I used to be smart kid when I was younger, when I started watching tv my grades started to drop. As the years went by it got worse. I spent majority of my free time watching tv. Also watching too much tv can make one very hungry.

I have unplugged my tv and I watch the odd movie or tv show, I have drastically cut back. I am happier now, I do strength training and I go bike riding. It is much more productive than watching tv that have very little benefit if any.

The study analyzed “peoples’ level of happiness and then drew correlations with 10 activities, including going to church, visiting friends, reading newspapers and watching television.” Ask the timeless philosophical question, “what is happiness?” There are only four activities mentioned and again, how does one define a “level of happiness?” I don’t attend Church but I believe in God, does that make me unhappy? I visit friends often and even they often come over to laugh or cry over a great movie or even playing video games. We love the friendly competition and nobody ever walks away feeling depressed. There are many other “social activities” which could be associated with depression. Gambling is a huge social activity enjoyed in a world of live strangers and it appears more closely associated with unhappiness.

When I think back on America’s history, so much of it is defined by culture, which today is identified by “what’s on TV.” Our society has increasingly grown to consume media and information in a multitude of ways via internet, movies, television, cell phones, faxes, blackberries, iphones, in-car devices. There’s a lot of content out there demanding our attention and it’s hard to “get away from it all.” But there’s a lot of quality programming out there as well and if audiences didn’t “tune in” it would be tuned out. It’s easy, as many people do, to say, “There’s nothing good on.” But it’s not true. As one grows up through the generations of TV episodes on air, you’ll often hear a person referring to a character or a show to explain something that is happening in their own life.

“Oh, my father in law is just like Archie Bunker. He’s stuck in the Stone Age.”

“You can’t just pop in anytime you want like Kramer!”

And at once we understand and are taken back to that moment of Television time. These stories, I believe, continue to be a part of our makeup. I know many of these moments have defined and shaped my character and personality. It’s comforting to know that at the end of the hard day you can always share a laugh with your TV friends, which is even more enjoyable with friends and family. I want to continue to share and contribute to that universal human experience of sharing a laugh, sharing an emotion.