When television was first introduced into American society thirty years ago,writers and social scientists thought that this new invention would better American life.Television is going to bring American families closer together,predicted psychologist Joel Gold in 1949.Pictures which advertised television in the 1950s invariably showed a happy family gathered together in the living room,sharing the TV viewing experience.Who could have guessed that a quarter of a century later Mother would be in the kitchen watching a daytime drama,Dad would be in the living room watching a ball game,and the children would be watching cartoons in their bedroom?
Television has certainly changed American life,but not the way the first critics predicted.The first televisions were enormously expensive,so most families owned only one.By 1975,however,60% of American families owned two televisions or more; some middle class families had as many as five television sets under one roof.Such multi-set families may keep family members in the same house,but that hardly brings them together.In fact,family outings — hiking,going to the movies,going out to dinner — are often limited by TV because one or more family members don’t want to go:“I’ll miss my program.” is the common complaint.
Perhaps more important than the lack of family outings is the destruction of family time together at home.Social scientists in the 1950s could not have realized how much television Americans would watch in the 1980s; the average American watches 6 hours of TV a day.That leaves little time for the special family characteristics and traditions that used to be formed during long evenings together.The time devoted to games,songs,and hobbies — all shared activities — in the years before TV is now dominated by “the tube”.And especially damaging to family relationships is the elimination of the opportunities for talking:chatting,arguing,discussing.Without such communication,family life disintegrates.
Domination is the key word.Families in America today schedule their lives around the television.Children rush home from school to watch their programs while they do their homework.Mother shops between her special programs.The ski slopes are nearly empty on Sunday; football on TV takes precedence.The family may even eat meals in front of the television.Moreover,television is used as a baby-sitter; small children nationwide spend countless hours in front of the TV,passively ingesting whatever flashes before their eyes.Parents use the television as a resource of reward and punishment:“If you mow the lawn,you can watch TV an extra hour tonight,” or “No TV for you.You didn’t do your homework”.Ultimately,life-styles revolve around a regular schedule of eating,sleeping,and watching television.
Isn’t there a better family life than this dismal,mechanized arrangement?According to social scientist Mary Helen Thuente,the quality of life is diminished as family ties grow weaker,as children’s lives grow more and more separate from their parents,as the opportunities for living and sharing within a family are eliminated.Indeed,if the family does not accumulate shared experiences,it is not likely to survive.Consequently,if parents and children alike do not change their priorities,television will continue to exert its influence on American family life as baby-sitter,pacifier,teacher,role model,and supplier of morals,thus supplanting the place of the family in society.