The bloggers here at Happiness is a Warm TV thought we were all pretty happy, well-adjusted people (note the name of our blog for goodness' sake!). That is, until a concerned coworker brought to our attention a University of Maryland study informing us that we are in fact, NOT happy. It is scientifically impossible that we're happy. Why? Because we watch TV and the Terps have apparently proven we are all sad, illiterate losers without friends.
Dang it. When confronted with this disturbing information (nutshell: unhappy people watch tv, happy people read and socialize -- apparently you can't do all those things) I looked for a study I remembered from a couple months ago that said people with children are unhappy. According to that Florida State University study, "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers." A-ha! The validation I was looking for: I don't have kids so perhaps my childless euphoria can cancel out my death-spiral-into-suicide habit of watching television?!
But here's something even better I found -- a study that says intelligent people are unhappy. So let me lay a little Brooke Logic on you: Intelligent people are unhappy. Unhappy people watch Television (and have kids). So therefore, People who watch TV (and have kids) are very, very super highly intelligent.
I'm okay with that, as long as I don't have to run out and get a kid or anything. But I am worried about my blogmates with children...
Brooke Cain isn't always proud of the number of hours she logs in front of the TV, but her loss of brain cells can be your gain. From reality shows to sitcoms to the more serious stuff, Brooke keeps her DVR smoking so that she can help keep you in the know. Brooke also tweets for Happiness is a Warm TV (you can follow 
Comments
Who's in that control group?
Tue, 11/18/2008 - 13:58 — katy2600The people that were in the control group were also readily available to be participants in this study. (Hmm, questionable social life habits there I'd say) Also, I question Maryland's ability to find truly random people for these experiments.
Besides, none of us can afford to go out anymore, so it sounds to me like they're all smart and socially conscious people.
Plus...
Tue, 11/18/2008 - 16:13 — brookecain (author)Plus, most of those people who say they "only read" are liars. They are the same people who say they exercise every day, only drink occasionally, and volunteer with the homeless. Yeah, right. They are at home watching Law & Order like the rest of us!
It must be true!
Mon, 11/17/2008 - 12:46 — lucrei52Great logic and deduction, Brooke! Gotta love those academic studies!!