Boob Tube

The television...some people claim it's one of the greatest inventions society has ever had. Entertainment certainly helps drive the economy. Were it not for commercials, Super Bowls, soap operas, reality shows, etc., what would people have to do with their time, and what in the world would they talk about around the water cooler the next day? Greed and corporate wealth are promoted every day and so is violence. "Life" on television gets more realistic too, especially as Hollywood grows more confident in that which it can get away with.

Growing up, I was one of the "lucky" kids who had a TV in my room. In fact, I had cable there as well, and I was able to watch anything I wanted to at any time (except adult channels). When I was a kid, of course, there were limits to my TV watching, but as I got older, I could plop down in my chair and watch my favorite shows. I was one of the fortunate ones, though. My grades were good, I still played outside a whole lot, and I grew up in a time where TV was not as violent as it is today. I'm sure that my parents would have put a stop to my TV freedoms if I were not living up to my potential.

As a parent, though, because of Hollywood's decaying morality and propensity for violence, I've found that I've changed my views about the television. For our children, Sherry and I have decided that TV will not be a central part of their lives. In fact, we don't even have cable anymore, and we don't have rabbit ears to pick up the local stations. We have a TV and a DVD player, and we allow the kids to watch certain movies that we screen, and they can only watch so much during the day. Mostly, TV is limited to the weekends, or, if they've been particularly good during the day, we might let them watch a short movie right before bedtime.

I changed my view about TV by watching other people's families over the past ten years. We used to have a neighbor who let her children watch TV every day, all of the time. In fact, the TV was never turned off. If I woke up at 3am, I could see the TV lighting up their living room. In fact, they used to say that the TV accounted for half of their electric bill, and I believed them. Their children would come home from school, plop down in front of the TV and remain listless through the day until they finally fell asleep in front of the TV. It was rare that they went out and played, and most of their interactions with other friends were in front of the TV or playing video games on the TV. It is no wonder that all of her children were behind grade-level in school. While her oldest son was getting in trouble with the law, her youngest daughter was behind in talking and reading. It boggled my mind that the TV was a babysitter, especially since the mother was a stay-at-home mom herself, and she would blame the schools for her children's problems when, all along, I thought the problem was that boob tube in their living room and her lax parenting skills.

Carl Sandburg somehow became friends with the President of Zenith Corporation, and, as a gift, this President gave Sandurg the first TV it manufactured. That TV is still on display at the Sandburg National Historic Site in North Carolina where he lived for the last two decades of his life. To everyone's knowledge, the TV had never been turned on. Sandburg thanked his friend for the gift, but he also wrote that he recognized the fact that TV was the biggest waste of time, and he predicted that it would change society for the worst. Instead of letting his children spend idle time in front of the TV or radio, he insisted that they read books and play outdoors. He knew that they would be better off for it.

I must agree with Sandburg on this issue. I believe my children are much better off because TV hasn't taken so much of their lives away from them. My oldest son is the biggest lover of books of any four-year-old I have ever seen. He has grown up with a book in his hand, and he is reading better than children twice his age. He also has the most creative imagination I have ever seen in a child his age, and I attribute this all to reading and outdoor play. It's too early to see the effects with my youngest child, but I have no doubt that it will be the same for him too. This is not to say that they don't love watching TV. I know that they would watch it all day long if we let them, but it is to say that they are better off not doing so.

The television earned its nickname, "the boob tube," for a reason. It's a dumb box that creates dumb, unimaginative children if it is not managed by parents. I can see how easy it is for it to become an artificial babysitter, but as a parent, we have obligations to raise our children to be better than that. I'm not criticising parents who let their kids watch TV every day, and I'm not criticising parents who use it as a babysitter at times. I understand the need for a break, and we're not different than anyone else. What I am saying, though, is that there are a lot of kids who are being raised by the TV, and that is where the problem is. Hollywood is teaching the morals of these children and dictating what is good and what is bad. The issue for me is that the "bad" keeps moving closer to the "good" every year. What was bad twenty years ago is now OK, and that is not OK with me. So, the TV goes.

I do not find it ironic that societal problems are getting worse and worse each year despite the technologies and learning resources that our kids are given in school. I think that it is pretty easy to see the correlation between TV and a dumber, more violent America, though. I'm not worried about adults. I don't think there's anything wrong with an adult sitting back and watching their favorite show after a long day at work. But I do think that the children should not be sitting in front of the TV for three to four hours a day -- or more -- soaking up all that trash that comes across the digital divide. What are they missing during those lost hours? What did past generations get that these kids don't? A lot of reading and imaginative thought, AND an unawareness of the dark side of the world.

There are a few educational programs out there that I admire. I think the Noggin Channel is a good channel for kids. The History Channel and Discovery Network is also good. However, at the same time, I think that time is best spent in a good book where minds are free to wonder and imaginations can run wild in youthful innocence. Children need to think, and TV, no matter how much it teaches them, only leads them to answers. It doesn't allow them to explore the options first. It inhibits their ability to think for themselves, and it fosters poor communications skills as well because there is no interaction with the tube.

So, the future for children lies in the hands of parents. Believe me, TV is not a positive influence if not controlled properly. It is merely entertainment, and, for the most part, it's mindless entertainment. The more mindless activities parents let their children participate in, the more mindless the children will become. Many parents are aware of this issue, and they try to set limits. There are those out there, however, who prefer to let the kids slobber over the remote. These people think that a simple bedtime story is sufficient, but it's not. Those parents have lost the war. The only way to win the war is to set limits up and stick to them. Children who spend more time in a book and playing outside will grow, thrive, and positively surprise you every day.