Do you ever find yourself glued to the television for no apparent reason? Do you ever feel like you want to go out and do something worthwhile but they are selling half-price ladders on the shopping channel? Well, you could be suffering from one of the many bad television habits that have arisen in this age of multi-channel broadcasting. Let’s take a look at some of the worst habits and how to avoid them.

One of the worst offenders when it comes to bad TV habits has to be channel hopping. You have hundreds of television channels, a multitude of series options and yet there is nothing on that piques your interest. You spend a good hour skipping through channels, five seconds at a time only to round-robin the channel list and start again in the hope that you didn’t miss something good.

Use technology to your advantage!

If you ever feel like there is truly nothing on the television, why not create a few back-up shows on your PVR to watch at a later date. Choose a nice movie to watch that will be enjoyed by the whole family and not just you - or take a punt at something new and find yourself surprised.

Escapism is one of the great lures of television when it comes to gripping dramas or entertaining series’. Many people use the format of television to transport themselves into another world of police detectives, action heroes and even mystery thrillers. But if you find yourself gaining escapism from menial daily soap operas where the only interesting thing is the cardboard sets, then you may be suffering from a bad TV habit.

Don’t let your TV habits influence your life

The television plays a big part in many people’s lives on a daily basis. Many people come home from work and stick the goggle box on to relax, unwind, hear the news and watch a footy match. But it is when your television becomes a major player in your family that you start to delve into one of the worst habits TV can have on you.

Using the television as a nanny for the kids may seem like a good idea, but unless you have parental control activated on your box, then something a little more productive for the little ones is surely a better idea. Sure, there are well-made, educational programmes for children on at respectable hours, but using the television as the main interface between children and society is one of the worst TV habits out there.

Break the habit of a lifetime

From using the television as company for a lonely night in, to series record abuse where you record a series you know you are never going to watch - the bad TV habits of the nations’ television audience keeps growing.

With the introduction of spectacular dramas, HD picture quality and surround sound being broadcast, are you truly bored with television enough that you may even break the habits you’ve built up and do something more productive?