Is Watching TV Bad for Your Mental Development - Could Be?

We've all been told that television is bad for us, that it melts our minds and retards our brains. Does it? Well, it's hard to argue that with a couch potato watching hours of TV each and every night isn't it. If we truly want an innovative society and a mentally strong base, then perhaps we ought to see what we can do about this.

No, I am not talking about removing TV sets in people's homes, I totally believe in freedom, and yet, I'd also like to consider perhaps some better communication about this, a national discussion if you will - who knows maybe a fire-side chat would be warranted too?

Not long ago, an acquaintance of mine stated to me on this very topic; "I once heard that our mind is actually less active when we're watching TV than when we're in a coma."

The visual stimulation goes up in the first 20-minutes and peaks, then slides down along a graph in similar shape to a Caffeine high, or most of those modern energy drinks - but "if" that graph kept going, after 4-5 hours, indeed, it would eventually get "way down" there I suppose. Still, it's a GREAT quote, I may use it sometime in an article or two, Thanks! That is funny. Perhaps, that comment was indeed the inspiration for this particular article.

Now then, let me ask you something. If we all know this, if we are already aware that TV is so debilitating and bad for our minds, turning it into Jello, and hurting our kid's ability to learn - then may I ask we spend so much time watching the boob tube in the first place? And what about the other distractions such as FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, or video games, YouTube etc. surely these are adversely effecting our population as well.

Are we in complete denial? In China they limit people from the Internet, as they want them to participate out here in the real world, not online. Some say that is more about censorship and control of their population, but is that all it is? Could it be that China noticed right away the adverse effects of such things? Well, maybe we need to consider that China and US are competing in the global market place now, and we need our citizens fully engaged in this game.

Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it. If you have similar comments, critiques, or questions feel free to email me at your earliest convenience.