ABSTRACT
As television plays a central role in daily lives, discussions of its effects are abundant. However, as Smith (1986) pointed out, most research has focused on the effects of particular types of content. Research exploring the relationship individuals develop with the medium itself has received less attention. One such relationship that has spawned widespread discussion, though considerably less sound empirical evidence, is that of television addiction. McIlwraith, Jacobvitz, Kubey, and Alexander (1991) identified television addiction as a medium-specific effect: “Television addiction does not mean being “hooked” on particular TV content. TV addiction means dependence on the television medium itself, regardless of whatever content happens to be on” (p. 104). McIlwraith (1998) wrote that the term originally appeared in the popular media during the late 1970s, and was “bolstered only by anecdotal evidence” (p. 371). Though the evidence was sparse, the similarities between commonly identified motives for addictive behavior-reduction of pain and awareness, enhanced sense of control and self-esteem, and ritualistic experience (Horvath, 2004)—and motives that have been identified for television-viewing behavior (Rubin, 1981) were striking. With these similarities in mind, scholars have attempted to determine what separates normal television viewing from dysfunctional television viewing and, in doing so, create a useful diagnostic instrument for television addiction.
