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Do we think how and where we are spending our lives? —–

To my opinion, if you are utilizing your skills, living a meaningful life with a purpose in mind, making it a good place for humanity then you are alive and vice versa if you are living a life like a machine, serving yourself only, and not even thinking about your life, meaning of it—then you are a dead person.

TV has become a part of our life, but have you ever thought how much time we spend in front of this “idiot box“, and how much our new generations are affected from it.?

 This post is to raise an awareness among ourselves, parents, and educators about effects of watching TV (providing you some links for further reading)

Do you know????
“American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping. By the age of 70 they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives watching TV.” (The Kaiser Family Foundation)

This quote is taken from Macword Magazine (February 2004),

* Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer and Pixar, said, “You watch television to turn your brain off and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”

* Marilyn vos Savant (the woman who holds the Guinness record for the highest IQ) in her book “Brain Building in Just 12 Weeks” suggests that TV reduces your capacity for rational thought. She said,

“One reason is that TV oversimplifies reality. You’re presented with subjects in a matter of minutes where everything is nicely wrapped up at the end. Reality is reduced to labels like good or bad, funny or serious, smart or dumb.
These harms clear thinking by conditioning you to expect that most problems have a simple, clear solution (and if not, then it will be an overly dramatic solution). But real people and events defy labels. Real life weaves a much richer tapestry than TV, and too much TV viewing can make it hard to see and appreciate that tapestry for what it is. TV skews your map of reality.”

Television’s Effect On Reading And Academic Achievement:

• American children, ages 2-17, watch television on average almost 25 hours per week or 3 ½ hours a day. Almost one in five watch more than 35 hours of TV each week (Gentile & Walsh, 2002).
• Twenty percent of 2- to 7-year-olds, 46% of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 56% of 13- to 17-year-olds have TVs in their bedrooms (Gentile & Walsh, 2002).
• Children spend more time watching television than any other activity except sleeping.
• Television’s impact on reading and other academic skills depends not only on the amount of television watched, but also on what is being watched as well as the age of the child (Reinking, 1990).
• Successful readers read often.

Here are some suggested guidelines:
Suggested guidelines
1. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that total television time be limited to no more than 1 to 2 hours per day.
2. They also recommend that programs watched should be geared to the age of the child, non-violent in nature and should reinforce language and social skills.
3. Parents should establish healthy television viewing habits in the pre-school years. Young children’s television viewing should be limited to careful, thought-out, educationally-oriented programs.
4. To foster reading skills, give your young child exposure to books. Read to them often. Support your early reader with reading practice and limit television viewing.
5. Homework should be completed away from background television.

Source of information:
Media Family
The MediaWise Network is a FREE online resource for everyone who cares about kids and media’s impact on their lives.

Another site dealing in providing useful information is : Turn off your TV The Kill Your Television site was created to try and get people to think about the amount of television they watch.

According to a report published by American Academy of Pediatrics Studies show that TV viewing may lead to more aggressive behavior, less physical activity, altered body image, and increased use of drugs and alcohol.
According to “AAP”. They suggest: By knowing how television affects your children and by setting limits, you can help make your child’s TV-watching experience less harmful, but still enjoyable.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children younger than two years of age. For older children, the AAP recommends no more than one to two hours per day of quality screen time.
Full article:
full report

Another article link: The Impact of Television