"Television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us."1 This quote by Edward R Murrow, vividly identifies television as a major concern for our society's well being, as well as for the rest of the world. Most importantly, it seems that the youth of America (ages 2-17) are being more readily affected by the "boob tube" than any other age group in the United States. In recent studies, it shows that television consumption averages twenty-five hours per week for two through five year-olds, while six through eleven year-olds watch twenty-two hours per week, and twelve through seventeen year-olds watch twenty-three hours.2 Newton Minnow, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission states the following: .
"By the time most Americans are eighteen years old, they have spent more time in front of the television set than they have spent in school, and far more than they have spent talking with their teachers, their friends, or even their parents."3 .
By far, the most disconcerting is a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which shows that a person will have spent approximately seven years watching television by the age of seventy.4 While the amount of television that is being consumed by our society may seem astonishing, what is even more surprising is what the children are watching. Strongly violent, destructive programs depicting characters fighting villains, shows with sexual themes including the infamous daily talk shows, such as Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, and Sally Jesse Raphael. These programs all use violence and sexual content to sell their shows. In doing so, the viewer becomes quite a "network zombie" to the television, transfixed by the flashes and the bleeps that the box emits. .
Therefore, television, while respectfully entertaining, strongly promotes violence and sex, while also contributing to laziness and mindless behavior. .
As each year progresses, we see the physical effects of television on adults and children: obesity, couch potato"ism", and overall laziness.
