Does watching Temptation Island make you dumber?
Stop putting wobbly couples and single troublemakers together on an island, pour in a hefty amount of drinks, wait until they start sitting together and you have TV. Forgive me my blunt explanation of the program, I know it’s the country’s guilty pleasure, but it is what it is. A clever format, but not very highbrow indeed.
Research shows that especially people with a degree enjoy Temptation. It makes you think, because what does this say about the program? And, could it also be the other way around, that watching might actually break down brain cells? I think so.
My theory is as follows: I can feel smarter when I have an interesting conversation with someone who clearly has their thoughts in order. I feel even smarter when the person in question knows what they are talking about. I thrive on a good book or a lecture that I don’t fall asleep during (the latter is a requirement). Long story short: I feel smarter because of something or someone else. How smart is that? It brings me to the point that you can also feel dumber because of such an external factor. In this case, Temptation Island or Ex On The Beach or more of that genre.
A study published in JAMA Psychiatry indeed shows that your brain activity declines from watching television per se. It’s mainly about sitting down to watch TV, so with minimal physical activity. I don’t know how you watch TV otherwise, but I usually don’t watch Netflix standing up and it has little to do with physical activities for me. But it is especially harmful if you are a young adult binge-watcher, because that can cause problems later in life. And if you think this can’t be researched: it’s a study that lasted about 25 years, so that research was quite successful.
This research zoomed in on watching TV as such, but what about something like Temptation? Well, the French ministry also found it worth investigating, with a remarkable outcome. You indeed become dumber by watching reality TV, no matter how cleverly the program is put together (admit it: the creator had a brilliant idea). Students who watch reality TV score lower in school, and this is likely related to the poor vocabulary in the programs. So what should you do? Reading a book helps, because students who read score consistently higher than average. Hmmm, think before you start, they say, right?
Source: Metro & VARA
