These statistics are based on what the students themselves reported
during our surveys. You should note that when we give workshops on this
issue, we have found that children and young people are usually a bit
embarrassed about the amount of TV they watch. We suspect that this leads
them to under-estimate their hours spent watching TV.
How TV Hooks Us
As you are reading this text, your eye is probably being drawn to the
moving image on the right. We've put this irritating little graphic in for
a reason...We all tend to notice movement, and TV takes advantage of this
fact. Television is even more distracting than our example, because it
contains a combination of images and sounds. If you try to have a
conversation with somebody in a room where a TV set is on, it will be
almost impossible for you to stop glancing at the set now and again.
When you sit down to watch TV, you will almost instantly start to
relax. You will tend to become less alert, and more passive. When you stop
watching, you don't feel relaxed any more, but you remain passive and less
alert ...which you may notice as a feeling of being "drained" or lacking
energy. An instant antidote to this unrelaxed state is...more TV! Watching
more will tend to relax you again, and some scientists think that heavy TV
users are drawn into a vicious circle in this way. It is common for people
to report that they watch more TV than they intend to. Some psychologists
even believe that people can suffer from TV addiction.
Whether or not you can be addicted to TV, if the habit affects your
ability to lead an active life it should be taken seriously.
TV Violence
When children see violent events, they are more likely to believe that
something bad will happen to them. Young children may also not understand
that violence can hurt and kill people. When the TV "good-guys" are
violent, this is usually portrayed as acceptable...and when the bad guys
are violent, the violence often goes unpunished.
TV, Health and Performance
Heavy television watching is likely to affect performance in school,
and may even affect children's development. TV watching before the age of
3 can lead to problems in development of the ability to think and reason
later on in childhood [1]. Children with a TV in their bedroom tend to do
less well in academic tests [2], and TV viewing in childhood and
adolescence has been linked with poor educational achievement in later
life [3].
Children who watch lots of TV have a greater risk of becoming
overweight. Children with a TV in their bedroom are at an even greater
risk [4-6] . Prolonged TV watching is associated with an increased risk of
type II diabetes [7] , and limiting TV and computer games in children may
help to prevent type II diabetes [8] . Girls who watch a lot of TV may be
at an increased risk of getting an eating disorder [9] . Kids who watch
more TV tend to start smoking at a younger age [10] . TV watching has been
linked to risk factors for atherosclerosis/CVD in adults [11, 12] .
It is common for children to ignore their natural sleep rhythms when
watching TV and this may result in daytime fatigue and other health
problems. TV viewing in infants and toddlers is linked to irregular
sleeping patterns [13] . Adolescents and young adults who watch lots of TV
have a greater risk of sleep problems [14]
Adults who watch lots of TV tend to have an increased risk of type II
diabetes and obesity [7, 15-17] . [18] . Watching lots of TV in mid-life
has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease [19] .
TV doesn't usually show the consequences of having sex. On the other
hand, sex on TV is usually portrayed as exciting, normal and risk free.
Teenagers that watch sexually explicit TV programmes may even become
sexually active at an earlier age [20] .
For many people, television watching constitutes a dependence, and TV
may even be considered an addiction in some individuals [21] .
Television watching has a clear effect on human biology. It reduces the
levels of the brain hormone melatonin, which usually increase in the evening
as light levels fall. Staring at a bright screen for hours reduces the
production of melatonin. This may effect the body’s natural rhythm, keeping
you awake longer…and reduced levels of melatonin have even been linked to
early puberty in girls. The age at which girls reach puberty has been
getting younger since the 1950’s, and lower melatonin levels may be one
reason for this. Scientists have begun to link watching more television with
an earlier onset of puberty.
Dr Aric Sigman, a member of the Institute of Biology and associate fellow of
the British Psychological Society, says that watching television also
damages sleep patterns, causes over-eating and increases the risk of type 2
diabetes “Television may induce us to eat more [by] causing our brain to
monitor external non-food cues — the television screen — as opposed to
internal food cues telling us that we have stuffed ourselves and can stop
eating.” Low attention spans and poor educational achievement could also be
linked to television viewing habits. Dr Sigman suggests that limiting TV time should be a
priority to improve children's well-being. Dr Sigman has recommended that
between the ages of three to five children should watch no more half an hour
of 'good quality programming' a day. This could be increased to an hour for
5 to12-year olds and an hour and a half for teenagers. The American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends that children younger than 2 years old should have
no screen time, and that older children should watch 1-2 hours per day at
most.
Scientific studies suggest:
See our TV tips page for some suggestions on
reducing screen time for you and your family, or our
TV facts page for more information on TV and health.
References
1. Zimmerman, F.J. and D.A. Christakis, Children's television viewing
and cognitive outcomes: a longitudinal analysis of national data. Arch
Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2005. 159(7): p. 619-25.
2. Borzekowski, D.L. and T.N. Robinson, The remote, the mouse, and the
no. 2 pencil: the household media environment and academic achievement
among third grade students. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2005. 159(7): p.
607-13.
3. Hancox, R.J., B.J. Milne, and R. Poulton, Association of television
viewing during childhood with poor educational achievement. Arch Pediatr
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television in bedroom associated with overweight risk among low-income
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Res, 2002. 10(5): p. 379-85.
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risk. Am J Epidemiol, 2000. 152(12): p. 1171-8.
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television viewing and irregular sleep schedules among children less than
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relation to risk of undiagnosed abnormal glucose metabolism in adults.
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