TV Mad
It would be fair to say that I am a big fan of technology, but I am also acutely aware of the dangers as well. Back in early March I wrote a piece called Unplugging where I shared my need to have some computer free days (check it out here). I recently came across the following statistics around TV.. which are plain alarming:
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day which is 2 months of non stop TV watching every year. In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the TV!
99 of households in the US have a TV and 66% of them watch it while eating dinner.
The average child watches 1,680 minutes of TV each week. And the average number of minutes per week that parents report they are spending in meaningful conversation with their kids? Just 3 and half minutes.
54% of 4 to 6 year olds said they preferred to watch TV then spend time with their dad.
By the time a child finishes elementary school they have witnessed 8,000 murders on TV.
The percentage of local TV news dedicated to advertising is 30% with 53.8 being stories about crime, disaster and war and just 0.7% on public service announcements.
Wow.
TV is such a pervasive influence on our lives.
What if we saw these stats:
The average Christian reads their Bible at least one hour a day and spent several hours a day in meaningful conversation with their family (see here for a funny take on Bible Reading stats).
What are your TV viewing habits like? What are your Bible reading habits like?
………
To view the source of the stats click here
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2 Responses to “TV Mad”
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“The average child watches 1,680 minutes of TV each week. And the average number of minutes per week that parents report they are spending in meaningful conversation with their kids? Just 3 and half minutes.
54% of 4 to 6 year olds said they preferred to watch TV then spend time with their dad.”
WOW!! That cuts to the heart, Mark! I have two kids (4 and 7) and these stats are personally confronting. When life gets crazy busy, its just too tempting to set the kids up in front of the TV. Am I coping out by using the electronic ‘babysitter’? Maybe…
Time to turn off and tune in?
Hey Mark - so totally agree. I’ve become a bit of a TV addict in years gone by, and have realised over the last two ro three years how much damage its done: time wasted, meaninglessly tired, and not filling my mind with good stuff, but something either mediocre or worthless. With three kids now (5, 2, 4mo) we regularly switch off during the week, and put it on only sparingly during the weekend. Personally, I’d prefer to live without it totally!
Blessings,
Phil