Has TV watching replaced more active pastime, such as sports and visiting friends, in many countries?

By Iren Plastinina

All over the world people watch television. Because of the many
satellites one can live almost anywhere and still watch the same
programmes. The satellites also give everyone numerous choices in 
what they can look at and most individuals use this option. The
world’s population spends many hours in front of the television.
The time spent watching the “screen” is regarded as both good and bad.

An article in The New York Times reveals that too many hours in front of
the television causes high blood pressure and overweight, not only to adults,
but also to children. A group of scientists from Michigan State University
have been following the activity level and television habits of 111 children
between the ages of 3 till 8. The result shows the children that spent the
most time watching TV (1, 5 till 5 hours), had a considerably higher blood
pressure than the ones who watch less (about ½ hour).

Earlier studies have proven a connection between TV-watching and over-
weight, and as we know, overweight is closely linked to a high blood
pressure. According to this study also children with a normal weight and
enough physical activities can get a high blood pressure from too much
television. The leader of the scientific study, Loey Eisenmann, also adds
that extensive TV-watching may have damaging physical effects because
children often eat snacks while they look at the TV, and that some
programmes also make them uneasy. He emphasizes to watch TV late at
night can disrupt the sleep. The American Doctor Association recommends
that children should not watch more than 2 hours of television per day.

British scientists also warn against more than 2 hours of TV-watching for
children. NTB-Reuters wrote, in an article March 3rd 2009, that in some
countries about 30% of all children have Asthma, and they have found a
connection between Asthma, overweight and a lack of exercise among
children that watch television more than twohours per day. These children
have doubled their risk of getting Asthma compared to other children. The
scientists from Glasgow University have examined 3.000 children under the
age of 12.

In the United States there have been several scientific researches on the
connection between TV-watching and violence. The thesis up till now has
been that too much TV has a negative effect on people. For example,
children do not learn to socialize, and young persons can be potentially
violent if they get overexposed to TV-violence. The Norwegian newspaper
Aftenposten, on July 29th 2008, can however tell us that it is the opposite;
TV-watching can actually prevent violence.

A Danish scientist, Stine Liv Johansen, claims that TV-watching is good for
children. She argues that it does not make them passive or dim. Johansen
actually means that the television stimulate children to be more active. She
also adds that children who have been spared from looking at the TV can
get problems when they start in kinder-garten. Her report is the opposite
of what was found by the British psychologist Aric Sigman in 2007. Here
he state that children under 3 years of age should not watch television at all.

Our scientists can not agree whether it is a good or bad thing to watch TV. I
believe this is an easyquestion. I use an old saying to answer: “Too much or
too little of some-thing is harmful”. There aremany quality programmes it is
worth watching for children, teenagers and adults. However, one needs to
be selective and choose carefully. It is a good idea to plan ahead, both for
our children and for ourselves.

I also believe the on/off button on the remote control should be used more.
Take a more active part I your children’s every day lives. Help them with
their homework from school, play a game with them, read to them, make
them understand that you love them and that they are the most important
persons in your life. I guarantee the television becomes the most invisible
furniture you have.