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Addiction – noun – the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. (From dictionary.com)
The CBS show, The Doctors says: “Studies show that one in 10 kids is seriously addicted to videogames and media, and those who watch more than four hours of TV per day are at greater risk of heart disease as they grow older.”
I heard this on their show yesterday (it’s also printed on the synopsis on their website) and aside from an initial feeling of annoyance that television is being vilified again… you know what? Not annoyance. Boredom. I’m bored from repeatedly hearing about this kind of study, and frustrated that they don’t have something more worthwhile to share with us. Aside from that, what immediately comes to mind is questions. Lots and lots of questions. Exactly what kind of “studies” did they do? Over what period of time? And on whom? Are these all school children who spend most of their day behind desks before they come home and play videogames or watch TV? Did they include homeschooled kids? Are they otherwise active? Do they have other hobbies? What is their diet like? What is their relationship with their family like? How are they defining “addicted?”
Quite simply, there’s not nearly enough information there for me to take it seriously. But what’s really disheartening to me- about this as well as similar anti-media messages – is that it is based in fear. So much of what we hear about television, video games, and media in general is so very steeped in fear. They are evil. They rot your brain. They make you violent. They make you hyper. They make you lazy. They cause blood clots and heart disease and obesity. Not long ago, I left an unschooling group after being told that because I did not limit screen time, I was “encouraging slothfulness, which is the worst kind of sin.” Fear.
I never want to make any decision for my children based on fear. I never want to place limits on tools and resources (yes – televisions, computers, and video games are resources) that are as valuable as any other, simply because of some vague – albeit widely held – misconceptions about how ‘bad’ they are.
I don’t need to know about facts, figures and studies to be able to learn from what I see and experience in my own home. In my house, my kids are as free to use the computer, play video games, or watch television as they are to do anything else. And the truth is, they are not intelligent and creative in spite of it; they are intelligent and creative in part because of it. Computer skills in general are an invaluable, and in most cases necessary, facet of our adult lives. We use computers for everything from gathering information to communicating with others to paying our mortgage. Video games are great for practicing cooperative play, critical thinking, math, science, and problem solving.
And television? I could write an entire series of posts about what we’ve learned from television, and still barely scratch the surface. Television brings an entire world into our living room. We don’t have the means to travel to obscure and beautiful countries… but we can watch Bear Grylls do it. We don’t have the experience or the facilities to scientifically test the validity of widely-held myths… but we can watch the Mythbusters do it. It can show us how to cook, take us inside an operating room, and let us feel like we’re a part of a police investigation. Or a commercial fishing trip. Or a journey to the bottom of the ocean. As for those ‘other’ shows… the sitcoms, the dramas, the next top model bachelorette housewife idols of America… The great thing about modern day television, and the advent of DVRs, is that we get to choose what we do and do not want to watch. And aside from entertaining us and making us laugh (which, if you ask me, is no small thing in and of itself), even shows like this are often a catalyst for great conversations with the kids: about people, about life, about the difference between reality and scripted television. Learning is truly everywhere. Television is not an exception.
One of the reasons that a lot of people give for not allowing television is that they want their kids to use their imaginations; they want them to be more focused on creative play. But the two are not mutually exclusive! By all accounts, my kids are some of the most creative kids I know. My 3 year old can (and does) spend an entire afternoon playing with a leaf, or a baby doll, or her play kitchen. My 7 year old has never met a science experiment or a magic trick that he did not like. My 11 year old just took it upon himself to start fashioning swords out of pvc pipe and foam. My 14 year old likes to take apart and rebuild nerf guns and lawn mowers and engines just for fun. These aren’t mindless zombies who are slaves to electronics… but smart, well-rounded kids who recognize media for what it is: no more or less than a really cool and useful tool; one that we’re lucky to have.
Could we live an unplugged life? Sure. We do it every time we go camping (and it should be noted, not one of us suffers “severe trauma” because of our cessation) We could live without electronic media. We could live without books too. And music. And poetry. And running water. But just because we can, doesn’t mean it’s somehow preferable.
We live in a world that allows us to surround ourselves with all kinds of things from which to learn: from people and places and experiences, to books and art and music, to computers and video games and televisions. It wouldn’t make sense to me, living in 2011, not to avail ourselves … to learn from, to grow from – and to enjoy – all of the above.
I’m with you! You can find my view point here, <a href="http://www.imamomtoo.blogspot.com/search/label/internet%20parenting"<here, and here.🙂
I’m with you! You can find my view point here, <a href="http:/imamomtoo.blogspot.com/search/label/internet%20parenting"<herehere, and here. Deleted previous post to work on html tags.
ugh, I give up 2 of the 3 tech posts work in the first comment.
Yes!
This was a HUGE change in view point for me. Six months ago I was ready to cancel cable to encourage…MORE OF THE THINGS WE WERE ALREADY DOING! And many of them we learned from Man Vs. Wild and the like!
I am so glad I was exposed to the viewpoint opposite my own- it has changed a lot for us. And now I find it highly unlikely that I will ever think of canceling cable again.
In fact, we just got a Wii. And wii are loving it. This was a big bit of proof for my husband and I. Our whole family loves playing it, and we laugh like crazy and have so much fun while we are! I don’t think I can be convinced that’s a bad thing 🙂
Very nice post!
Thank you! And yes, the Wii is awesome. 🙂 I too am glad to be able to be exposed to views and ideas that our counter to my own. Sometimes the viewpoints that challenge us the most are the ones that end up feeling the most right to us. We just have to be open to them. 🙂
My daughter posted a link to this on fb. You have expressed the nearly opposite view of what I have adhered to most of our homeschooled years. I limited. And I limited less with the younger kids as more technology came into our lives. And… I became more lenient in many ways with the youngers as I got older. 🙂 This has been a struggle for me as I’ve seen the need to change and not be so insistent, without proof to back up my restrictions. Thank you for this straight-forward and enlightening article. I really appreciate it. When I’m the only “bad guy” in the house, something (someone) certainly has to give. And that is a no-brainer. I really don’t want to just get older….I want to get Better! (to borrow the ‘old’ phrase 🙂
I want to get better too. 🙂 And my views have also done a 180 on this subject (as well as many many others) and my life is fuller and richer because of it!
Thanks for your thoughts, I really enjoyed this post. Coming from a ‘steiner’ background I have struggled with not placing limits on my kids when it comes to TV and such. We now live on a bus with no power so the choices are limited naturally, but it’s still something that comes up when we are places with power and unlimited technology.
As I was reading your post and thinking about the whole TV = laziness, obesity, heart disease connection, I wondered about a child at school. Most of their day is sitting down at desks, apart from a sport session, and in some schools kids are not even allowed to run at recess or lunch! So these kids may end up sitting down all day at school and then come home to sit down for hours watching tv….with no sense of self regulating….of course they’re going to be unhealthy. Not just in body, but in mind and spirit because they have not been given the freedom just to be themselves. I too would love to know what kind of setting these studies are done, and would really like to see a study done on unschooling families 🙂
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I don’t have T.V. in my home and I don’t have any interest in obtaining one. I don’t fear it, I just don’t care for it. I wasn’t raised with a television. We were pretty dang poor and television was a luxury we couldn’t afford (this was in the 80’s/90’s). Now, I’m grateful that I wasn’t raised with one. I have very vivid memories of my neighbors and friends never wanting to go outside and play. They were always glued to their televisions and video games (Nintendo was huge at the time). So, my opinions on television are based on my personal experiences. Mine were not positive, perhaps your have been. I wouldn’t worry too much about the vilification of television though. No one really pays attention to those studies anyway (whether you think they are substantiated or not). It’s a billion dollar industry that won’t be going away anytime soon. There’s too much profit to be gained. I definitely don’t think there are absolutes. Every family is different, every child has a different temperament. Television might work fine in one household and may not work well in another. I think every parent that is ‘different’ is vilified. It’s a shame. If a parent chooses no television, the family who watches television is painted a rotten parent, and vice versa. I think everyone suffers from a little sanctimony, it’s one of our greatest follies as humans.
Just to understand more clearly – as you sit down to watch – do you communicate choices for what is OK or not OK to watch? You said you use the DVR – I’m not sure what that is but I think is has to do with blocking commercials? I’d love to hear more specifics of how to handle “adult themes” with young children… e.g. last week we were watching inspector murdoch – which is usually quite tame – but there were some very adult, graphic moments – rape, etc. aaaack. I hate that so I swing wildly to “turn it off” b/c I can’t find what I think would be life-giving to their precious hearts.
There are definitely things that the younger kids don’t watch… but it’s never been because we’ve created rules about what is or is not okay for them. It’s all happened much more organically than that. I wouldn’t want my young kids watching anything very adult and/or graphic…. and they wouldn’t want to either! If we’re watching something that ends up being scary, etc, and I can see that they’re upset by it, we turn it off. Or even if it’s not scary, but makes them feel uncomfortable for whatever reason, we turn it off. I want them to always feel safe in their own home. We don’t make any specific rules about ratings, etc, but the younger kids naturally aren’t interested in movies that are violent or too adult-theme. They trust our opinions too, so they might ask about something beforehand, if we think it’d be something that’d be okay for them to watch. All of our kids are different in terms of what they like/don’t like, so we always take that into account far more than a simple rating. For years now, my 15 year old has liked to watch shows that the other kids are not comfortable with.. he watches medical shows, real-life crime shows, etc. He knows that he’s absolutely welcome to watch them…. but that out of respect for his siblings, he needs to watch them in his room and/or after they’ve gone to bed. Having multiple TVs has helped in that regard.
A DVR is digital recording device. Just an updated VCR. 🙂 So it is a nice thing to have, to be able to choose what and when we watch, and – as you mentioned – skip the commercials.
For some reason, your post reminded me of the book “Bad for You: Exposing the War on Fun!” http://smile.amazon.com/Bad-You-Exposing-War-Fun-ebook/dp/B00HP1I75C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1430937794&sr=8-4&keywords=war+on+fun
When I see anti-whatever studies, I can’t help but think of a thing I read (probably in Mental Floss magazine) about how people rallied against paperback novels once they became accessible and affordable to the general public. 🙂