nishes 75% (10).
- For a little child especially, television is like another adult in his life. But what the television says is completely irrelevant to the child's immediate world. Moreover, the television never responds appropriately to anything the child says. Being reared in front of a television is much like being reared by a schizophrenic mother.
- Much of television language is disjointed. No more than a few words are expended on any idea, and the main idea is rapidly changing, especially in a series of commercials. Thus, television language lacks the connectedness and extended development characteristic of so-called "linear thought." Linear thought employs logical or relational sequencing (relational sequencing is an order based on time, spatial location, or any relational dimension). It is the backbone of storytelling, persuasive argument, pedagogy, and every form of reasoning. To build a capacity for linear thought, children need to hear intelligent adult conversation. They also need to hear and read stories. Informational books and even informational videos, if they are tightly and logically constructed, are useful as well. Another tool for stretching a child's mental prowess is a sermon or Bible lesson. But television promotes a wholly different kind of thought, which might be called kaleidoscopic—thought consisting of a staccato flow of largely unrelated ideas based on momentary impressions and impulses. This kind of thinking cannot address any serious intellectual task. So, a child of television is severely handicapped.
- Because television is aimed at an audience filled with children and new speakers of English, the language it uses is exceedingly simple. Television English is always several notches below the English of educated adults. Hence, a child who has heard little else is ill-prepared to perform at a high level of language competence.
- As noted earlier, TV-viewing diminishes time devoted to reading.
6. There is mounting evidence that regular TV-viewing during the early years of life actually hinders normal brain development. Some research points to the prefrontal cortex as most vulnerable to impairment. This is the region of the brain responsible for planning and judgment. Video stimulation idles this part of the brain, preventing the constant use that is perhaps essential to normal growth (11). In other words, attention to television silences the kind of thinking and inner speech that normal brain development requires. The result is not damage, but underdevelopment.
8. Suppression of Better Activities
Before television, people spent their time at home in wholesome activities. Families worked together, played together, went on picnics or to the lake, took pleasure rides through the country, strolled through the woods and fields. At supper they gathered at the table and talked. On a stormy day or in a quiet evening family conversation might go on for hours.
People carried on many arts and crafts, from woodworking to needlework. When we look at things made generations ago by our ancestors, we are amazed at their skill and resourcefulness. Most people today are doing well if they can change a light bulb safely.
Every home in days past had musical instruments, cherished for the simple pleasure they could afford during hours of leisure. Most people liked to sing, and they knew a great variety of songs.
Until recently, most people pursued hobbies. When I was young, I collected stamps, coins, rocks, leaves, baseball cards, postcards, and books. A visit to the county fair always showed me that other people had better collections than I did. A popular hobby for men was gardening, often carried on with a passionate zeal to raise the best of a certain kind of flower or vegetable. Many women raised their work in the kitchen to hobby status. By devoting much time to preparing certain specialties, they won the acclaim of family and friends.
Before television, people liked to read. They liked to discuss issues. They freely exchanged views on the news of the day, on world events, politics, or religion. They liked