Children's TV Watching Linked to Early Puberty Comments

I hae also always assumed that kids who watch TV get obese because they don't exercise and do worse in school because they don't read. I also know that violent programs are definitively linked to violent behavior in all age kids and young adults. What was shocking to me about this study was the well-substantiated claim that it isn't only the content of TV, and the lack of other activities that are the problem, it is the screen. In other words, it isn't the content that lowers the production of the hormone melatonin, it is apparently the glowing screen itself. And the melatonin disruption is what causes the sleep issues and early puberty and possibly a later predisposition to cancer. We don't know a lot about hormones yet, but we may well find that TV impacts other hormones, and that could be linked to the obesity, language delays, alzheimers, etc.

I recently heard that for every TV set in a household each member of that household loses 5 IQ points. That means some people are in the negative! Like amac, I try to watch shows that educate me. I admit, there are a few shows I like to watch each week, but only a couple of hours worth, and not each night. My wife and I prefer reading anyway. It's funny, the other night I was in a "veg out" mood, didn't feel like reading, was tired, so I channel surfed just to wind down. After surfing I said to my wife, "Tell me again why we pay for cable each month when we literally have hundreds of channels of garbage to choose from?" Regardless of what scientific studies prove, we know one thing for sure, TV is not a good influence on our kids. It has good qualities when used for educational purposes, but if we had to decide, all or none, it's either good or bad, I think most intelligent people would say it's bad overall.

Those are some bold claims. Personally, I think TV in its current state is an awful cancer of society. It could be improved if it were more educational and positive. But the media just gives the public what it wants: violence, drama, and stupidity. I must disclaim that I watch probably about 4-5 hours per week, but I only watch the two shows that satire how ignorant we are as a society: The Simpsons and Family Guy. I do watch a lot of documentaries and a couple movies per week as well, but I try to watch ones where I can learn something or that are based on historical fact. What I think is so dangerous about TV is that people glue themselves to the tube every waking moment they are at home and watch whatever is on. Most of it is mind-numbing and creates unrealistic expectations and perspectives on life. Additionally, it prevents exercise and prevents people from engaging in constructive or creative activity. I would be interested to know if those claims in your blog above about TV are causally related or just correlated. I'd bet many are just correlated because people who watch a lot of TV probably don't eat well or exercise. Many may not be well educated either and don't use their brains to full-capacity, because those who are well educated probably read more than they watch TV. I could be way off on this. I don't have any studies to back it up. Just guessing based on my personal observations.