I would like to suggest that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening, right
after the evening news, all television broadcasting should be prohibited by
law.
Let us take a serious, reasonable look at what the results might be if such a
proposal were accepted. Families might use the time for a real family hour.
Without the distraction of TV, they might sit around together after dinner and
actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our problems -
everything, in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate and to
some forms of mental illness - are caused at least in part by failure to
communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing us. The result is an
emotional difficulty of one kind or another. By using the quiet family hour to
discuss our problems, we might get to know each other better, and to like
each other more.
With free time and no TV, children and adults might rediscover reading.
There is more entertainment in a book than in a month of typical TV
programming. Educators report that the generation growing up with television
can hardly write a good sentence, even at the university level.
At first, the idea of an hour without TV seems radical. What will parents
do without the electronic babysitter who will entertain their children? How
will we spend the time? But it is not radical at all. The older can remember
their childhood without television. These were the times spent partly with the
radio but also with reading, learning, talking, playing games and inventing
new activities. It wasn't that difficult. The truth is they enjoyed themselves.
