What is your TV viewing habit? - Can your television-viewing habits have an effect on your marriage?

One study found that the average American watches TV for 6 hours and 18 minutes a day…

Though television offers much that is worthwhile, heavy viewing can cut into family time, hinder reading and academic performance in children, and contribute to obesity.

If you invest a great deal of time in watching TV, it would be smart to think about what we watch and about what you are getting in return. Our time is too precious to waste.

The above survey found that a large part of the programming features hatred, brutality, violence and immorality…

A 2001 study showed that the average TV-viewing child might witness 10,000 murders and 100,000 acts of aggression by the time he reaches the age of ten (I’m sure that number has increased by 2008)…

In her book “Viewing Violence “, Dr. Madeline Levine says that “Children who are heavy viewers of television are more aggressive, more pessimistic, weigh more, are less imaginative, less empathetic, and less capable students than their lighter-viewing counterparts” …

Dr. Levine suggests that we need to recognize that the television has a function just like every other appliance in the house. We don’t leave the hair dryer on once our hair is dry, or the toaster on once the toast has popped up. We recognize the specific uses of these appliances and know when to shut them off. We need to do the same with the television.

Television, which could have been an important avenue of education and enlightenment, has proven to be a huge time stealer…

By the time an American child graduates from school, he will have spent 50 percent more time in front of a TV than in front of a teacher…

Studies have also shown that those who engage in heavy television viewing are falling behind in literacy. There is a deep concern about the bad effect of all of this on people, especially on young persons.

If people are spending so much time in front of the TV, they must be enjoying it – Right! …

Again studies have found that many believe that they spend too much time watching TV and feel guilty that they haven’t used their time more productively.

Some say that they’re  “TV addicts.”

Of course, you cannot become addicted to TV in the same way that a person becomes addicted to narcotics, 

OR CAN YOU?

• Addicts devote a great deal of their time to the drug they use.
• Addicts usually want to reduce that time or quit their habit… but they can’t.
• Addicts sacrifice important social and family activities in order to use drugs.
• Addicts suffer withdrawal symptoms when they abstain.

All these symptoms can occur in people who watch a lot of television…

What’s it worth to you?

If you were offered a million dollars to give up watching television for the rest of your life, would you?

In a survey some years  ago 1 in 4 Americans surveyed said that they would not…

In another survey, men were asked what they wanted most in life. The majority said that they desired peace and happiness…

But this came second on their wish list…

What they wanted first in life was a big-screen television!

Television has become a babysitter for our children and mindless entertainment for us. It is a source of countless sales pitches, and advertisements gimmicks and tricks telling us that we need thousands of things that we don’t. Those who’ve surrendered to these advertisements have boxes, rooms, garages, and basements and yes, they’ve even had to go out and rent extra storage in order to contain all their stuff. 

Hundreds of studies over the last 30 years have indicated that the ever growing amount of media violence has contributed to a moral and social decay and has courpted our thinking about violence. One columnist put it this way: “If a 60-second commercial can move mountains in the marketplace, don’t tell me that a two-hour, mega-million dollar movie doesn’t modify attitudes.”

“Decades of violent entertainment have succeeded in altering the public’s perceptions and values,” says movie critic Michael Medved. He adds: “It is hardly a positive development for a society when it loses its ability to feel shock.” One writer said that taking a four-year-old to violent movies “is poison to his brain.” But that’s a subject for another article…

I hope that this article has gotten you to think about the your television viewing habits as well as those of your family. I only hope that you’ve seen the truth in what I’ve said and that you want to do something about it.

By the way, If you are thinking about or adding up your your time spent in front of the television, you should include your time spent playing video games on the T.V. or computer and your time spent on the internet engaged in chat rooms and forums and downloading everything that you can get your hands on.

Think about this…

If you spend 6 hours a day in front of the TV (as one study says we do)…

By the time you are age 60 (my age), you will have spend 15 years in front of the TV set…

Think about this epitaph inscribed on your tombstone -   “Here lies our beloved friend, who sacrificed family, friends, literacy and the pursuit of becoming a better, more rounded, happier and more spiritual person by devoting one fourth of his life to watching TV.”

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