Core idea

Older adults view more television than younger people do.  Eighty-nine percent of older adults watch television daily and 64% of these individuals watch over 3 hours a day.  Do older adults use television viewing as a way to cope with depression or to find out if they are depressed? This study suggests that some people do just that.

What they say

The researchers interviewed 102 depression patients aged 65 years and older, as part of a larger study on late life depression.   They described how television affected their view of depression.  Three categories of people emerged.

• One category was labeled “That’s how I knew.” In this category, television helped individuals to recognize depression either in their friends and relatives or within themselves.
• Another category was labeled “I Turn the TV on … and I’m OK.” These people used watching television to help them cope with depression.  Some mentioned that television is a way to occupy the mind, to forget one’s problems, and to find “comic relief.” 
• However, not all viewers agreed in television’s therapeutic aspects. The third category was labeled “Watch TV … You Will Go Crazy” and it described the potential harms of watching television on depression.  In particular, respondents explained that the negativity on television could worsen one’s mood and that sometimes watching the news could make one feel worse.   

What it means

It seems that the old adage, “all things in moderation” is one way to summarize these findings.  Monitoring one’s own television consumption may help in detecting depression -- for example if one watches television all day and to the exclusion of other activities, then one should consider seeking medical attention.  However, those suffering from depression may find relief in watching comedies, but they may also want to limit their viewing of the news.   

There is one important limitation to this study: it is based on in-depth interviews with a small number of people who may not represent older people in general. We cannot conclude from this article that either television watching is beneficial in treating depression or that it is harmful. However, the article does suggest that discussing TV-watching behavior may be helpful for clinicians. In addition, it shows how TV-watching serves different purposes for different people. 

References

Nguyen, G.T., Wittink, M.N., Murray, G.F., & Barg, F.K. (2008). “More than Just a Communication Medium: What Older Adults Say About Television and Depression.”  The Gerontologist, 48(3), 300-310.