What does television do to your brain

Spending so much time immersed in the lives of the characters portrayed on a show is also fueling our binge watching experience. We get drawn into story lines, become attached to characters and truly care about outcomes of conflicts. DeSilva, there are a handful of different forms of character involvement that contribute to the bond we form with the characters, which ultimately make us more likely to binge watch a show in its entirety.

The show is so popular because of its multiple avenues for identification. Also, the identification with power, prestige and success makes it pleasurable to keep watching. If you've ever found yourself thinking that you and your favorite character would totally be friends in real life, you've likely experienced this type of involvement.

Another type of character involvement is "perceived similarity, where we enjoy the experience of 'I know what that feels like,' because it's affirming and familiar, and may also allow the viewer increased self-esteem when seeing qualities valued in another story. The act of binge watching offers us a temporary escape from our day-to-day grind, which can act as a helpful stress management tool , says Dr. John Mayer, Ph. D, a clinical psychologist at Doctor On Demand. Mayer says.

A binge can work like a steel door that blocks our brains from thinking about those constant stressors that force themselves into our thoughts. Binge watching can set up a great boundary where troubles are kept at bay. Binge watching can also help foster relationships with others who have been watching the same show as you.

Ariane Machin , Ph. D, clinical psychologist and professor of psychology. Binge watching can make us feel a part of a community with those that have also watched it, where we can connect over an in-depth discussion of a show. They may become angry, anxious and go to great lengths to see their program. TV viewing reduces higher brain activity, promoting activity in lower brain regions.

In other words, it makes you behave less intelligently and more like an animal. Advertisers target a region of the brain known as the reptilian brain. This is an ancient part of the brain which is responsible for primitive and primal urges such as sex, feeding and power.

These themes are commonly used in advertising campaigns to make you think that you need a particular product. The most common way this is done is by making you think that your life will somehow be better with the advertised product, and that without the product, you or your life will be inadequate. Your brain is more active when you are sleeping than when you are watching television. Since the health of your brain is largely determined by how much you actively use it, watching too much television can therefore have a detrimental effect on the health of your brain.

When you read for example, you have to mentally create images of what you are reading. This requires significant brain power to do. So when you are reading, you are effectively exercising your brain. Excessive television viewing can cause a person to develop a short attention span and increase the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD in children and adults.

This is thought to be due to the frequent scene changes that occur with modern-day video edits. If you compare an old film, such as from the s or s with films of today for example, you will notice that older movies had much longer scene changes.

This is a natural biological response which automatically draws your attention to things which change in your environment. The purpose of this is for survival, so that you are quickly alerted to possible dangers in your environment.

The more scene changes there are, the more this response is activated and the more your attention will be held. However, cuts which occur too frequently can make a video difficult to follow and may even may you feel sick. Watching television appears to be especially harmful for children, as their brain has not yet fully developed.

Increased television viewing in children tends to impair frontal lobe development. Thus, damage to or retardation of the frontal lobe, can result in a child who acts socially inappropriately i. That's similar to the amount of gray-matter atrophy that's typically seen over the course of a year in mid to late adulthood, Dougherty said.

Although the studies found an association between TV watching and cognitive decline and reduced brain volumes later in life, they cannot prove that heavy TV watching actually caused these outcomes.

Although the studies accounted for some factors that may affect brain health — including age, education level and the presence of certain genes tied to Alzheimer's risk — they did not ask about total sedentary time, or tease out TV viewing from other types of sedentary behavior. The studies also relied on participants' reports of their TV viewing time, which may not be reliable.

In addition, the studies cannot determine why TV viewing was linked with these outcomes. It's unclear whether sedentary behavior is indeed responsible for the link or whether some other factors tied to TV watching, such as increased food consumption, may play a role. The researchers said more studies are needed to confirm the findings, including studies that use objective measures of sedentary behavior like activity trackers , and those that examine differences in passive and active sedentary behavior, in relation to cognitive decline and brain health markers.

Hi, Amelia L.! Yes, we think dogs can watch TV. Even if they cannot see the color red, they'll still be able to see a red object - it might just appear as a shade of gray! Hi, Emily! We're so glad you hear from you, M. Brown's Tutorial Class! Thanks, Sophie, Jack, Daniel and Carson, for such providing great discussion points! That's a good one, j-dog! Would you like to nominate it here? What do you think? Yowza, Brianna!

That's a huge number! Thanks for sharing additional information with all of us. That's a great question, Room ! We're not sure, but we bet it's a pretty big number. With 24 hours in a day multiplied by 80 or so cable channels although many cable companies offer many more channels than that you've got roughly hours of programming!

And that's just in the U. It's probably safe to say people love watching television around the world! Thank you for sharing what you learned, Jewell! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature.

Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Does watching television affect your brain?

What are some of the negative effects of watching too much television? Can watching television ever be beneficial? Tags: See All Tags American Academy of Pediatrics , brain , couch potato , exercise , health , Human Body , learning , overweight , science , screen time , technology , television , TV.

Wonder What's Next? Tomorrow's Wonder of the Day always seems to pop up at the wrong time! Try It Out Turn off the television and check out the following activities with a friend or family member: You probably already know that television programs can be educational, but do most people watch such shows? Search the Internet to find out which television programs are the most popular. Are any of them educational programs? If not, what types of programs are they? How much television do you watch on a regular basis?

Keep track! Starting today, keep a log of how many minutes you spend each day watching television. After a week, share your log with an adult friend or family member and discuss it.

Do you watch too much television? What do your friends and family members think? What other things could you be doing rather than watching television? Do your parents think you watch too much television? They could be right! Of course, that doesn't mean you can't learn a thing or two from watching television. Scan your local channel guide for educational programming. If you're asked to cut back on your television viewing, suggest some replacement programs that you could watch.

Perhaps it's not a matter of how much television you're watching, but more a question of what programs you're watching. Have fun learning which programs can expand your mind! Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words watch rot brain teen risky unglue deny entertainment industry program drama reality educational recommend historical biographies overstimulation portray Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Logan K. Feb 27, In what ways can TV rot your brain?

Kayden Sep 26, I love this wonder because i love watching tv. Sep 26, That's great, Kayden! What's your favorite show? Apr 3, Dec 17, Wonder Friend Jan 24, Jan 26, Thomas Ruddy Oct 2, Do you happen to have information on how many people watch educational television? Oct 5, Conner Sep 29, Oct 3, Wonder Friend Aug 14, Aug 17, Aug 14, Apr 22, Tobias P. Apr 17,