiction” states that, “television viewing, for those vulnerable to addiction, is more like drinking or taking drugs- once you start it’s hard to stop” (609). Winn strongly believes that television is so addicting that it can and will ruin people’s lives. The meaning of addiction according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal. Of course too much TV viewing is bad for you, but since when is it addictive? When I was a little girl, my family would get together at dinnertime and watch shows such as Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy. It was a time where we would bond with one another, but according to Winn, “it weakens relationships by reducing and sometimes eliminating normal opportunities for talking, for communicating” (609). During television viewing people do speak and make comments about what they’re watching to state their opinion, yet Winn is saying no one will have a chance to speak or acknowledge one another’s presence. Many families have little or nothing to speak about with one another, yet when a program comes on that they all have an interest in the chatter doesn’t stop. Of course the matter of the bills, food and rent come about, but do you really bond over that? Normally conversations such as those tend to start arguments rather than bring you closer whereas the television will make you see one another in a different light. Television isn’t an addiction, but more of a luxury. Many people cannot afford cable, or a television in general for that matter. You don’t see people panhandling or selling themselves to go buy a television or to pay for cable. Serious addictions cause people to actually lose their family, their job, even themselves. They no longer have a sense of who they are or what
Marie Winn, author of “TV Addiction” states that, “television viewing, for those vulnerable to addiction, is more like drinking or taking drugs- once you start it’s hard to stop” (609). Winn strongly believes that television is so addicting that it can and will ruin people’s lives. The meaning of addiction according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal. Of course too much TV viewing is bad for you, but since when is it addictive? When I was a little girl, my family would get together at dinnertime and watch shows such as Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy. It was a time where we would bond with one another, but according to Winn, “it weakens relationships by reducing and sometimes eliminating normal opportunities for talking, for communicating” (609). During television viewing people do speak and make comments about what they’re watching to state their opinion, yet Winn is saying no one will have a chance to speak or acknowledge one another’s presence. Many families have little or nothing to speak about with one another, yet when a program comes on that they all have an interest in the chatter doesn’t stop. Of course the matter of the bills, food and rent come about, but do you really bond over that? Normally conversations such as those tend to start arguments rather than bring you closer whereas the television will make you see one another in a different light. Television isn’t an addiction, but more of a luxury. Many people cannot afford cable, or a television in general for that matter. You don’t see people panhandling or selling themselves to go buy a television or to pay for cable. Serious addictions cause people to actually lose their family, their job, even themselves. They no longer have a sense of who they are or what