Watching TV after work does not help you relax
Researchers from Germany and the Netherlands say that watching TV after a stressful day at work can make you feel guilty and like a failure. The study found that instead of feeling relaxed, many people said that they had high levels of guilt if they watched TV or played video games when they got home. The researchers discovered that people who were very tried because of work avoided doing important tasks at home, such as cleaning, and this made them feel guilty and less relaxed. 471 people took part in the study from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany and the VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The researchers asked the participants how they felt after work or school and what media they used. Previous research has suggested that watching TV can help people to relax after a stressful day, but the new research says that the opposite is actually true. One of the researchers, Dr Leonard Reinecke, said that they were beginning to understand the role that entertainment media has in our lives. Reinecke said that: “The relationship between media use and well-being is complicated and that the use of media may conflict with other, less pleasurable but more important duties and goals in everyday life.”
Sources: The Independent, USA Today
Discussion Questions
1. How do you spend your spare time?
2. How many hours of TV do you usually watch each week? And what do you usually watch?
3. How do you usually feel when you are watching TV or playing computer (or cell phone) games?
4. Do you ever feel guilty about not doing something that you should be doing?
5. What do you usually do after a stressful day at school or work?
6. In your opinion, what is the best way to relax? Why?
7. If you can have a two month of vacation for relax. What do you want to do on your vacation?