Health related TV shows like “House,” “ER,” and “Grey’s Anatomy” can all have a negative impact on our health. People who watch too many TV medical dramas have less general satisfaction than those who do not watch health related shows. A study conducted in the United States showed that watching TV can cause people to become more conscientious of health risks. People build up this perceptiveness because watching TV leads them to think they have a greater chance of being at a health risk. TV also can lead people to think these health risks are much more severe than they are in reality.

In this recently conducted study, 274 students in the College of Communications took a survey on their TV viewing and their life satisfaction. The students were not informed on the purpose of the survey. The students were between 18 and 31 years old. The group surveyed showed a high rate of dissatisfaction. It is thought that if a more varied group was surveyed the dissatisfaction would be higher. Other research and studies showed that TV viewing can cause a lower satisfaction because those watching TV become more materialistic.

Hypochondria is defined as excessive worrying over having a serious health illness. People who submerge themselves in medical related topics on a daily basis are more likely to become hypochondriacs. Medical students are the most common hypochondriacs as they are immersing themselves in new disorders every day, but anyone can be a hypochondriac. When watching health related shows often you have an increased risk of developing hypochondriac symptoms. Millions of people watch health shows and dramas, and even if you can avoid this you still see heath updates everyday on the news. When obtaining new health knowledge, people are more likely to think they suffer from the illnesses and conditions they hear about.

The best way to stop these TV related health problems is by limiting the time spent in front of the screen.