Eating in front of the television is nothing new. Since the inexhaustible device became an accessible item and its size changes allowed it into other parts of the house (for example, the kitchen itself), chewing with eyes fixed on the screen is almost a ritual. The advance of laptops and mobile devices only expanded that habit, but the underlying question is “why.” Why are there people who cannot ingest even a single bite without watching something?
Do you feel identified? It doesn’t have to be anything very elaborate: a plate of fries, cookies, leftovers from lunch, anything goes… as long as it’s in front of a screen. The television is the preferred choice for most, especially when it has “smart” support and a Netflix account configured, but we also find smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even radios in the equation.
There are many people out there who simply cannot eat in silence. They feel uncomfortable, their minds rush to “fill the void,” and they cannot enjoy the food in front of their eyes. Perhaps there is something here worth exploring more deeply, and the best thing we can do is seek out expert opinions.
Eating and Watching Television
According to Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, it is several combined factors that lead to this need to eat in front of the screen. Among general social changes, a greater number of people living on their own, and a firm decline in the value assigned to the concept of “family dinner,” people turn to the TV or laptop to do something while eating.
On the other hand, Suzanne Higgs, professor of psychobiology of appetite at the University of Birmingham, is not convinced that food tastes better when eaten in front of the television. Some studies suggest that food starts out being “very tasty,” only to give way to a drop in the pleasure it generates. One possibility is that TV manages to cushion that drop and extend the pleasant sensation for longer.
Now, something everyone seems to agree on is that eating while watching television is bad for your health. The problem is simple: TV remains a distraction, and that makes us end up eating more than necessary. In other words, people actively seek these distractions, but experts insist we should abandon them.
