Study finds unhappy people watch more TV

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Unhappy people watch 30 percent more television than contented individuals, a University of Maryland researcher's study has found.

University sociologist John P. Robinson said by using General Social Survey results from nearly 40,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64, his researchers found a significant correlation between an individual's reported level of happiness and the amount of television they watched, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

But Robinson said beyond recognizing a link between the two variables, there was no clear indication whether unhappiness prompted more TV watching or vice versa.

"It could be that watching television makes you unhappy, but there is also the question of whether people who are unhappy turn to television as a way to ward off their unhappiness," he said.

The Post said the average study respondent who identified themselves as happy with their lives spent nearly 19 hours each week watching television, while individuals claiming to be unhappy reported a weekly average of 21 hours of TV watching.