The motivations for most people who abandon TV fall into
three categories, Krcmar found.
Some give it up to avoid exposing their families to the
excessive sex,
violence, and consumerism they feel are promoted onscreen. Others object to
the medium itself, claiming television intrudes too much into their lives,
interferes with conversation and takes time away from the family. Finally, some
people have a beef with the power and values of the television industry and
don't want its influence in their homes.
Science does in fact support many non-watchers' worst fears
about TV.
"The research tends to show that increased exposure to
television and violence results in greater
aggression in children," Krcmar said. "That's a pretty consistent
finding."
Though not all children become more violent, and everyone
reacts uniquely, it's fair to say that what we watch affects us.
When parents did cut television out of their homes, they
reported that their kids didn't bug them as much for junk food and toys
advertised on TV. They also said giving up television made their children
easier to manage.
"It's sort of counter-intuitive, because people think
their kids would drive them nuts without TV," Krcmar said. "But
parents found that kids became very good at entertaining themselves and didn't
need to be entertained all the time by something that was lively and active.
They didn’t complain about being bored."
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