Diagnosis: Who's The Happiest Of Them All?

According to the New York Times, unhappy people watch the most TV. No joke. Read about it here. It is the one activity that people engage in which has a negative relationship with happiness.

So I calculated the number of hours my father absorbs CNN via osmosis everyday and my grandmother is entranced by Zee TV. The dianosis - chronic unhappiness, just about the most you can imagine.

No surprise, some would say, but I find this very interesting. If I really think about it, I'm sure my dad wishes he had a son like Anderson Cooper or Sanjay Gupta, and my grandmother wants to be as victimized as Saloni Surname-less. TV feeds their fantasies and spurs a vicious cycle.

Mummsy, on the other hand, despite her saint-like qualities and bearing of all our burdens, comes out the real winner here. Her TV time amounts to maybe about 0.5 hours a week. This makes her the happiest (and fairest - truly) of them all. Go, mom. I guess waking up at the crack of dawn, squeezing in a week's worth of work in a day, being manically dedicated to family and work, and chronic exhaustion has done her some good. Who knew?

I was going to suggest my family get DVR, but now I'm afraid it could worsen their condition and throw them into deep depression. I might have to cut off my relationship, too.

Why are good things so, so very bad?