Television and children

‘I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence. They got one marked “brightness” but it don't work, does it?’— Leo Anthony Gallagher, US comedian If you read the newspapers, television is associated with all the ills known to mankind. But, as competing media, they would say that, wouldn't they? What is the evidence that television is harmful? Television can trigger seizures in children with photic epilepsy. Several televisions fall on Canadian children every year and doctors feel compelled to report this with alarming alliteration.1 The major points of controversy, however, are about the duration and sedentary nature of television watching and the content. Does watching too much television cause obesity and does violent television content beget violence? It seems obvious that watching too much television leads to obesity, especially if the time spent watching is not spent exercising. But does increased television viewing cause obesity or do obese children tend to exercise less and watch more television? Snacking on fast foods while watching television complicates attempts to distinguish the chicken from the egg. As Joey Adams said, ‘If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all.’ There is evidence that school-based interventions to promote exercise and improve fitness result in both weight reduction and reduced television watching.2 The message is clear: obese children should watch less television, snack less and exercise more. Achieving the behaviour change is the challenge. The relationship between television and violence is even more complex. A systematic review in 2005 found five meta-analyses, all US based, and concluded that violent imagery in television, film, computers and video games substantially increases the short-term likelihood of aggressive or fearful behaviour in young children, especially boys. However, the review concluded that the long-term outcomes of violent television imagery and the effects on older children and adolescents are much less clear cut.3 In contrast, a more recent systematic review found insufficient, contradictory and methodologically flawed evidence on the association between television viewing or video game playing and aggression in children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties.4 What plagues all research into the effects of television is the inevitable presence of confounding factors. The sort of family that is having trouble coping with child rearing is the sort of family that uses the television as a babysitter. And that family is also the sort of family that is least likely to vet the content and most likely to allow their children to watch programmes that all of us would consider inappropriate childhood viewing. Appropriate play opportunities as an alternative would be ideal. Our children's primary school teacher exhorted parents not to allow their children to watch television before school, saying she could always tell the difference. Late-night television is a bigger problem for older children, although the Internet has probably taken over as a more major concern. Finally, it all boils down to parenting. Good parents put firm limits on the amount of time spent in front of the television, keep a close eye on content, prevent children watching inappropriate programmes and watch any potentially scary programmes, including the news, with their children to defuse fear. We all need to think how to interest and stimulate children without excessive resort to television. Mark Wotherspoon, the creator of the sculpture Television within, television without (Fig. 1), which was made from recycled television glass, says: ‘This work is about the role television is playing in our daily lives, and in particular its effects on children. A child gazing away from the television – towards the imagination.’ Television within, television without by Mark Wotherspoon, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, 2007 (photograph by Olga Kol).

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