When parents did cut television out of their homes, theyreported that their kids didn’t bug them as much for junk food and toysadvertised on TV. They also said giving up television made their childreneasier to manage.
For many Americans the thought of life without TV is akin toforgoing food, shelter or, God forbid, the Internet. But about 1 to 2 percentof Americans do abstain from the boob tube, and they might seem like strangebedfellows.
A recent study of those who live without found that abouttwo-thirds fall into either the “crunchy granola set” or the”religious right, ultraconservative” camp, said researcher MarinaKrcmar, a professor of communication at North Carolina’s Wake ForestUniversity. Krcmar interviewed 120 people from 62different households who do not watch television, as well as 92 people from 35households with TV, and described her findings in a new book, “LivingWithout the Screen” (Routledge, 2008).
Aversion to television,it turns out, is a common ground for the very liberal and the veryconservative.
Some give it up to avoid exposing their families to theexcessive sex,violence, and consumerism they feel are promoted onscreen. Others object tothe medium itself, claiming television intrudes too much into their lives,interferes with conversation and takes time away from the family. Finally, somepeople have a beef with the power and values of the television industry anddon’t want its influence in their homes.
In contrast to the average American adult, who watches threehours of television a day, non-watchers fill their time with a plethora ofactivities.
“Non-viewers had a greater variety of things that theydid with their free time than viewers did,” Krcmar said. “It’s notjust that they were reading instead of watching TV. They were hiking andbiking, and going to community meetings and visiting with friends. Overall,they tend to do more of everything.”
Are they right?
Science does in fact support many non-watchers’ worst fearsabout TV.
“The research tends to show that increased exposure totelevision and violence results in greateraggression in children,” Krcmar said. “That’s a pretty consistentfinding.”
Though not all children become more violent, and everyonereacts uniquely, it’s fair to say that what we watch affects us.