Disadvantages of television: It can cause you to gain weight It's pretty intuitive that spending the evening parked

in front of the T.V. doesn't burn a lot deal of calories. In fact, sitting quietly in front of the television set burns a paltry 68 calories per hour. Not exactly a formula for good health and fitness. Combine that with the high calorie snacks most people consume while watching that suspenseful television sit-com and you can see how watching T.V. can quickly pack on the pounds. One smart move not many people make is to exercise while they watch television. If more people parked an exercise bike in front of the T.V. instead of a recliner, the world would be a healthier place. Disadvantages of television: It wastes time Television watchers should keep a log of the hours they choose to sit in front of the television. After they experience the shock of realizing how much time they've wasted, they could then make a list of ways to use that time more productively. Some suggestions might be: spend time with family, friends, and pets; start a part-time business; meditate or pray; play a sport; or pick up a hobby. They just might discover there's more to life than what's happening on the latest reality show. You can bet when people come to the end of their life they don't regret not having watched more T.V. Disadvantages of television: It makes you dumber To be assured of this, all you have to do is tune in to some of the popular reality shows to witness the dumbing down of America. A study conducted in 2005 and published in the Archives of Adolescent and Pediatric Medicine showed that kids who had their own television set scored lower on mathematics tests. Several other studies have supported this premise. It's important to set a good example for the kids of today by encouraging them to read and engage in the arts rather than park themselves in front of the television set. Disadvantages of television: It promotes passivity Television allows its audiences to live vicariously through the situations and lives of fictional characters. It's far easier for a television viewer to experience the thrill of a television character's success than it is to go out and create success on their own terms. This is particularly detrimental to children and teenagers who need to develop a strong sense of self and a purpose in life. Television encourages passivity. There's no doubt that television view does have its benefits if carefully selected programs are viewed. It's a way to stay informed about what's happening in the world. Plus, there are variety of channels that offer educational programming where

you learn new skills ranging from cooking to crafts. The trick is to not let television overtake your life or the life of your family to the exclusion of other more important activities. Let television be a treat rather than a daily ritual.

Avoiding Television on School Nights: Its More Than Just Beneficial

The amount of hours of television viewed per day directly correlates with scores children and students received. By the way, the correlation is definitely not positive. Students who watched more television on weekdays typically performed poorer on tests and daily work assignments. Most of the poor performance can be attributed to an inadequate amount of time spent on preparation and studying. (This is according to a recent news article posted on CNN, October 6.) However, that may not be the only factor. By watching large amounts of television, students may be swayed into valuing television more than they value schoolwork, if they don't already. The CNN article went on to mention the fact that television on the weekends did not produce quite as negative of effects as on school nights. However, performance did seem to depend on the amount of time spent viewing television overall. Also, television also has several other negative effects. Depending on the content of the television show, which of course is generally damaging these days, the child may pick up immoral values and words that the parents or guardians certainly don't want their child using. Children are often exposed to content that is much too mature for their eyes, and they receive a misrepresentation of reality. They will most likely begin to believe that what they see on TV is not only real, but that it is completely acceptable from all standpoints. What kind of content is unacceptable for children? Fortunately, not every television program will impact children negatively. However, the majority of it will. A good conscience check is to ask yourself whether or not you would feel comfortable watching the program with your priest or pastor in the same room. If not, your child should definitely not be exposed to it either. (Nor should you) I am not trying to say that all television is bad for your health, however, there are even more negative effects of over viewing that can potentially be quite damaging. According to another research document posted in November of 2005, on PSYCLYN.org (a psychological informative website) there are several other sideeffects of watching excessive amounts of television.

One often mentioned side effect is that of the increased likelihood of childhood and adult obesity. This epidemic is by no means caused only by watching Television; however, eating and television viewing are often paired together as a downtime activity. The result is often dangerous and extremely unhealthy. Along with obesity, there are several health risks such as diabetes and high cholesterol, as well as inability to perform routine tasks and functions with minimal difficulty. Also, children may find it difficult to distinguish what they see on TV from reality. As much as adults try to train their children not to believe everything they see, children's minds are quite impressionable and ignorant of how the world really works. Another harmful side effect of too much television is limited imagination. Children become too dependent on TV in order to have fun. Instead, they should be encouraged to use their natural God-given creativity and energy to explore the world around them. It is even noted that during the early stages of development, television can damage children's language acquisition progress. The last major side effect of too much television is a little disease teachers lovingly deal with every day. Attention Deficit Disorder, that's right, ADD is often sparked by watching too much television. So, if you wonder why we are raising an ADD generation, know that there is a pretty direct correlation between the ADD and watching too much television. You may think that television causes kids to concentrate right? I mean, they have to sit there and stare at the box and pay attention to it. Contrarily, they are being zoned in to a musical, brightly colored and flashy piece of equipment that causes them to lose track of everything else going on around them. They are unable to concentrate in a typical school setting. They are usually the only kids who can focus on movies and yet completely miss everything their teacher says. These are the kids who have been labeled "hyper-active" when really; their ability to focus and pay attention has most likely been hindered by that little box in the living room that they so often zone in on. Also, the said "hyper-activity" would be much more positively dealt with through healthy alternatives to television viewing, such as biking, running, playing sports, jump roping, skiing, sledding, the list goes on and on.

Television Watching and Your Children Many of us as adults, will remember how television affected our lives when growingup. Television can inform, educate, entertain, teach and do many other things. But realistically, in today's society, television can be very bad for your children humane development as it often display undue violence against people, illegal drug use, explicit sexual content, among others. Therefore, we must know that too much television viewing can lead to aggressive behavior in kids, less outdoor physical activities, use of drugs, and many more unwanted events in the lives of the children and parents. Too many times experts in children behavior and development will tell us that what kids view on television (TV) can adversely affect their real life actions. Violence on TV are simply copied by kids not equipped with the mind to discern right from wrong. They will simple practice what they see, and in turn may cause serious bodily harm to themselves and other kids. Some even go further and commit crimes, intentionally or accidentally. So what they see, without proper adult supervision (or parental discretion) can really change their lives for the worse, if they are not monitored. Today in many places, like on the internet, mobile phone, portable hand-held video and the television, there are so many explicit sexual contents, kids are sometimes confused as to how they should react. Sexual activities are not for 7, 9, 12, 15 year olds, and so on. These are children who are still learning about life realities but are not mentally and physically (in most cases) prepared to deal with adult-like sexual activities. And this is essential whether the kids are from the middle class, poor background or the very rich heritage. No child should be left alone my parents to just watch the kinds of explicit TV and adult diverse lifestyle video activities that are prevalent in today's society. Parents, relatives, baby-sitters, and others must be conscious of this danger to kids and double check to ensure that they are doing their part to protect children form unwanted abuse, pregnancies, exploitation and mental break-down. Taking or trying drug by kids after watching others do this on television is not amusing to anyone. The smoking of cigars by "movie stars" in the 50's and 60's was not considered acceptable by most parents as the kind of activity they wanted their children to copy from viewing television. In the 21st century, this has not changed. But now not only cigars are not acceptable, but all forms of illegal drugs. Those who have experienced or seen a relative or close friend die from exposure to drugs as kids and then got "hooked" for life, will more likely understand this point. But all parents, relatives, neighbors and responsible adults, must know the dangers of kids modeling others smoking on television. Heart disease and cancer in particular, are real. And they kill from a young age. Keeping children away from smoking and taking illicit drugs through watching too much of the wrong television programs, must be a critical priority for all adults.

We are very ware from reality that too much television viewing by kids can adversely affect their weights. They tend to be inactive and hence gain too much weight. While there are other reasons why children gain too much weight, this point is valid. If growing children do not spend as much time running, jumping, stretching, and getting the sufficient exercise they need, they will become overweight, especially if they eat a lot as they usually do. Realistically, children often do not see healthy foods advertised on television that they will ask their parents or guardian to buy. Instead they will see too much candy, snacks, sugary cereals, drinks and such alike, that are unhealthy. They then try to persuade their parents/guardians to buy those unhealthy foods. Some parents give-in too often and so the kids are exposed to being overweight in light of the other points stated above. This is not good for any child and the parents are not doing the child a favor when they do not monitor this kind of reactionary behavior from watching too much television. A very critical point about watching television is that it affects how children learn. We are often told that high-quality, nonviolent children's shows can have a positive effect on learning. Preschool children, for example, who watch educational TV programs do better on reading and math tests than children who do not watch educational programs. So television can be very effective in giving kids the right start in their learning and development when used in the appropriate manner. Parents can get better information from their kids Pediatric Professionals about the best age to expose children to television. Some say it is best not to expose kids to TV before the age of 2, while for those older than two years, 1-2 hrs per day of quality educational TV viewing are sometimes stated as beneficial. Parents/guardians, with the advice form there kids doctors, teachers and State/City officials, will need to make the final decision, but hopefully in the best interest of the children and their development. END.

Disadvantages of Television: 1. Lack of proper monitoring for the content makes it easier to show anything and everything on television. Some of the contents containing violence, sex and other inappropriate material, which should not be shown, get almost equal importance. This may become at times harmful for the society. 2. Easy accessibility of unnecessary information to the audience not intended to. Like if adequate parental monitoring is not there, it becomes extremely easy for children to get swayed away with ill ideas shown in various TV channels. Similarly youths may also get diverted from doing their actual duty of studying because of enough attractive and useless television channels. 3. The Television watching may restrict children as well as others from indulging in outdoor physical activities which are a must for healthy life. 4. Inappropriate eating habits. Most of the people eat, drink while watching television. This can be harmful. You eat without realising overeating while watching television. This may lead to obesity or other related diseases. 5. The advertising commercials may change your perception. The products may be exaggerated from the actuals. You may get fooled by inappropriate advertising. In spite of these disadvantages, Television is a great resource which has virtually shrunk the world on fingertips. But we need to make conscious television viewing a habit.

Physical Inactivity

Too much time in front of a television or movie screen can interfere with basic physical activity and create a sedentary lifestyle. According to a 2009 study by the Nielsen Company, children ages 2 to 5 and 6 to 11, respectively, spend an average of 32 hours a week and 28 hours a week in front of a television. The American Academy of Pediatrics stated this likely means more children are less physically active, such as playing with friends outside, to maintain these viewing habits. Adults also can experience these effects, especially when they combine watching a film or movie while eating junk food. At the time of publication, one national epidemic that affects more than 80 million Americans is metabolic syndrome, a diagnosis that describes the potential increase of heart attacks, diabetes and a stroke due to a combination of obesity and physical inactivity.

Social Stifling

Watching a film or television program is typically a one-sided activity where people face a screen and don't look at each other during the presentation. Traditional conversation activities, such as eating a meal or entertaining guests, can become socially stifled when a TV is turned on. For this reason, watching a movie may actually be a disadvantage for dating or other relationship-building activities. The dialogue on television can also contribute to uncivil attitudes inside and outside the home. Both comedies and dramas can contain rude, boastful, hostile and disrespectful speech that is more insulting than edifying. Children may not be able to discern the unkind words on TV that are underscored by a laugh track, and adults may be inspired to repeat the manipulative behavior in a movie to get ahead in life. All these one-liners and yelling can create poor coping skills when life doesn't turn out as predictably as it does in a movie. Violence Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages. Researchers have identified three potential responses to media violence in children:

Increased fearalso known as the "mean and scary world" syndrome Children, particularly girls, are much more likely than adults to be portrayed as victims of violence on TV, and this can make them more afraid of the world around them. Desensitization to real-life violence Some of the most violent TV shows are children's cartoons, in which violence is portrayed as humorousand realistic consequences of violence are seldom shown. Increased aggressive behaviour This can be especially true of young children, who are more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour after viewing violent TV shows or movies.