Effects of Heavy Television Watching to the Physical and Social Health - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: Effects of Heavy Television Watching to the Physical and Social Health Effects of Heavy Television Watching to the Physical and Social Health of Adolescents in Selected Areas of Florida December 2008 Abstract Every individual vary in behavior towards television. There are people who are light television watchers ad there are those who are heavy watchers. This paper will be highlighting the effects of heavy television watching as one kind of mass media, to the physical and social health dimensions among Freshmen College Students. Survey questionnaires will be distributed to respondents who are heavy television watchers. Both qualitative and quantitative data will necessarily be collected and consequently measure the distribution of Freshmen College Adolescents at selected areas in Florida, who are light television watchers and heavy television watchers, describe the respondents, establish the significant effects of heavy television watching as one kind of mass media, to the physical and social health dimensions among Freshmen College Students and explore the perceptions of College Freshmen Students on the benefits and disadvantages of watching TV for 8 hours or so. Introduction Living in the 21st century prompted people to engage in several new activities. With the advancement of technology in the mass media, everything is as easy as counting one, two and three. Television being the most popular kind of mass media is considered a common medium amongst American youth. As the matter of fact, the United States is leading the world when it comes to household televisions operation, with an average of more than eight hours per day (The Economist, 2007). According to Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi (2003), people who watch TV too much, can exhibit symptoms which are the same as that of substance dependence. The effects of television have been studied by scientists for decades, whereby they generally focused on relationship of watching violence on TV and being violent in real life (Berkowitz, 1964). Less concentration however, has been given to the primary allure of the small screen. Several people admit how they hate "couch potatoes", seeing oneself immersed into their sofas handling and manipulating the remote control for long hours. Parents more often complain about their children's' daily heavy television viewing. Larson (2001) of the University of Illinois discovered that, "TV is rarely used for positive developmental experiences and that viewing is associated with developmental liabilities". Moreover, some noted that, to much television consumption (expected to be more than four hours a day) is related to obesity, lower grades, transformed sexual norms and also negative effects in reading performance (Neuman, 1988). Others report , that larger amounts of television consumption has negative influences in sleeping patterns, frequency and quality of family meals, and self image (Van den Bulck, 2000). This research is paying attention to the effects of heavy television watching to the physical and social health of adolescents in some areas of Florida. Significance of the Study The findings of the study would be beneficial to the respondents and the rest of the adolescents. It will promote awareness on the benefits they get from television, at the same time will make them aware of the negative effects television may bring to their physical and social health dimensions. Proper intervention on their health will be recommended which can result to enhancement of their quality of life and sense of well being. The study can serve as an "eye opener" to families, particularly to parents, who may have overlooked the effects of television in relation to the health of their children. Appropriate communication, discipline styles and house rules implementation can be discussed at home with their children. The results of the study hopes to contribute to the entire community, since families are important units of the society, promoting a healthy physical and social wellness in each household may impact to a harmonious, less disordered society. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework This study is anchored to the cultivation theory which was developed by George Gerbner and his colleagues from University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg School of Communication. They argued that television has become the main part of cultural arm of American society. Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli (1980, p. 14). The focus of the study on effects of high television watching was conceptualized based from on their explanation that, "the television set has become a key member of the family, the one who tells most of the stories most of the time". The team said that, on the average, viewer watches television for four hours in a day while heavy viewer watches even more. Added to that, for heavy viewers, television (TV) virtually monopolizes other sources of information, ideas, and persons' consciousness. Cultivation Analysis is the study of television's independent contribution to viewer's comprehension of social reality. Television may be directing heavy TV viewers to comprehend a "mean world". In addition, this investigation explores other variables which are thought to have relationship to high television watching, being the independent variable of the study. As Rubin, Perse, and Taylor (1988) found that, age, socioeconomic status, gender, viewing intention as well as perceived realism were better predictors of faith than in television exposure. On the other hand, many studies have linked sedentary behaviors, as represented by television watching, to obesity (Ching, 1996; Tuckey, 1989 and Coakley, 1998) but few studies have scrutinized the independent effects of inactivity and physical activity on cardiovascular risk factors (Fitzgerald, Kriska & Pereira, 1997). Thus, the proponent attempts to establish the effect of television watching to the physical and social health dimensions of the adolescent respondents. Dependent variables include physical and social health while age, gender, weight, and family income are the moderator variables. Indicators of physical health are weight, diet, meal patterns and physical activity while indicators for social health include social skills, social norms and social functioning. Problem Statement This study is directed to find out the effects of heavy television watching to the physical and social health aspects among the Freshmen College Adolescents in selected areas of Florida. In particular, it intended to answer the following questions: 1. What is the percent distribution of Freshmen College Adolescents at selected areas in Florida, who are light television watchers and heavy television watchers 2. What is the general profile of light and heavy television watchers in terms of: 2.1. Gender 2.3. Weight 2.2. Age 2.4. Family Income 3. Does heavy television watching create significant effects among College Freshmen Students' physical health 4. Does heavy television watching create significant effects among College Freshmen Students' social health 5. What are the perceived benefits and disadvatages heavy television caused to College Freshmen Students Hypothesis Ho1: Heavy television watching has no significant effects in the physical and social health of Freshmen College Students when analyzed based on their age, gender, weight and family income. Review of Related Literature To impart the background and framework of the study, selected literatures related to the study are presented in this column. This section includes concepts, and principles regarding the subject under investigation. Reading materials were procured such as journals, magazines, and websites, and other sources to fully define the scenario of the problem presented by the researcher. A number of distinct hypotheses have been suggested about the potential effects of television violence on the behavior of humans. Several stimulation hypotheses predict that, television viewing violence results to an elevated actual aggressive behavior. A little different hypothesis is the "disinheriting hypothesis", which coined that television decrease people inhibitions regarding behaving aggressively toward other people. If this is correct, television violence could be teaching a general norm in which violence is an acceptable means to relate to other people (Leckenby, 1997). The cultivation theory demand on something that, television interacts with other variables in such ways that television viewing will create strong effects on some persons and not on others. They also discovered that better predictors of faith include age, gender, viewing intention, socioeconomic status, and perceived realism (of television content). Dorothy Johnson said that health must be viewed as a state in which it is influenced by multi-factorial system like psychological, physiological, social and biological factors. This concept of health reconciles with the globally accepted and established description by the World Health Organization. The organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity". It utilizes the three parameters to measure the level and functionality of health of an individual. O'Connell noticed that people nowadays have higher control over their health and are affected by health as well as fitness information (O'Connell, 2000). Oftentimes, the experience of relaxation occurs drastically, people are conditioned to associate viewing TV with rest and no tension. The irony of TV is that people tend to watch far longer than what they plan to, even though long hours viewing is less rewarding (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi, 2003). According to Health Belief Model, people are motivated by the desire by take positive health action in order to prevent illness and disease. This is a kind of motivation driven behavior primarily influenced by a person's modifying factors, perception and likelihood of actions (Brown, 2006). The health concerns of people varied in age, sex, and even race. A survey in Canada presents that the health concerns among Canadian women are heart disease, stress, lung cancer, breast cancer, eating disorders, skin cancer, osteoporosis and lupus (Flare, 2000). Adolescents are very energetic individuals, they engage activities which are highly physical and this group must be properly nourished. Studies reveal that eating breakfast affects the performances, both cognitive and physical. Snacks form an essential component of meal patterns for children and teens. Active and fast-growing teens may have tremendous needs in energy. Although their regular meals can be provided, they still need snacks to meet their energy between meals so they may be able to meet their daily nutrient requirements (IFIC Foundation Media Guide on Food Safety and Nutrition, 2007). However, adolescents may take too much food beyond what is required of them during they are seated on the couch and are watching television in long hours. In the present population-based study of 538 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, the study showed that, for the first time, there is a continuous increase in A1C after every hour of TV watching. This association was independent of duration of disease, age and Body Mass Index. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (2001) that children's television viewing must be limited not more than two hours per day. Furthermore, male and female a adolescents and young adults benefit from physical activity, rather than being sedentary most of the time. Adequate amounts of physical activity every day are recommended for persons of all ages. Inactivity according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1996) is common among females (14%) as compared to males (7%) also among black females (21%) than white females (12%). The social health of individuals refers to "that dimension of an individual's well-being that concerns how he gets along with other people, how other people react to him and how he interacts with social institutions and societal mores". This definition is broad-it incorporates elements of personality and social skills, reflects social norms, and bears a close relationship to concepts such as "well-being," "adjustment," and "social functioning." (Haw Hawe and Shiell, 2000). One indicator for social health is the social skills. Social skills refers to the communication, decision making, problem-solving, self-management and also peer relation abilities which allow one to initiate and retain positive social relationships with others. Deficits or excesses in social behavior can be interfered with learning, teaching, classroom's orchestration as well us climate.Social competence is connected to peer and adult acceptance as well as success (Castle, 2005). Socialization refers to the mechanism of learning one's culture and determining how to live within it. For the society, it is important that all individual members inducts into its moral norms, attitudes, motives, values, social roles, symbols, and language. Norms are the conceptions of accurate and expected behavior that are accepted and practiced by most members of the society. Similarly, social norms have been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit. Failure to stick to the rules can result in severe punishments, the most feared of which is exclusion from the group". The social norms indicate the established and approved ways of doing things, of dress, of speech and of appearance, also known as self-esteem. These vary and evolve not only through time but also vary from one age group to another and between social classes and social groups. What is deemed to be acceptable dress, speech or behavior in one social group may not be accepted in another. Deference to the social norms maintains one's acceptance and popularity within a particular group; ignoring the social norms risks one becoming unacceptable, unpopular or even an outcast from a group. Self-Esteem reflects a person's overall assessment or appraisal of her or his own worth. Self-esteem embraces beliefs and emotions and is influenced by one's motivations, attitudes, and behaviors and affects emotional adjustment (Sheslow, 2005). Social Functioning is the most reliable predictor of children's social development via the early school years. Children's social and behavioral competencies are significant indicators of both early and later school success. Methods The study will adopt the descriptive design and purposive sampling technique in the selection of subjects or respondents of the study. Only heavy television watchers should be included in the study. The target samples are the College Freshmen Students at mid-size private universities of Florida. The researchers will develop a survey questionnaire which will be utilized as the main instrument. As part of the process, the said instruments need to be validated and will undergo reliability testing. Prior to the administration of questionnaires, informed consent will have to be sent to school administrators, parents of concerned respondents, as well as to the respondents themselves. As part of the process, freshmen will be invited to complete the survey. Surveys will be collected for approximately 2 months from first week of February to the first week of April, 2009. Respondents will have to complete the survey anonymously and the results will be analyzed with the help of an expert statistician. In the event, that other respondents will be absent during administration of questionnaire, the survey can be carried out or accessed online. Data Analysis Data will be weighted by using the available software (Stata version 9.0; Stata Corp, College Station, Tex) to account for complex sampling design. For the first and second research questions, Percentage and Weighted Mean are the tools which will be used in the analysis and interpretation of data. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses will be employed to examine the effects of heavy television viewing to physical and social health of adolescents. The last question would require a qualitative data, thus, statistics is not necessary. The hypotheses will further be tested 2-way multiplicative interactions between amount of television watched and all other variants at the p.01 level. REFERENCES American Academy of Pediatrics 2001) Children, adolescents, and television. Pediatrics 107: 423-426, 2001 Berkowitz, L. and Gerbner, G. (1972) The effects of observing violence. Scientific American. p.1. Ching, P., Willett, WC, Rimm, EB, et al. (1996) Activity level and risk of overweight in Male health professionals. Am J Public Health, 1996;86:25-30. Coakley EH, Rimm EB, Colditz G, et al. (1998) Predictors of weight change in men: results from the health professionals. Int J Obes ;22:89-96. Fung, T., Frank B., Hu, Jie Yu,Chu, NF., Spiegelman, D., Tofler, G.H., Willett, W.C., and Rimm, E.B. (1996) Leisure-time physical activity, television watching, and plasma biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular disease risk. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, MS K-46 4770 Buford Highway, NE Atlanta, GA 30341-3724. Gerbner, G. (1990). Epilogue: Advancing on the path or righteousness (maybe). In N. Signorielli and M. Morgan (eds.), Cultivation Analysis: New Directions in Media Effects Research, PP. 24!+262. Newbury park, Calif.: sage. Gerbner, G., and L. P Gross (1976a). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication 26 (no. 2): 172-199. Gerbner, G., and L. 1 Gross (1976b). The scary world of TV's heavy viewer. PsychologyToday, Apr., pp. 41-45, 89. Gerbner, G., L. Gross, M. Morgan, and N. Signorielli (1980). The "mainstreaming" of America: Violence profile no. 11. Journal of Communication 30 (no. 3): 10-29. Gerbner, G., L. Gross, M. Morgan, and N. Signorielli (1986). Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation process. In J. Bryant and D. Zillman (eds.), Perspectives on media eflects, PP. 17-40. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Gerbner, G., L. Gross, M. Morgan, and N. Signorielli (1994). Growing UP with television: The cultivation perspective. In J. Bryant and D. Zillrnann (eds.), Media E&ects:Advances in Theory and Research, pp. 17-41. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. IFIC Foundation Media Guide on Food Safety and Nutrition. (2007) Child & adolescent nutrition. Retrieved December 01, 2008 from http://ific.org/publications/brochures Kubey, R.and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003) Television addiction is no mere metaphor. Scientific Americal Mind. University of Chicago and Claremont Graduate University, USA. Larson, R.W. (2001) How U.S. children and adolescents spend time: What it does (and doesn't) tell us about their development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10 : 160-164. Neuman, S. B. (1988) The displacement effect: Assessing the relation between television viewing and reading performance. Reading Research Quarterly, 23: 414-440. O'Connell, M. Fitnews Reader. Forbes Custom Publishing. New York, USA. US Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1996) A report of the surgeon general physical activity and health adolescents and young adults. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, MS K-46 4770 Buford Highway, NE. Van den Bulck, J. (2000) Is television bad for your health Behavior and body image of the adolescent 'Couch Potato'." Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 29: 273-288. Neuman, S. B. (1988) The displacement effect: Assessing the relation between television viewing and reading performance. Reading Research Quarterly, 23: 414-440. Orlowski1, A.P. (2007) Television consumption and civic engagement among 15 to 25 year Olds Fact Sheet, The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement. The Economist. "Couch Potatoes." Retrieved December 01, 2008 from http://www.economist.com. The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health . (2000) American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 152, No. 12 Printed in U.S.A. Tucker, LA and Friedman GM. (1989) Television viewing and obesity in adult males. Am J Public Health, 79:516-18. APPENDIX A CONCEPTUAL MODEL Figure 1. The Diagram Showing the Independent, Dependent and Moderator Variables. APPENDIX B SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE Dear SIR/MADAM, Greetings! The proponent is presently conducting a research, which aims to determine the effects of heavy television watching to the Physical and Social Health of Freshmen College Students, as partial fulfillment of the requirements in my Course. Fortunately,you are selected as one of the respondents for this study. Kindly answer the questions below, as honest as possible. Rest assured that the data gathered will be taken with utmost confidentiality. Your cooperation is highly appreciated. Thank you very much and more power. The researcher. Effects of Heavy Television Watching to the Physical and Social Health Questionnaire General Instructions: Please read each item carefully and write the appropriate responses by marking the spaces provided with v (check). I. Profile. a. Gender: ____ Male ____ Female b. Age: ______ 12-13 _____ 14-15 ______ 16-17 _____ 18-19 c. In a day, how long do you spend time watching television _________ less than an hour ____________ 5-8 hours _________ 2-4 hours ____________ beyong 8 hours d. Weight in kg: _________ 25 and below _________ 31-35 __________ 41& above _________ 26-30 _________ 36-40 e. Family Income (monthly) Description ( ) Above $ 5,000 Fairly sufficient, family can buy enough food. ( ) $ 3,100 - $ 4,000 Sufficient, family can buy food. ( ) $ 2,100 - $ 3, 000 Slightly sufficient, family income is just enough to buy food. ( ) $ 1,001 - $ 2,000 Not sufficient, family income is not enough to buy food. ( ) Below $ 1,000 Definitely not sufficient, family income cannot buy food needed by the family. II. Physical Health Instruction: Answer the following questions by putting a check mark on the corresponding answer on the space provided for. To aid you in answering this questionnaire, the terms have been defined as follows: Scale Description Interpretation 5 Always Happens all the time 4 Often Usually happens 3 Sometimes Occasionally happens 2 Seldom Rarely happens 1 Never Never happens PHYSICAL HEALTH WHEN I WATCH TV.... 5 4 3 2 1 1. I drink 6-8 glasses of water. 2. I eat a variety of foods each day, including five or more serving of fruits and vegetables. 3. I avoid skipping meals, if watching TV. 4. I eat junk foods. 5. I engage in moderate exercise for 20-60 minutes, 3-5 times a week. 6. I have maintain a healthy weight, avoiding overweight and underweight. 7. I avoid smoking. 8. I avoid using alcohols as a way of handling stressful situations or problems in my life. 9. I spend some of my leisure time participating in physical activities such as basketball or other sports. 10. I sleep 6-8 hours a day. III. Social Health. SOCIAL HEALTH 5 4 3 2 1 1. I make choices and decisions based on what I learned on TV. 2. I follow the healthy activities of teens i saw on TV. 3. I have learned from shows in TV that, mistakes should be accepted and learned. 4. I am happy if I stay long time watching TV. 5. I prefer to stay at home and watch movies in television, rather than going out with friends on weekends. 6. I have a happy relationship with my family. 7. I have an open communication or can discuss personal matters to my family, friends and other companions. 8. I can study better or do many thiings, if the TV is turned on. 9. I find outdoor activities boring. 10. I have positive outlook in life. IV. Interview Guide (for heavy TV watchers only). 1. Can you describe your feelings after you have finished watching your favorite shows on TV 2. What is it about TV that you like most 3. Do you think you have benefited from watching TV If so, what are these 4. Is there anything about watching TV, in which you find unpleasant Elaborate. 5. Have you noticed any peculiar changes in yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. which you think has effected due to long hours of watching TV Read More