Andrew did this interview for Stay Free!, a magazine about media and consumerism, in 2000. They didn’t publish it.
AG Why don’t you start by describing your method of using TV watching to cure depression?
SR To feel better, you watch faces on TV in the morning and avoid faces (televised and real) at night. TV faces are beneficial in the morning and harmful at night only if they resemble what you would see during an ordinary conversation. The TV faces must be looking at the camera (both eyes visible) and close to life-size. (My experiments usually use a 27-inch TV.) Your eyes should be about three feet from the screen. Time of day is critical–if you see the TV faces too early or late they will have no effect. The ave contact with other people has a big effect on when we are awake; and (c) there are many connections between depression and circadian rhythms. Depression is closely connected with insomnia, for instance.
AG I generally think of TV as an evil, addictive presence in American life. Do you think there’s something dangerous about giving TV this “badge of approval” as a medical treatment?
SR It’s not quite a “badge of approval.” Seeing faces on TV at night–which of course is when most people watch–is harmful, my research suggests, if the faces are close to life-size. And they often are. Maybe TVs will be made with variable picture sizes–one size for morning, another size for night. When I watch TV at night (very rare), I stay as far away as possible.
AG I mean, if this method really worked, I could imagine the Depression Network running talk shows in the morning that are basically infomercials for Prozac or whatever. Would you worry about that?
SR No. I watch faces on TV every morning and would appreciate more choice. I suspect the morning shows would not be Prozac infomercials, however, because the people watching would not be depressed.
One thing that bothers people about your plan is the idea of TV as a substitute for human contact. I think that most of us–even people who spend a lot of time watching TV–find this idea upsetting. It’s like “Brave New World” and virtual reality. Are you at all bothered by recommending to depressed people that they sit inside watching TV?
“Substitute for human contact”? True, but why is that so bad? Reading–which TV critics, many of them writers, seem invariably to like–is also a substitute for human contact, of course. Agriculture is a substitute for hunting and foraging. Vitamin pills substitute for food. Civilization is all about substitutes–about being able to fulfill needs in many ways.
Still, I think watching faces on TV in the morning is only a partial solution to the problem of depression, just as nutritional supplements (e.g., iodized salt, folate added to flour) are only partial solutions to the problems caused by a poor diet. A fuller solution would include changing when most people work. The usual pattern is work (morning and afternoon) then socialize (evening). A better pattern would be socialize (early morning) then work (late morning to early evening)–and go to bed early. I do my little bit for the revolution by inviting friends to brunch rather than dinner. The revolution would also include picture phones with life-size faces.
I heard you say once that depression is ten times as common now as it was 100 years ago. Where do you get that information from?
Many articles have made that point. One of them is: Klerman, G. L, & Weisman, M. M. (1989). Increasing rates of depression. Journal of the American Medical Association, 216, 2229-2235.
If depression is a consequence of modern life, do you think there’s something strange about seeking a technological solution for it? It’s sort of like saying, people are too atomized, so let’s solve the problem with even more solitude?
It is one of many technological solutions to problems caused by “atomization”–people being farther apart. Telephones, air travel, and email are other examples. So it isn’t strange. If my subjects are any guide, watching TV for an hour every morning would not increase the solitude of most depressed persons. They are already alone during that time.
Would listening to the radio be OK?
No. You have to see faces.
Have you ever tried to get your research sponsored by TV stations or networks or, for that matter, a publication like TV Guide?
No, but I once put a “TV is good” ad (ABC) on my bulletin board.
I wonder if this effect of TV on depression explain the sucess of morning programs where I live (they are very new). Most programs are light and try to be fun, like the only reaon to watch them is to watch people.
I turn o the radio when I wake up and listen to news programs, rather derpessing. I will try TV.
Ordinary TV doesn’t have enough faces of the right size to make a difference. But I think people are hungrier for voices in the morning than at other times — they get more pleasure from hearing voices. I think just hearing voices reduces the unpleasant feeling of loneliness. A friend of mine spent several months on an island by himself. A radio made it much more bearable.