The Bane of Excessive Television Viewing

Television, the idiot box; is no doubt a thing we cannot do without in the 21^st century. It is so much a part of our lives that life without it is unimaginable – At least to most people. It undoubtedly is a source of a wealth of information, knowledge and entertainment. However; it has the potential to become an addiction and a nuisance if used without discretion. It is not for nothing that it is called an idiot box.

Children can especially become victims of excessive TV viewing. It is not unusual for a young child to be glued to the TV for anything between 3 and 6 hours every day. This is way too high and can definitely affect their mental and physical health. According to recent findings of the science journal Biologist watching television can harm children much more than previously thought. It can raise the risk of obesity, autism, cancer, sleep disorder among other illnesses. We have long known the risk of excessive TV watching; but this new list of potential risks is cause for concern. The risks of becoming a TV addict are two fold - firstly TV’s tendency to glorify violence and stupidity and secondly the harmful radiation that TV’s emit undoubtedly contributes to the aforementioned health hazards. Analog TV’s (bulky one’s which most of us have) are worse in this regard. The new breed of LCD and plasma TV’s are better equipped to handle the radiation resulting in slightly lesser harm to the body.

It’s nearly an impossible task to stop children from watching TV. TV has become so much an extension of our lives. It puts pressure on parents to minimize the risk of TV addiction. It is a challenge to all parents. Parents must leave no stone unturned in dissuading children from watching excessive TV. It is reality that must be faced and confronted as early as possible. Children’s viewing habits must be controlled. After all it involves the health of children and the future of our society.