Effects of TV - (Part 1)

LUKE 11:34

The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light, but when thine eye is evil thy body also is full of darkness.

The eye is the gateway to the soul, we must do everything in our power to protect our eyes from negative images. The very concept of decency is leaving us today, no morals, no respect, no love, just greed.

TV is OK if the producers will produce shows that will enrich the minds of men and glorify God.

We will never be successful by plugging our heads into the "Plug-in-Drug".

We need real live substance to grow mentally, spiritually and emotionally. TV do have good stations, good programs but in comparison with the bad there is a vast difference.

It is even scientifically proven that TV is killing out the minds of the population.

Let's take a look at the negative effects of TV;

As ever, American children aren't reading very well, and the heavy TV watchers worst of all, according to the latest report form the federal government.

Nothing new there - but what caught our eye was the cutoff between a lot and a little television: three hours a day!

The weakest readers -- a mind - boggling 20 percent of fourth graders - site in front of the tube six hours or more.

Said Education Secretary Riley to parents: "Slow down the pace of your lives to help your children grow." If we turn off our TVs, he said, "we will transform this nation." The kids, at any rate, may learn to read.

Scripps Howard News; 93/09/23

That's what the London (England) Daily Mail reports.

It says, "Prayers before bedtime are a thing of the past for most children, according to a recent poll. More than half of under-fives have no knowledge of religion at all, and the average child also swears, watches three hours of TV a day, and idolizes cartoon heroes more than his parents.

One-fifth of the under-twos even know how to work a video recorder. Of the 634 mothers questioned, nearly half (44%) said their child uses bad language and most think this was picked up at home. Parents, the poll shows do not rate as role models - only 24% of under-fives admire their family most in the world.

Many worship pop stars, cartoon characters and Batman instead Only 10% of under-fives pray daily. Over half are particularly selfish and reluctant to share toys." Educational psychologist, Francis Mallon, is not surprised that some children use bad language, and cites TV as another source. "Children love to draw attention to themselves. Thy know that swearing is a good way of getting themselves noticed," he said... Oh what responsibility rests upon believing parents, and what an opportunity to train the children for God and righteousness!

The latest research on television presents further strong evidence that violent entertainment is a major cause of violence and property crime in the United States. At the recent annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, researchers from across the country linked television to 50% of the crime in our country and also suggested that it may play an important role in teen suicide as well.

Psychiatrist Paul Kettl of Pennsylvania State University presented correlational data showing that the rates of teenage depression and suicide have also increased dramatically since the introduction of television. The rates of TV ownership and especially of homes with more than one television set very closely parallel the increase in teen depression and suicide. He noted research from Emile Durkheim showing that whenever social forces isolate an individual from his social group, suicide rates increase.

He cited evidence that TV isolates youth from their parents and their social group. He states, "Both the violent content and the cultural substitution of television for parenting are having a harmful effect on youth suicide rates."

According to the research, the dramatic rise in youth suicide and depression more strongly correlates with the rise in television than even the rise in alcohol and drug abuse. Kettl said, "Television must be included as a cause of youth suicide and depression."

National Coalition on Television Violence

According to a major new set of studies dealing with the effects of television viewing modern society , more than any other leisure activity, the pastime leaves people tense, irritable and unable to concentrate.

Supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Spencer Foundation and other private groups, the studies involved 1,200 subjects over 13 years and are reportedly the most comprehensive attempt to understand the actual behavioral changes caused by TV viewership.

Recently released at a Rutger's University press conference, a report on the studies said that the medium carries with it a unique form of "TV depression." The researchers found that no matter who they are, when people do sit down to watch TV, particularly for long periods of time, they tend to be in low moods.

Moreover, the longer they watch, the less able they are to concentrate. They become increasingly drowsy and bored. As they spend more time viewing, the researchers say, they grow adder, lonelier, more irritable and more hostile. Although it is true people are usually relaxed while the television set is on, when they turn it off, they are even less relaxed than before they began to watch, according to the report.

The studies further state that it "takes more skill and concentration to eat" than it does to watch television. And since it also takes a good bit more exertion and concentration to read than it does to watch TV, say the researchers, people reported feeling even more relaxed and able to concentrate after reading a book than they do after watching television.

Hope this article on negative effect of TV was most helpful!