TV Addiction Wasteful and Harmful

At one time television in the living room was a place for the family to get together to watch a family program, and the choices were quite limited. Since then it has 'progressed' in such a way that huge amounts of programming are now directed at different segments of the family. As a result most of it is not watched as a group and may be viewed separately at different hours or in separate rooms.

Over the years TV has brought into the home entertainment, news and commercials. To increase their marketing effect the news and entertainment are stretched, exaggerated and designed to keep viewers watching and listening longer - to their messages. Shock topics and vivid attention grabbing presentations are continually increasing while wholesome, friendly and cultural productions are fewer. In their efforts to turn attention to their promotions marketers mayl use intense, noisy, provocative and offensive material in their programming.

Television has become an overbearing medium for the corporate promotion of products and services. Massive amounts of commercials are sent to family members daily directing them towards different, sometimes conflicting markets. And there is constant repetition in the advertisements until the messages take hold; to sell stuff which so often is not needed or which may even be harmful to the family, society and planet.

There is a steep cost in watching television, financially and in the loss of valuable communications and true healthy values. All or part of so many families are addicted to this way of life - gazing at the 'idiot box' and absorbing its messages. It can be difficult to withdraw on television viewing in favor of unpolluted pastimes.

How are you going to break a deeply ingrained habit of so many years? First you must want to change, then use your imagination and read up. Think outside the BOX and list other things to do that will be fun, more relaxing and have less negative influence on you and yours.

A few suggestions.
A new hobby indoors or outdoors can be a lot of fun and very satisfying.
Work on a photo album or scrapbook, one you can touch and feel and show.
Go for a walk around town, in the park, or to the library.
Read a magazine article, a book or learn a new skill.
Visit with neighbors, and why not discuss the effects of television with them.
Check off another chore on your To-Do list, or start a To-Do list.

And when you do watch TV be selective. A phrase borrowed from the computer programmer's repertoire warns of the television phenomenon in our lives; "garbage in - garbage out."