This is intended to be the first in a series.
A recent study by Nielsen
analyzed in the New York Daily News reveals that American adults watch 34 hours
of television programming weekly. The study shows people over 65 watch 48 hours
per week. Since many of those seniors are retired, their number is not hard to
believe. But one wonders where young and middle aged adults find five hours per
day to sit in front of the tube. Assuming eight hours of work, an eight hour
break to sleep, and just three additional hours for commuting, shopping,
bathroom breaks and whatever, this statistic means we are spending every free
moment of every day in front of the television. Yikes!
I have found myself rationalizing my own TV habits by saying
I watch mostly news programming or quasi-educational shows about cars (see Hilariously
Content) or hunting or history or food preparation (my wife has converted
me into a Food Channel junkie.) I limit my TV dramas to two or three weekly
serials simply because I cannot keep up with more than that and maintain my
work schedule. Then we usually watch a couple movies together every week, so I
can see my hours-per-day average is creeping up there.
I also get a different exposure than what Nielsen numbers
might imply. Much (if not most) of my viewing outside the news programming is
done through the DVR. This means I skip most of the commercials. (How silly I
feel when I hit the FFW button when it is live, though.) Advertising remains a
major impact for most viewers. TV Free
America reports that a significant portion of viewing time is devoted to
commercials; children see 20,000 ads every year and by age sixty-five will have
seen two million TV advertisements. It is unarguable that all that exposure
molds our thinking in significant ways.
No discussion of television can ignore the amount of
violence which is presented. According to TV Free America, by age eighteen we
have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence. I must admit that my limited menu of
drama includes only shows depicting crime solvers. Even the news programming I
defend as more acceptable presents stories about crime, disaster and war during
53.8% of their air time. Since eighteen minutes of every news “hour” is devoted
to advertising, this means I get ONLY 22 minutes of mayhem per hour of news
coverage. Again, there can be no doubt this leads to reduced sensitivity to
violence.
The effects of television on our society and on each
individual cannot be overstated. Everyone has heard the “when I was a kid…”
stories ad nauseum. Forgive me, then,
but I did spend a major portion of my youth running around outdoors. Overindulgence
in television is a large contributor to the obesity epidemic in youth and
adults. Rampant materialism is not unrelated to the continual drumming of TV
advertisers. Unstable minds will not be made healthier by watching an average
of thirty acts of violence every day. This discussion has not even touched on
the ubiquitous game consoles attached to those TV’s or the ever-present
hand-held devices that appear to be evolving into a new appendage on kids as
young as two years old.
Christians must address this issue proactively. While
unplugging the television is a real alternative, as drastic as it may sound,
there are measures that can be taken to mitigate the ill effects (I almost wrote
“evil” effects) of television on our souls. I plan to write a series of posts
offering creative ways to rescue our souls from the demon in the box. Stay
tuned. In the meantime take a walk, read a book, turn the tube off and go roll
in the snow with your kids (grandkids.) The glow of the winter sun (or moon) is
far healthier than anything the LCD emits in the living room.
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