TV Shortens Your Life Span?

     Now-a-days, plenty of people indulge in the pleasure of watching TV whenever they have free time. It's as casual as it can be, and allows people to relax. Unfortunately, Australian researchers have discovered that like so many other pleasures in life, watching TV can shorten your life span.
    This artcile caught my eye since it seems as if many things point out that movies and television can ruin your life through some negative aspects, such as a recent post I did about TV Romances Ruining Your Real Life Romance. As a filmmaker, it makes me wonder as to how this will impact the industry. Will there be new documentaries on this, and will this be a thing along with healthy eating where commercials and shows will be made based on this concept. Such as the ones we already have with telling kids to be active (which is ironic since they send this message through television). With this news, will other studies show the bad effects of television and movies rather than the good they bring as well? When I join the business, would I have to worry about these studies lowering my ratings or earnings? We'll never know until we get there because society seems to choose which studies are important. They also choose about things to forget and not care about at all.

     Nevertheless, the study is the first of its kind to analyze the impact of television viewing on life expectancy. It will be appearing in the October issue of British Journal of Sports Medicine. Using the compiled data from the National Bureau of Statistics and from Australian Diabetes: Obesity and Lifestyle study, the researchers had generated life expectancy tables based on the viewing habits of Australians. It ranged from someone who watched an average of 6 hours of television a day to someone who watched none at all. The results were astonishing: For every hour of television viewed by a person over the age of 25, their life expectancy is reduced by 22 minutes. 

     The study found that TV viewing may be associated with a shortened life span and is comparable to other major chronic disease factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and obesity. It was also revealed that in 2008, Australians 25 years old and older watched a total of 9.8 billion hours of television. That is just in that year. In the U.S. recent study concluded that the average citizen watched tv for about 35.5 hours a week.
     As a consumer, this makes me want to watch less television and wonder what else can also attribute to a shorter life span. However, as a student, I am more worried about the bad rep that this causes for television. Although the article says that watching less is better, but it doesn't really point out some other major issues. Such as computers and what effect other electronic advices have. We are the first generation to have all these devices, so we will also be the first generation to see the effects of cell phones and what not. Overall, I'm glad that this study won't really impact TV ratings. Although, it is a double edged sword, because if this study doesn't impact how others view their health, what will?

QOTW: How does this article impact your view on television?