Help needed with a 4 page scientific essay.

“Watching television has more negative effects when compared to positive effects when it comes to the time we invest in watching various television shows.”

Introduction:

Scientific method is a process through which experts observe the data and follow a rational and logical order of steps to come to conclusions. The scientific method thus helps in organizing the steps required to synthesize the data as well as the thought process of the expert or the observer and paves a path to find conclusions that he is confident in. In order to pursue a scientific method, first we need to observe the data, and then make a hypothesis, then a prediction, then carry out an experiment or analysis and then come to logical conclusions. Here, in this particular paper, I am going to observe the data regarding my and a family member’s TV watching hours in a week and come to some rational conclusions. These conclusions are with respect to the inferences from two papers namely, “Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor” by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and “Television: The plug-in drug” by Marie Winn.

The below is the data regarding my TV watching time on corresponding dates and related shows.

Date	Time Spent Watching Television	Shows Watched
02/21/2014	3 hours	1. The blacklist 2. Dancing with stars
02/22/2014	2 hours	1. Ted videos of YouTube 2. Pretty Little Liars
02/23/2014	2 and half hours	1. Mad man 2. American idol
02/24/2012	3 hours	1. YouTube videos on old ads 2. The blacklist 3. The voice
02/25/2014	1 and half hours	1. Mad Man 2. The voice
02/26/2014	2 hours	1. Pretty Little liars 2. 2.Dancing with stars
02/27/2014	3 hours	1. The blacklist 2. Dancing with stars 3. The voice

The below is the data regarding a family member’s TV watching time on corresponding dates and related shows.

Date	Time Spent Watching Television	Shows Watched
02/21/2014	3 hours	1. The voice 2. Dancing with stars 3. American idol
02/22/2014	1 and half hours	1. America’s got Talent 2. True blood
02/23/2014	2 and half hours	1. True blood 2. The Bachelolerrete
02/24/2014	3 hours	1. Suits 2. True Blood 3. America’s got talent
02/25/2014	3 and half hours	1. Under the dome 2. The Blacklist 3. Suits
02/26/2014	2 hours	1. True Blood 2. The Bachelorette
02/27/2014	3 hours	1. Master chef junior 2. The voice 3. American Idol

The below are the follow-up questions which I asked my particular family member whose data I have collected with regards to his TV watching shows and hours.

1. How did you feel while watching the television?

His answer is, “Usually when I watch Television, I like to watch it in comfort. I sit in my sofa comfortably, lean backwards, stretch my legs and watch the Television. The television is at a distance of 8 feet from the sofa, so it doesn’t cause much stress on eyes.”

2. At any point of watching the television, did you feel like the show was ridiculous? If yes, why didn’t you turn the television off?

“Yes, many a time while watching different shows, I feel that some of them are ridiculous on that day (even though it is one of my favorite shows), but I don’t switch off the television because I switch my watching to a different show or channel as I want to relax in the evening after I return from the office”

3. How much time do you spend with your family each day, each week?

“I spend around four to five hours with my family on a working day (this includes the TV watching time and dinner time too). As a whole, in a week I spend around 45 hours with the family, as on non-business days, mostly I spend my time entirely with my family.”

4. Do you and your family ever watch television together? How about watching television during family meals?

“Yes, I and my family watch television together many a time. We watch while we discuss something or while we have our dinner or when there is a prime show which we are all interested in.”

5. How many times a week does the family eats dinner together? How many of those meals include a television set?

“Our family has the dinner together most probably on every day. All the family members would sit together and have the dinner. But whether we watch the TV while we have the dinner or not depends on that particular day. Usually we watch TV around 4 days a week typically while having dinner. This amounts to some eight hours a week on an average.”

Below is the tracking sheet that quotes the readings from the above mentioned articles and the readings of TV watching hours.

Quote/Concept from the Reading	Your Corresponding Data	How concept/quote from the reading supports the data.
“Within moments of sitting or lying down and pushing the "power" button, viewers report feeling more relaxed” (Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi page 3)	I watch and the family member who I reported here watches TV around for 15 to 18 hours a week and mostly after we return from office.	I and the family members after coming from get relaxed after watching TV.
“People watch a great deal longer than they plan to, even though prolonged viewing is less rewarding.” (Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi page 7)	Think to watch 15 hrs. and extend to 18 hrs.	Yes I and my members of the family watch at least more than 3 hours a week than we actually intend to. Think to watch 15 hrs. and extend to 18 hrs.
“Parents are not immune to this seduction either. What’s more, they tend to see TV as a convenient child-rearing tool.” (Mark Winn, page 7)	While dinner times (around half an hour to one hour a day) and also before and after dinner about an hour we watch the TV along with the children.	Yes while dinner and other times regardless of what the children need to do, we just watch TV.
“What’s more, involvement in community activities dropped across the board, as did participation in outdoor sports, and other social events.” (Mark Winn, page 9)	Watch TV for two to three hours after returning from office.	Instead of going to Gym to have strength and relaxation, we watch TV. On the non-business day /weekends too most of the time is devoted to TV, when we are at home, rather than going for social events or pursuing some extra-curricular activities.
“The difficulty arises when people strongly sense that they ought not to watch as much as they do and yet find themselves strangely unable to reduce their viewing. “ (Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, page 6)	We watch an extra hour than we intend to watch	When we resist the feeling that we shouldn’t than what we intend to, we feel uneasy.

Conclusions: From what I observed with myself and my family member’s data whose data I collected is the fact that watching television and other YouTube videos browsing through computer is merely for relaxation purposes rather than enjoyment or indulging. We tend to relax a lot keeping our body at rest, but often watch long than what we intend to. This impacts us a lot on our extracurricular activities too, by not going to Gym or participating in other social activities or events. This consequently impacts on child’s education too. They along with us, elders watch TV ignoring their studies and other activities which give them knowledge and confidence. When we tend to switch off the TV, when we think that it is time to switch off, but often inside feel that we need to watch more, this makes us fell somewhat frustrated. Thus watching TV shows or browsing through has more negative impacts that positive. Therefore rather we should focus on other activities for the purposes of relaxation other than TV. We can reduce our TV watching and utilize the time for other productive as well as relaxing activities and thus maintain our lives in balance.

References:

· Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi : Television Addiction Is No Mere Metapho,r (February 22, 2002) . Retrieved from http://www.shenet.org/high/hsacaddept/English/ddayton/Documents/Media/Television%20Addiction%20is%20no%20Mere%20Metaphor.pdf

· Mark Winn : “Television the Pug-in the drug” (1988) , retrieved from http://mrsholloway.weebly.com/uploads/4/9/2/9/4929324/tv_the_plug_in_drug.pdf