About a year ago, my appendix ruptured, spilling bacteria in my body and threatening to kill me. At the time, family and co-workers gave me flowers, cards and magazines -- a paltry amount of condolence, worth about $100-$200, tops.

In comparison, the outpouring of support for my latest condition has been astronomical. In the last few months, friends have shown me how much they cared, to the tune of 10 times the cost of all those balloons and chocolates.

What's my affliction, you ask? I have no TV.

Back in June, I parted ways with my roommate and his (admittedly glorious) flat-screen HDTV. Once I got to my new place, I just figured I wouldn't buy one of my own. I mean, most people would agree that it's a good excuse to read a book, take a walk on a sunny day or visit a museum, right?

Boy was I wrong.

Within a month, I'd been offered used TVs by five people: A flat-screen from a college friend, a big-screen from a male cousin, and a TV/VCR combo from my female cousin. Three different sets from my parents, who each kept insisting it'd be a breeze for them to deliver one in their SUV.

The ridiculousness of it really set in a couple weeks ago when a different friend called me at work. Since it was an odd time to hear from her, I thought it must have been serious. It turned out she had a television to offer me. Upon mentioning this anecdote to my co-workers I got three more offers, bringing the total to 10 sets dangled in front of me.

Where was all this support the last time I got dumped?

It seems some people would indeed treat the loss of a television as a trauma on par with ending an important relationship. Research has shown that people develop "parasocial relationships" with characters on television, believing on some level that they're friends with the people they watch. If that sounds far-fetched, consider this extreme manifestation: television studios frequently receive wedding gifts addressed to characters who get hitched on TV.

"They form sort of these odd relationships," said developmental psychologist Cynthia Scheibe, director for the Center for Research on the Effects of Television. "It addresses boredom and loneliness and makes people feel part of sort a family or group of friends. The reason 'Friends' was so popular was because it felt like maybe it could be your friends as long as you lived in New York City with no people of color, I guess."

Among real-life friends, the goings-on of TV series become fodder for conversation or excuses to get together at viewing parties. And if you tell someone you don't have a set, you're liable to draw concerned looks and offers of assistance.

That shouldn't be surprising considering 98 percent of American households have televisions, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. That saturation has its ill effects, particularly on younger viewers. Studies in the last year alone have linked it to obesity, bad grades and "numbness" in children.

The detrimental effects were apparent in my own life, as well. Once, I was a social television watcher, making a point to join friends around the tube when the big game came on or when a new episode of "Entourage" or "The Sopranos" aired. But before long I had spiraled into a pattern of nightly near-catatonia alone in my boxers, entranced by a rerun of "MTV Cribs" or Steven Seagal's "Hard to Kill."

That said, TV's not all bad. I certainly miss it. And Scheibe said most psychologists, including herself, aren't strictly anti-TV. She owns a set and recommends that people balance their viewing with other activities like reading a book.

So if you have a friend who's struggling with TV abstinence, give your support and lend an ear. Just don't offer a secondhand Magnavox.

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It's not just broadcast television that has a high rate of penetration. Check out asap contributor Madlen Read's assessment of the country's addiction to cable: http://asap.ap.org/stories/843121.s

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asap reporter Jonathan Drew recently spent $30 buying TV episodes from iTunes to watch on his laptop.

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