Many people jokingly say that they have a friend or relative who is addicted to television. What they may not realize is that it may actually be true. In Marie Winn's essay TV Addiction, she first defines what she believes an addict is, then compares an addict to someone who watches television all day. Winn writes his essay very simplistically and focuses on the destructiveness of an addiction. He then compares it to the destructiveness of television. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. First explain how the term addiction is commonly used out of context. You will always hear people say they are addicted to Pepsi or detective novels, but are they really addicted? What these people really mean is that they enjoy reading mystery novels more than most other forms of pastime. The same goes for Pepsi. They're not actually addicted to it, they just enjoy it more than most other drinks. Marie Winn then asks a question: Do you think television falls into the category of fake addiction (addiction used out of context) or is it a real addiction? He does it this way so that when he lays out his argument you have already started thinking of an answer and your mind is accepting or rejecting his claims. Since all of his statements support and collaborate with each other, it is very easy to get drawn into his train of thought. Marie Winn then goes on to say that couch potatoes, who know they are drug addicts, tell themselves to do other things. They plan to do this or that, but instead of doing something they sit in front of the television. For this type of person, watching television represents an escape from reality. When you watch a TV show, you don't worry about bills or whether you have to go to the grocery store, you just wonder if the main character saves the girl and wins the day. The same goes for book readers. They read to immerse themselves in another world and escape reality. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay If someone were to say that television is an addiction, you wouldn't be wrong. If this is true, though, then anything can be considered an addiction. Work, school, computers, books, models, trains, baseball cards... these are all things that can be addictive. For cases like these it really shouldn't be considered an addiction. An adult human being should show enough responsibility to know what he likes and also to know when it interferes with normal life. These people should be made to understand that fiction is just that, fiction. It is not real and has no relation.