TV Makes You Feel Less Lonely

A new study by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reports that watching TV provides people with the illusion that their social needs are being met. I had a teacher who told us that when she was going through a very difficult time in her life all she wanted to do, and the only thing that made her feel better, was to watch TV. I know I for one can support this newfound research. I love to go to the movies and one reason (by no means the main one) is that it is an escape, a brief vacation from your life. It can be healthy in a therapeutic sense, but when it becomes your source of companionship, as it being reported by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, it has become a problem. This same teacher has made a pact with herself that she can only watch one hour of TV per day now. She sets a timer and when it buzzes, that's it. Even though she has been out of that hole for years, she says it is too easy to let herself fall to illusions such as this. Apparently, researchers concluded that viewer's fictional bond with TV characters can ease their need to connect with others.