Job Coach Says Broke People Shouldn’t Watch TV
Do you really not have the time to do those things you said you would or are you just too busy watching TV?
M_Agency | Shutterstock When it comes to screen time — yeah, TV counts as screen time — we are all guilty of exceeding the limits on what is considered healthy. Who hasn't spent a weekend in their PJs binge-watching their favorite shows and movies? When faced with the current economic strife, the job market, and the overall state of the world, planting yourself in front of the TV for hours on end can feel like a much-needed escape.
The question is: Are we making our problems — specifically our money problems — worse by spending all our free time watching our screens? Job coach and LinkedIn expert Courtney Johnson seems to think so. She argued that broke people should stop watching TV to secure their financial future.
The job coach explained why you shouldn't watch TV if you're not making the salary you want right now.
Johnson started by asserting that if you're not making the salary you think you deserve or desire, you should not be watching TV. She personally attested to the fact that she has cut out all her streaming services and hasn't watched anything in years.
"I'm not in a place where I'm satisfied enough to just go sit down for four hours and do nothing," she said. She explained that she would rather put that time into nourishing friendships instead of just wasting it completely.
Americans spend approximately three hours watching TV every day.
According to Statista, U.S. adults spend an average of three hours watching traditional TV every day. However, with the widespread use of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, people may be spending even more time watching shows and movies than the data reflects.
While you may not think that three hours by itself sounds like a lot, think about three hours of watching TV every day for a week. That's 21 hours. Just 3 short of a complete 24 hours, which make up one day. It may seem like just a few episodes, but it all adds up at some point.
If those numbers don't scare you, how about the fact that researchers have found a link between excessive TV watching and brain-based diseases like dementia? People who watch 4 or more hours of TV a day, which isn't a stretch considering the average is 3, not factoring in streaming services, are 28% more likely to develop dementia and 35% more likely to suffer from depression.
You need to ask yourself if this is how you want to spend such a huge chunk of your time. If not, you may have to put in the work to get rid of this habit by setting boundaries with yourself about how much you're allowed to watch TV and reflecting on why you may be spending so much time watching TV in the first place.
You have to be responsible for your own time.
You don't have to cut yourself off from all TV, but if you're not where you want to be in your life, or you have goals that you've been neglecting, then maybe you should take a bit of a pause from consuming an excessive amount of media.
That's not to say you should spend the time working, but you should use the extra time for enrichment and hobbies, which can improve your overall health and wellness.
Remember, when you feel good, you perform well, and that means your work production improves, making you more likely to qualify for a promotion or even a new, better-paying job.
Ketut Subiyanto | Canva Pro
You must be responsible for how you spend your time, whether for work or relaxation. Both are important, but they need to be balanced. Ultimately, you are the one who will live with the choices you make — choose wisely.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.