According to some estimates, the average American spends at least four hours a day watching television. While that may not seem like a problem of epidemic proportions, some now believe that there may be more harm than good associated with this statistic. Television is one of the easiest and cheapest sources of entertainment in the home, and it's the TV's popularity that has made it problematic for some.
Some Claim That Television is Hypnotic
Psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland and Peter Crown, a professor of television and psychology at Hampshire College, discovered that after just 30 seconds of watching television, the brain begins to produce alpha waves. Alpha brain waves are associated with inactivity, and the mind state is similar to what hypnotists use for suggestive therapy.
Some argue that this suggestive state is very valuable to advertisers as well as other television professionals. In the alpha state, the mind is susceptible to suggestion and some argue that television takes advantage of this by tying the viewer to the characters or products through an emotional state – in theory, an advertiser could bypass the logical mind and pluck directly at the heartstrings.
Television as a Distraction Device
Dr. Robert Putnam, of Harvard University, outlines the problems television has created on the scale of a community. In his book titled Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Dr. Putnam suggests that the more television an individual watches, the less likely it is that this person will attend a public meeting, write to Congress, volunteer, go to church, play in a sports league, or work on a community project.
The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45,000 participants and found that while watching TV may be relaxing in the short term, long term use may be a symptom of depression.
The study, published in the December issue of Social Indicators Research states that, "Television viewing is a pleasurable enough activity with no lasting benefit, and it pushes aside time spent in other activities -- ones that might be less immediately pleasurable, but that would provide long-term benefits in one’s condition. In other words, TV does cause people to be less happy."
Some Argue That Television Harms Imagination, Education
Professors Jerome and Dorothy Singer, of Yale University, have concluded that extensive television watching by three-and four-year-old children stunts the growth of the imagination. According to the Yale University professors, children in their studies made up fewer games and they also had fewer imaginary playmates.
According to the U.S. Department of Education publication titled "Strong Families, Strong Schools," "Academic achievement drops sharply for children who watch more than 10 hours a week of TV. The same report suggest that television is one of the three top factors which make up 90% of the the difference in mathematics scores of 8th graders. The other two being the variety of reading material in the home and absenteeism.
In Judith Van Evra's book titled Television and Child Development, sixth and 12th grade California students who were heavy viewers of TV scored lower on reading, written expression and math achievement compared to students who viewed little or no television.
In the article titled, "Effects of Preschool Television Watching on First-Grade Children," the authors concluded that the more a preschooler watched TV, the less well they did academically in the first grade. They also found that the more preschoolers watch TV, the less well-socialized they are in the first grade.
Is There a Good Amount of Television?
The arguments against television generally apply to excessive viewing habits. There are also some very valid reasons for watching television. Television, when viewed in moderation, can be very beneficial. The audience members can learn about experiences through television; experiences that one would normally never learn about otherwise. Viewers can learn about people, places and things through television – children can learn new words or even an entirely new language, while adults can learn about another culture, science, a far-away travel destination or dog training. The educational applications of television are varied and numerous.
People also use television as a regulator. An individual can gauge how long he has been performing a task by the regular schedule of television. A parent can use television as a timer to initiate a behavior, such as a child's bed time. "After the show, it's bedtime" is a popular phrase in American households.
Television can also help children relate to grown ups. If a child is familiar with characters from a television show and adults are talking about that show, the child has a way to enter the conversation and establish a peer relationship. Television can also be helpful in establishing friendships and camaraderie at school or in the workplace.
Indeed television is an effective tool when used properly. Television does not have to be all bad, but it's important to avoid a situation where television viewing habits limit an individual's "real life" experiences.
Sources:
LimitTV.org, "Chilling Facts About TV " (Accessed 02/15/2010).
Aber.ac.uk, "Why people watch TV" (Accessed 02/15/2010).
RrashYourTV.com (Accessed 02/15/2010).
Eric.ed.go "EJ217489 - Effects of Preschool Television Watching on First-Grade Children" (Accessed 02/15/2010).
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