AznBoi said:
Can someone help me find credible stats on the avg. number of hours people spend watching tv & playing games?
I need credible data that I can cite. Please provide the URL so that I can refer back to it.
Also, any other statistics on how computer games/usage, TV, or technology on how they affect our society negatively would be appreciated!
I'm doing a research paper on how today's tech is affecting our society in a negative way. Thanks!
As others have indicated, there are some false assumptions in your statements. You're assuming all TV watching is negative, or at least it sounds that way. As others have pointed out, in addition to a lot of mindless drivel on TV (and even that can serve its purpose...sometimes you just need to relax and do something relatively mindless to clear your head so you can attack a problem with a fresh perspective), there are documentaries, educational programming (the TV I watched as a kid was Sesame Street and The Electric Company type stuff), news media (not just the evening news either...when I was a kid, what happened in Congress was a mystery to most people; now we can tune into C-Span 24 hours a day).
Also, as others have pointed out, even when watching shows that are purely for entertainment, there is a difference between someone just sitting and doing nothing but watching the TV, and those who are doing other things with the TV on...if you have to fold the laundry anyway, it's no harm to have the TV on and watch it while doing something like that.
The types of games being played would probably make a difference too. Some require a lot of thought and strategy, while others are indeed pretty mindless. Again, while some people get carried away with computer games and withdraw from society (you'd have to show me they wouldn't have withdrawn for some other reason had the game not been there to convince me the game is at fault...would it have been any different if they had surrounded themselves with comic books or model airplanes or stamp collecting?), for others, it's a way of acquiring social interaction with others.
When you start out having formed your conclusion before finding the statistics, your research is going to be biased. It would be better to find the statistics and consider the open questions remaining before deciding how you'll interpret those statistics.
Just remember, every kid on here getting homework help from professional scientists is spending that time on a computer. If time spent in front of a computer were all counted equally as time using technology, is it a negative that they are here? Technology has brought them an educational tool that did not exist when I was a kid. If it weren't for this technology, you wouldn't be able to solicit assistance in writing your paper from us.
AznBoi said:
The United States and globally. I've found a couple of stats but they all seem to be somewhat different. Should I choose the one with a higher avg. given that it seems reliable?
A more objective/unbiased approach would be to use all the sources you've found and discuss the discrepancies. How did their methods of collecting data differ, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the sources, what's the range, what assumptions are included in the analysis, etc. The differences in the stats are what makes it a topic for discussion/debate. Are the stats including just the time the TV is on, or actual time watched? Is it a self-reported statistic, or did someone have a way to actually monitor TV watching? In multiple person households, how is the TV time determined for each family member? Might it be higher than calculated (i.e., if all members of the household watch the TV together and the calculation takes an average of hours the TV is on divided by members of the household), or lower than calculated (i.e., if it is assumed all members are watching the TV any time it is on, although only one person might be, or the TV may have just been left on when nobody is paying attention to it, or fell asleep watching it at night).
This will make a more thoughtful paper than just trying to find statistics to support a preconceived idea that may not be correct.
Besides, as long as we're talking about adults here, I don't see that television has a negative impact on society.
I can not remember when I first mentionned GO here, it was at that time you told me to try pente. I especially like the D-Pente because it is more fair. Also, the game is usually less long than an entire GO game.
