Tired? Then don’t slump in front of TV, it could make you feel guilty


  • Sitting in front of television could make people feel guilty, researchers found
  • Compared to other activities, watching TV is perceived as less productive
  • Researchers consulted 500 people for study called The Guilty Couch Potato 

By
Fiona Macrae

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It sounds like the perfect end to a long, hard day at work. 

But slumping in front of the TV might make you feel worse rather than better.

People who are tired and stressed are consumed by feelings of guilt and failure when they give into the temptation to watch television, a study found.

People who are tired and stressed are consumed by feelings of guilt when they give into the temptation to watch television, the ‘Guilty Couch Potato’ study by German and Dutch researchers found (file picture)

It is thought that worry that their time would be better spent doing something else.

They may also be concerned that others will look down on them for watching soaps, reality TV or other non-demanding programmes that are particularly appealing when tried.

In a study entitled The Guilty Couch Potato, Dutch and German researchers asked almost 500 volunteers how tired they felt after finishing work, university or school the previous day.

They were also asked if they had played video games or watched TV and how it had made them feel.

Those who were most stressed in the evening got the least benefit from the supposedly relaxing activities, the Journal of Communication reports.

Rather than feeling calm and refreshed, they felt guilty and experienced feelings of failure.

They were also more likely to say that they had turned on the TV as a way of avoiding doing something else.

The researchers say that tiredness makes us particularly likely to give into the temptation of TV or other non-demanding tasks and when we do, we then tend to feel guilty about our lack of self-control.

The study, published in the Journal of Communication, found that those who were most stressed in the evening got the least benefit from supposedly relaxing activities such as watching television (file picture)

Dr Leonard Reinecke, of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany, said: ‘The act of the giving in to the urge for media seems to fuel the tendency to feel guilty about media use.

‘Compared to other leisure-time activities, entertaining media use tends to be perceived as less productive and cultural valuable.

‘Individuals engaging in entertaining media use rather than other, more socially-valued leisure activities such as sports, personal improvement activities like meditation or art, or social activities, might thus be especially prone to feel guilty when indulging in media instead.’

He added that the increasing use of mobile technology makes it easier than ever for us to tune into our favourite programmes and games while on the go.

The researcher said: ‘In times of smartphones and mobile internet, the ubiquitous availability of content and communication often seems to be a burden and stressor rather than a recovery source.’ 

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