Commentary

Televisions and the family

MY FRIEND P is a serious family person and so am I. Family and all that it is made of, is the most important thing in life, which is why that invention ­ the television ­ must be used with care and affection if it is not to destroy all that family is made of.

My observations about the ills of television came in my recent trip to cold and damp England where the world inside your house becomes so important because so much time is spent there. What did I notice? Well in every house the only spaces not adorned with a television screen are the passage from the stairway to the front door and the bathroom. (Well, that is for some houses).

Every home has five, six, seven television sets, and this is thought to be really modern. Of course as I read the story about the fire that left 65 people homeless last Thursday night in Kingston, I was shown that this is by no means a developed country phenomenon. Because in that story, a lady, in lamenting her loss of personal possessions in the blaze, noted that she had lost four television sets and a DVD in the fire.

Big and serious ­ why does one household need four television sets?

I asked my relatives that question when I was in London and they explained that dad might want to watch the news; little daughter wants to watch music videos; big brother wants to play video games; big sister wants to watch the latest fashion blurb, and mommy dearest wants to catch up with the latest soap while preparing dinner ­ all these 'wants' at the same time cannot certainly be accommodated on a single television unit! Oh no! So they get all the screens they want.

The television manufacturers are laughing and a disjointed selfish family unit is subtly being created.

Antisocial behaviour is the root cause of most of modern civilisations' problems. At least the single television set taught everyone to have tolerance ­ since you might just have to watch something that was not of your immediate taste (like the news for children). The single television set makes parents get a small insight into what world their children are living in (one hour of watching music videos and the average parent knows he/she is not on the same planet).

The worst for me though is the idea of having a television set in the bedroom. C'mon! Bedroom, as the name suggests, is for prime activity involving the bed. When I hear of married people who have television sets in the bedroom I shake my head in total dismay.

Research has shown, P says, that most people who end up divorced had a television in their bedroom. The P research manual on marital conflicts also shows that matrimonial nesting quarters that have televisions exhume a higher degree of discord than those that don't. You can't watch the 'Bold' and the 'Restless' and Premier league soccer at the same time ­ there must be issues. And, whoever it is that has to leave the room will eventually take it very personally.

That other room called the living room is where the television belongs. It might also be the place for the piano, the stereo, the games ­ it is the family interaction zone. It is the place where people learn the first skills of co-existing with others, compromising and appreciating difference.

So if you have more than one television ­ give the spare away. Thinking of buying another television? Put the money in your kids' special fund or towards your retirement. Sorry TV makers.

Email comments to myfriendp@hotmail.com