TOI: Out of the box

O-zone
Out of the box!

Passive television viewing has affected the culture of an entire generation,reducing families to individuals living together under one roof!

Vinita Dawra Nangia TIMES NEWS NETWORK


WHAT did we do with our evenings when there was no cable television Difficult to imagine,but prior to the advent of TV,evenings were family bonding time when you got to hear about each others day,go for an evening walk,sit out late evening in the garden with a jug of lemonade,or just roll around the grass with your puppy trying to lick your face! You would drop in on neighbours or receive visitors at your home.
Those were long,never-ending evenings when you talked,laughed,fought,made up or even just stood around on the terrace counting the stars and trying to spot one you could identify for the kids.You had time for a game of tennis or badminton,or even some carrom board or card games with the family.
But today,once home,most people make a beeline for the remote that transports each individual into a world of his own,depending on TV to engage our minds and our fickle attention span.Most homes have more than two television sets to accommodate varied interests ! TV is not just our evening entertainment,but our entire evening engagement.This one activity has changed the culture of an entire generation,and today the TV schedule dictates the familys activities!
TV in fact is one of the easiest addictions to slip into without even realising what we are letting ourselves in for.And it can be a harmful affliction.Watching television is an easy escape from life;it is an effective way of forgetting your troubles rather than dealing with them headon ! Also,television encourages us to rest our minds and senses and let the sound and images just wash over us neither a creative nor intelligent activity at all! TV addicts arent called couch potatoes for nothing! Weight gain and aggression are obvious byproducts of passive TV watching over long hours.Other activities such as socialising,reading,conversing or exercising are far more productive,aiding the development of mind and body.A mother of two complains of how frustrated she feels with the lack of communication at home.When she is done watching her serials,she finds her husband glued to the News while the children are laughing out loud in their room along with prerecorded cues in English sitcoms! An author friend,much celebrated for her first book,was struggling to finish her second.In a bid to bring some discipline to her writing schedule,one of the first things she did was ban television from her life! This is the most insidious and intrusive of media, she complained.You tend to leave the contraption on,especially if you live alone,and before you know it,you are hooked for hours.And there goes your noble plan of devoting time to work! At this rate we are fast catching up with the Americans,49 per cent of whom admit they watch too much television! The average American today,according to the A.C.Nielsen Co,watches more than four hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week,or two months of non-stop TV-watching per year).In a 65-year life,that person will have spent nine years glued to the tube! The TAM report for the last four weeks states that the urban Indian male watches television for an average 3.2 hours daily,while women watch it for an average of 3.6 hours every day.As per IRS Q1 (all-India data),41 per cent Indians do not watch TV as yet.Of the rest 59 per cent that do watch,15 per cent watch TV for an average one hour a day on weekdays;22 per cent watch it for 1-2 hours daily on weekdays,while the remaining 12 per cent watch it for 2-3 hours daily on weekdays.According to Nielsen crossplatform Q1 report,TV viewership increased by 22 minutes per month per person over the last one year.
An overdose of television may work very well for the elderly.Think about your grandma and grandpa.Not many years ago their days trudged by in weary monotony,totally dependent for their breaks and entertainment on visits by children and grandchildren and maybe a stroll in the nearby park where they met up with some old cronies.Now they have a date to keep with Gopi Bahu (Saathiya) at 7 pm,with Anandi (Balika Badhu ) at 8 pm,Akshara and Naitik (Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai) at 9.30 pm and then with Ram and Priya (Bade Achche Lagte Hain) at 10.30 pm.Not surprising then that gl o b a l ly adults (50-64 ) make up the largest segment (25 per cent) of television-viewing audience.However,those of us in our productive years children and young professionals or even older people who want to do more than just wait out their old age it is essential to refocus those staring,dazed eyes,discipline our habits and gain an upper hand over this insidious enemy within our bedrooms! It is indeed essential to define and limit TV viewing time for not just our children,but for ourselves too,so as to be able to get on with what we really want to get on with!
How about imposing one No-TV Day each week at home