TV Addiction

Understanding Context:
Addiction is " a holding pattern", In comparison to overindulgence, the addiction takes control of your life and you feel helpless to stop it. Many of the examples in Winn's story felt anger at their inability to shut off the television. If this were overindulgence, they'd be feeling pleasure and exstacy in the activity rather than anger.

Evaluating Strategy:
It is important that Winn define addiction before starting her argument so that the reader, from the very beginning, has a clear view of what the author means specifically.

Appreciating Language:
Words such as "sapped, will-less, and enervated" give the reader a clear impression that the victim of the "addiction" feels no pleasure in the routine of lounging in front of the TV. It has taken over their lives, put them in an apathetic state in which they no longer have the control to turn the set off.

Writing Suggestions:
As a child, I grew up in a small little hick town, where TV was not the cool thing to do every day. We came up with games that we would play in the fields and such. Probably on average I only watched a couple hours of TV a week, and those hours generally all occurred during Saturday morning cartoons so that I could watch Ninja turtles and Captain Planet. Once in a while we'd splurge on a movie and watch Star Wars.... but not very often.