Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera
The Ashes are on, so yes, there is definitely >four hours going on around here at the moment! But in general - sure, an hour of news, a couple of primetime shows, and one late-night/talk show, and you're there. That's easily within the realm of "normal" for a lot of people on weeknights with no other activities planned. On the weekend, it's just one footy game and two other shows (or one long one). What activity a person is doing can also be difficult to define clearly: are we "watching TV" while the cricket's on and we're also having a beer together and idly chatting about our days and making plans for the weekend? Am I only "reading" when I'm also parenting?
"Addiction" has a very specific definition, and applying to behavioural compulsions in the first place (as noted above) is very very dodgy. Trying to then go a large stretch further and apply to it normal levels of activity that plenty of people engage in without any sense of compulsion or anxiety on withdrawal is just incorrect.
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I agree and I worded my last paragraph badly, possibly the rest as well. In my mind addiction is to substances and compulsion is an inability to stop. The boundaries are blurred.
My mother in law was a compulsive cleaner. She wanted to clean. She could stop cleaning, but it made her uncomfortable stopping for long periods of time. She didn't hate dirt, she welcomed it. In the context of the article she was perhaps an addict as it did affect her relations with others. My sister in law took it personally and would not let her visit or see her grandchildren often. Me I thought it was fine if she wanted to clean and bought her presents
Maybe it is in the eye of the beholders.
My point though was if you chose to watch TV or play video games for long periods it is not necessarily an addiction or a compulsion. It could be an option you have chosen. Like skydiving or rock climbing or drinking beer. Some people can stop when something different and interesting comes along and often do, and some people can't.
Helen