14 of 169

Yes

Write now Article Tools

As I sit here glued to the TV watching re-runs of Nip Tuck I feel a small twinge of hypocrisy for suggesting that an activity which is currently giving me a moderate amount of satisfaction is in fact harmful to others. Valid or not, I have a constructed an elaborate alibi to excuse my sedative tendencies like the smoking parent who lectures their child about the evils of tobacco.

I would like to adjust a few details of my portrait which is most likely parading through your head. I am not the crumb wearing, fast food smeared, condiment besmirched land-whale that fits- nay- embodies the TV apologist stereotype sprawled on the couch of your mind. I hike frequently, rock climb, boulder, and work out in the gym three days a week. And I watch TV for fun when its time to relax.

Balance is the battle. Unlike the extreme views that are consistently voiced about topics having to do with the growing number of obese youths, or the latest scare tactic perpetrated by the media. I don't feel that McDonald's is the great Satan, or that TV is, in and of itself, harmful. On the other hand, the dangers of uninhibited consumption of either of these "luxuries" is far more dangerous than the absence of them altogether in favor of caution.

We should take a lesson from the fact that television has become the babysitter at home and the parent to millions of curious children who will, and sadly are, growing up thinking that "Reality TV" has some literal bearing on reality itself. Worse yet, these children have no regard for literal reality, or anything literal at all for that matter.

Fast food doesn't make people fat unless it's eaten in excess. TV doesn't make kids stupid unless it replaces real life experience. I suppose I was one of the lucky few children whose parents went out of their way to be sure that TV never took the place of real experience and interaction with other people- which by the way is important too. Growing up thinking that everything is a show or a game makes it a lot more difficult to be respectful. Think that's not a problem? Drive somewhere. Count how many people drive like they are the only ones on the road.

The bottom line is that like modern TV, this question is not black and white. If the question took into account the handful of parents who actually would take the time to "portion out" television time appropriately then perhaps my view would be more middle of the road. Since we all know that reality is as flawed as all of us in the real world; not MTV, but the place on planet Earth where ugly, fat people get to live too. Let's err on the side of caution and do without the comforts that pose such disproportionate risks. Convenience or stupidity? Is having one worth risking the other?

Learn more about this author, Stephen Richert.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should parents raise their children without television??
We want to hear your view. Write now!