Watching TV may be the most popular pastime within the United States. With the advent of streaming services, it seems the more and more people are spending the day relaxing in front of the television. What a nice luxury! To sit in blissful idleness and be entertained by professional television personalities and movie stars. To lose oneself in a compelling drama, catch sport highlights, and witness someone win big or lose it all on a game show because of one little decision. With practically every show and movie now accessible through streaming, there is an abundance of content available out there. So why not enjoy ourselves? Well, as in all things, there can be too much of a good thing. And, the situation may be unique for our older citizens.

Research over the past twenty years has actually shown that watching television is highly correlated with developing depression. The research team of Santos et al. (2021) found that adults who watched more than two hours of television per day demonstrated higher scores of depressive symptoms. They also found that men engaging in physical activity five or more days per week and women doing physical things two to four days per week had the lowest scores of depression. Zhou et al. (2023) found that the people in their study who were sedentary–or spent much of the day sitting–had a twenty percent higher risk of depression. As well, the risk of depression increased by five percent for each hour of television watched in a day. So, watching ten hours of TV meant a fifty percent increased risk of depression! It seems pretty clear that some kind of connection exists between the amount of time watching TV and low mood. But, what’s really going on?

One possibility is that we’re looking at a “Chicken-or-the-Egg” kind of situation. In other words, it is impossible to say which comes first! Does television cause depression, or do depressed individuals watch more TV shows? It is hard to say, though the team of Nguyen et al. (2009) proposes that people may use television as a way of escaping from their negative feelings. In this sense, people feeling down may seek out and watch more television to numb their sadness, anger, or anxiety. The research team of Potts and Sanchez (1994), on the other hand, found that the genre or type of television program matters. They found that more positive programming, including comedy shows or hopeful stories, can actually help to relieve depressed moods. They also found that watching the news can worsen depressed moods. So in this sense, watching television can actually cause depression if the content is negative.

In reality, it’s probably a case of “Chicken-AND-the-egg,” such that we turn to television to help escape from negative feelings and then neglect our more enjoyable and energizing hobbies by continuing to watch for long periods of time.

These findings can be particularly concerning for our older citizens, as television viewing is a very common pastime. Television is highly entertaining, requires little to no effort to watch, and is available now twenty-four hours a day. For older individuals with a lot of time on their hands and concerns like physical disability, television is a frequent part of their lives. I see this constantly in my work in nursing homes, where practically every room has a television playing a program. When I interview new patients and ask how they spend their time, most every person says, “Watching television.” But, when I ask if they enjoy watching TV, most everyone says, “Not really. It’s just something to do.” I believe that is the crux of the problem–television can have a negative impact on mood, yet people do it at increasing rates from lack of anything else to do.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way! There are many ways we can choose to spend our time instead of watching the glowing box, including going for a walk at the park, talking to friends and family, or reading a thrilling book. For those with difficulties getting around, technology has made things much easier–call or videochat with a friend, download a free university lecture on your computer or smartphone, or do a puzzle. If you take some time to brainstorm, you may be able to come up with dozens of other options.

In short, television is not inherently bad. There are some people who watch TV regularly and are not depressed! But if you find yourself bingeing on large amounts of TV or find yourself glued to the news cycle and notice feeling down, blue, or low energy, then I encourage you to be curious about what’s happening. Maybe it’s time to make a small change. Do something fun outside of your seat! And if all else fails, find something funny to watch. My personal favorites include Whose Line Is It Anyway?, American’s Funniest Home Videos, and The Planet’s Funniest Animals.

I explore these ideas and much, much more in my upcoming book: The Golden Rules of Retirement: A Psychologist’s Guide To Living Life to the Fullest, No Matter Your Financial Situation. Reserve your copy now on Amazon.com by going to the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Rules-Retirement

And, stay tuned for details, including release date, launch sales, and future books in the Golden Rules series by visiting my website: lifecanbegolden.com/

-Lee Penn, PhD

Citations:

Nguyen GT, Wittink MN, Murray GF, Barg FK. More than just a communication medium: what older adults say about television and depression. Gerontologist. 2008 Jun;48(3):300-10. doi: 10.1093/geront/48.3.300. PMID: 18591355; PMCID: PMC2782761.

Richard Potts & Dawn Sanchez (1994) Television viewing and depression: No news is good news, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 38:1, 79-90, DOI: 10.1080/08838159409364247

Santos J, Ihle A, Peralta M, Domingos C, Gouveia ÉR, Ferrari G, Werneck A, Rodrigues F, Marques A. Associations of Physical Activity and Television Viewing With Depressive Symptoms of the European Adults. Front Public Health. 2022 Jan 12;9:799870. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.799870. PMID: 35096747; PMCID: PMC8790035.

Zhou Q, Guo C, Yang X, He N. Dose-response association of total sedentary behaviour and television watching with risk of depression in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2023 Mar 1;324:652-659. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.12.098. Epub 2023 Jan 4. PMID: 36610602.