posted on Jan, 25 2005 @ 09:44 PM
"Television is a chewing gum for the eyes." - Frank Lloyd Wright
FYI, TV-Turnoff Week is April 25-May 1, 2005!
America's Television Habit
I. TV Undermines Family Life
1) The average home has tv turned on 7 hrs, 40 min per day
2) The average person watches over 4 hrs tv daily
3) Children age 6 and under spend 2 hrs daily with screen media
4) 99% of families with children age 0-6 have at least 1 tv
5) 50% of households in 2003 had 3 or more tvs
6) 45% of parents say it's likely they'll use tv to occupy their child if they have something important to do
7) 40% of Americans always or often watch tv while eating dinner
8) 49% of Americans say they watch too much tv
9) Parents spend 38.5 min per week in meaningful conversation with their children
10) 54% of 4-6 year olds when asked would rather watch tv than spend time with their fathers
II. TV Harms Children and Hampers Education
1) One year-old children watch 6 hrs tv per wk
2) The American Pediatric Association recommends children age 2 and under watch no tv whatsoever
3) Children under age 2 spend 2 hrs, 5 min in front of tv daily
4) Children ages 2-17 spend 19 hrs, 40 min watching tv per wk
5) 10 or more hrs of tv watching per wk are shown to negatively affect academic achievement
6) Non-African-American teens age 12-17 spend 5 hrs, 26 min per wk watching primetime tv (8-11 p.m. daily)
7) African-American teens spend 7 hrs, 37 min per wk watching primetime tv
8) There is a 40.2% difference between the tv viewing of African Americans and non-African-Americans
9) 56% of children ages 8-16 have a tv in their bedroom
10) 36% of children age 6 and under have a tv in their bedroom
11) 27% of children age 6 and under have a vcr or dvd player in their bedroom
12) 30% of children usually watch tv in their bedroom
13) Children ages 2-7 spend 81% of their tv time watching it alone and unsupervised
14) Children older than age 7 spend 95% of their tv time watching it without their parents present
15) 73% of parents would like to limit their children’s tv watching
16) 70% of daycare centers use tv daily
17) Youth spend 900 hrs per yr in school on average
18) Youth spend 1,023 hrs per yr watcing tv on average
19) 21% of self-professed educational tv has little or no educational value
20) There is a 1 in 12 chance that a parent requires children to do their homework before watching tv
21) Children spend 4 hrs, 41 min daily in front of a screen of some kind
22) 55% of young adults admit to postponing their bedtime for the internet or tv
23) 34% of 4-6 year olds who can read are living in homes where tv is usually or always left on
24) 56% of 4-6 year olds who can read are living in homes where tv is not usually or always on
25) Children age 4-6 and under spend 2 hrs and 10 min daily with screen media
26) Children age 6 and under spend 41 min daily reading or being read to
III. TV Promotes Obesity
1) 1 in 3 or 62 million adults in the US are technically obese
2) In 1964, 5% of US children were seriously overweight. In 2003, more than 15% were.
3) Daily moderate physical activity recommended for children: 60 min
4) 14% of young people report having had no recent physical activity
5) Factor by which men who watch more than 21 hrs of tv a week increase their risk of Type 2 diabetes: 2
6) An overweight adolescent has a 70% chance of becoming an overweight or obese adult
7) Higher health cost for Kaiser Permanente members with Body Mass Index of 35 or higher: 44%
8) Dollars spent on clothing for men and women’s plus sizes: 23%
9) The economic cost of obesity in the US in 2000 was 117 billion dollars
IV. TV Promotes Violence
1) The average child watches 200,000 violent acts on tv by age 18
2) The average child by age 18 has witnessed 16,000 murders on tv
3) 10% of youth violence is directly attributable to tv viewing
4) 80% of Hollywood executives believe theres a link between tv violence and real violence
5) 91% of children polled said they felt “upset” or “scared” by violence on tv
6) There was a 721% increase in network news coverage of homicide between 1993 and 1996
7) The US homicide rate between 1993 and 1996 was reduced by 20%
8) There was a 41% increase in the number of violent scenes per hr on 10 major channels from 1992 to 1994
9) 16% of tv programs show the long-term consequences of violence
10) 4% of violent tv programs emphasize an anti-violence theme
V. TV Promotes Overconsumption
1) Children view 40,000 tv commercials per year
2) Children can develop brand loyalty by age of 2
3) The average person has watched 2 million tv commercials by the age of 65
4) 92% of toy advertising dollars were spent on tv commercials in 1997
5) $1.3 billion was spent on tv advertisements directed at young children in 1997
6) Local tv news broadcast time devotes 30% to advertising
7) $40 billion was spent in 1999 to advertise on broadcast tv
8) The net worth of a typical middle-class household after accounting for debts is less than $10,000
9) 97% of children age 6 and under own products based on characters from tv shows or movies