06/30/98

The Screen Habit

We often read about the dangers of excessive television viewing. Concerned about how impressionable some young people are, many of us object to the violent and explicit sexual content of TV shows. Children or teens might imitate such behavior without understanding the possible consequences.

There have, in fact, been copycat crimes linked directly to specific TV programs or movies -- a sobering thought for the actors, crews, and studios which produce these shows and for the parents who allow their children to watch them.

The most insidious and pervasive consequence of the TV habit, however,is the development of profound passivity in adults and children alike. A person watching a screen is usually physically inactive and psychologically unavailable for conversation, play, work, love, or any other form of interaction. We allow snippets of conversation during commercials, but how meaningful can they be if we cut them off in mid-sentence four minutes later when the show comes back on?

People"zone out" in front of the TV/computer/movie screen, often seeming to give the characters encountered there more importance that flesh and blood kids, spouses, pets, and pals! We're all guilty of it occasionally. It's so easy to avoid working out our differences with others by turning on the tube in an attempt to turn off the friction, at least for the moment.

Unfortunately, the screen habit begins so young, that children often never learn the fine arts of dialogue, fair fighting, creative story-telling, imaginative flights of fantasy, or the invention of activities with friends to fill precious hours of free time. Think of the satisfaction and pleasure derived from childhood hobbies, such as collecting stamps or baseball cards, and trading them with friends. Do you remember the backyard carnivals and haunted houses you created, the sandlot softball and kickball games, and hot days at the local swimming hole?

When we got our first television (I was about six or seven at the time), we all welcomed it, to be sure, as a fascinating new form of entertainment, but it was by no means central to our social lives. In fact, it was often entirely too boring!

What do you suppose your family life would be like without so much video entertainment? How about a one week black-out to see what happens, just to stir up some creative energy and animated, uninterrupted conversation. We tried it at our house and it was quite an eye-opener. We definitely became more interactive and interdependent. We also discovered that it wasn't that difficult to get used to. We had more phone conversations with friends, did more reading than we had done in weeks, and discovered places in Connecticut we never knew existed!

Summer's a great time to turn off the TV sets and turn on everybody's imaginations. Let me know what happens when you try it at your house.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.