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When Is Too Much Too Much?
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by Don Schwager

How much TV do you watch in a given day or week? And how much do your children watch? Researchers and psychologists have been warning us for a while that we are consuming too much TV and it is bad for us.  On average most TV viewers in the US and Europe spend four hours a day in front of the television – more than anything else they do except work and sleep. By the age of six, a child has already spent a whole year watching television.

Dr Aric Sigman, an American psychologist, biologist, broadcaster, and author, has written extensively about the harmful effects of too much TV in his book, Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives (2005). Sigman, who has lived in Britain for many years, and  is currently Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, states that “television has unleashed a worldwide cultural force equalled in history only by religion.” 

Dr. Sigman contends that television affects our physical, psychological and social health in very damaging ways. Here are a few key points he makes in his book: 

Television makes us overweight
A child burns fewer calories watching television than he does just sitting doing nothing. Television makes us overweight, prone to diabetes, heart attacks and cancer. Dr. Sigman states that “television is highly fattening and a great way to develop Type 2 diabetes. And all this can be achieved by watching as little as two hours a day, 50 percent less than the average person.” (Page 154).

Television causes half of all violent crime
Countries like Bhutan have seen a sudden rise in violent crime when television is first introduced. Quoting a major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Sigman says that, “If, hypothetically, television technology had never been developed, there would today be 10,000 fewer homicides each year in the United States, 70,000 fewer rapes, and 700,000 fewer injurious assaults. Violent crime would be half of what it is. “(Page 120)

Television harms a child's development
Television harms the way a young child's brain develops, damages learning abilities and hinders educational progress; It has been directly linked to the possibility of a child developing ADHD.

Television lies to us
Sigman talks about how television stereotypes people. For example, in television dramas, children in divorced or separated families are happy and well adjusted.  But, he says “people who've been through a real divorce know differently. And studies on the long term effects of divorce on children paint a very different picture.” (Page 231)

Television also portrays the stereotype of the slim young career woman as preferable to the mother who cares for her children. (See page 166): “Television has discriminated against the vast majority of mothers. And by eroding the status of the full-time mother, television is underplaying the importance of children in our society. Bringing up young children well is, in the scheme of things, rather important.” (Page 167)

And television contributes to ageism: “Long-term daily exposure to television's unrepresentative, ever-present youthful points of comparison in such an unnaturally high concentration is damaging people.” (Page 250)
Television tells us what to think

Sigman says that television is being used as an instrument of social control and engineering:  “Advertising techniques are being used not only during commercial breaks and not only to sell you products – they are also employed to change the way we think and feel about issues in our society. Television provides the best means persuading you to buy into the right values.” (Page 209)

“Today, we are enlightened by the most effective vehicle for social engineering ever envisaged. Our views and attitudes towards everything from domestic violence, drug abuse, divorce and single motherhood to immigration and racial groups are carefully manipulated by decisions taken behind the screen.” (Page 210)

Now for some good news
Sigman concludes by pointing out that there is some good news: “Many of the ills and consequences attributed to television can be dramatically reduced or eliminated by simply controlling how much and what type of television programs we watch.”

Following on from Sigman’s observations, here are a few points I think would be helpful for all of us to consider in our approach to viewing TV and other media. 

Who is in control – you or the TV?

For many of us the TV is the first and last thing we interact with every day. We can all too easily slip into the habit of turning on the TV as soon as we get home, wake up, or feel the need for some kind of diversion or entertainment. If unchecked, the media can cause a lot of difficulty because of the time it absorbs and the way it interrupts social activities. It substitutes passive entertainment for active and therefore usually social entertainment. The media has a way of intruding on our lives, inducing us to use it or be affected by it without a conscious decision to do so. 

Do you control your TV or does your TV control you? Jon Wilson’s article on “Making Sense of the Media” gives some helpful tips for assessing how you use the media. Is the media taking up too much time in your life? Is it replacing time for relationships with spouse, family, and friends who need your support or encouragement. Has media replaced other helpful, important, and necessary activities, such as exercise, sleep, reading, prayer, reflection, and meditation. 

How is the media influencing you?
Have you slipped into a habit of watching bad or harmful movies and programs? Who or what is influencing your behavior, attitudes, and values as a Christian? The Scriptures give us a clear command: "Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modeled by your new mind"  (Romans 12:2). 

We need to understand what kind of models and behavior are being portrayed in the media. Much of it nourishes a non-Christian way of looking at life. A key question to ask is, “What view of reality is being presented here?” Depending on one's view of reality, a person will think certain actions are right and others wrong; he will see some issues as important, others as trivial; he will tend to be confident or fearful.

Some good media habits
One of the best ways to overcome bad habits is to replace them with good habits and some simple rules for healthy living. Here are a few suggestions for replacing bad media habits with some good ones:

• Focus on doing rather than viewing. Choose to be active physically and socially rather than sit idly for hours in front of the tube. Involve yourself and your family in a variety of activities to ensure a rich and balanced life based on thought, conversation and action.
• Eat with your family, not with your TV. Talk, laugh, and listen together.
• Do fun things with your family. Do fun activities together such as playing games, reading to one another or telling stories.
• Watch TV and movies together rather than alone so you can interact, enjoy the fun together, and talk about what you are watching.
• Teach your children media-literacy skills. Point out the impact television and music have on attitudes, thinking, and emotions. Question your children. Their answers will tell you how they perceive the information they see and hear and will sharpen your own skill in analyzing the media. Considering and talking about content will help them (and you) realize how they may be affected and what steps you may need to build a healthy home atmosphere. Talk about media’s portrayal of violence and destructive sexuality. Explain the differences between manufactured horror and real-life suffering. Explain that playing with sex outside of marriage always has damaging effects – contrary to the seemingly harmless way it is almost always depicted in movies, TV shows and music.
• Choose quality viewing. Make it a part of your routine to view educational TV programs and videos. Many excellent programs on history, culture, and science are available to enrich and inform us, even humor and inspire us.
• Model good viewing habits to your children. As adults, proactively decide what you will watch and make it clear to your children and visiting friends, if necessary, that your household's viewing habits are consistent with your values.

[Don Schwager is editor of Living Bulwark and author of the Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation website.]