On T.V. and Video Game Addiction

A balanced Media Meal and how it is affecting us:

I'm fairly certain most people born in the 20th century can admit to watching a lot of T.V. as a young kid. My days as a young person included rushing home from elementary school to catch Ed, Edd, and Eddy or Courage the Cowardly Dog. My television consumption got to the point where, despite not seeing them for so long, I can remember specific commercials and individual SpongeBob episodes. Of course, this leads me to believe that's the reason I can't remember anything else, as my head is full of commercial jingles, but that is beside the point. 

The claims that Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi make in their essay, Television Addiction is No Mere Metaphor, caused me to recall my days where I would spend hours in front of the television, rewatching episodes for no good reason.

Pictured: an easily frightened but adorable cartoon dog named Courage.

Of course, Television is addicting, but I don't think it wasn't beneficial in some way or another for me. Whilst I did watch a lot of television, I also enjoyed time outside, going to new parks and making new friends, riding bikes, rollerskating, ice skating and swimming. 

What is most interesting about the Television phenomenon is that it is a shared experience. Tons of people my age also remember these specific commercials and episodes to the extent that we can make a reference offhand and it automatically is understood without context. In this way, television sort of created its own subculture through its addicting qualities. For better or for worse, it has made a lasting impression on the young adults born of the 20th century. 

In this way, I feel that the authors make a point when describing that the same properties also apply to video games, as a lot of the youth that can be expected to have been addicted to T.V. also can be seen to play lots and lots of video games. However, with the rising increase in quality and connectivity with games in general, this can also simply be a correlation of the modern time. Whatever the case, we have to be careful to monitor the time that we spend, lest we allow it to escape from our grip. 

(Image Source: http://courage.wikia.com/wiki/Courage )