Can TV Make You Pregnant?
November 7, 2008 by ithinkthereforeib
After the presentation of Ernesto and Steffan on “Gossip Girls”, discussing to what extent such TV programmes may influence our behaviour, I mentioned I had read an article on a related topic. I strongly recommend that you read the comments added by readers also, as they raise interesting issues, including the difference between causation and correlation, a distinction that you, as critical thinkers, should be aware of. Here is also the scientific study that the blogger, Lisa Belkin, refers to.
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I do belive TV makes people do certain things that they would not otherwise. It is almost obvious that the more you are exposed to a certain topic ( in this case, sex, pregnancy or drugs), more actions you make will be influenced by such.
I liked the example of the athletes ( in a comment), which explained how sport athletes, serious athletes, are less likely to have sex or consume drugs because they do not have time to watch TV. If one watches TV all day, then one would have grater exposure to sex, drugs or alcohol.
Well, influence does not equal cause – that is, causation and correlation are two different things. So if you suggest TV causes people to behave a certain way, I would question this (see the link explaining the difference between causation and correlation). However, I would agree with you if you are suggesting that TV may influence us.