April 19, 2007
Teenage Stupidity
Guess what's at the top of the list when you Google teenage stupidity? That's right, Sand in the Gears is your number-one source for information on the dumbification of American teens. And if I may say so (and I may, this being my website and all), I am an expert on this phenomenon, having been a stupid teenager myself.
In keeping with my self-appointed and self-righteous mission, I bring you the latest Kaiser Family Foundation report on media consumption by children, wherein you will see, among other things, that more than half of American children ages 8-18 have televisions in their bedrooms. More alarming, while the average child watches four hours and fifteen minutes worth of television and movies per day, he reads books 23 minutes a day. In other words, the average American child spends 1200 percent more time on the idiot box than on books.
Does anyone think this story will end well?
Posted by Woodlief on April 19, 2007 at 07:42 AM
Posted by: Scott at April 19, 2007 8:27 AM
John Prine said it well back in 1971 or so:
Blow up your TV throw away your paper
Go to the country, build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
Try an find Jesus on your own
From "Spanish Pipedream" (lyrics)
I wish I could say I've followed that advice a little better ...
Posted by: Jeff Brokaw at April 19, 2007 10:06 AM
That's a depressing set of statistics. Nothing good can come of having television in the bedrooms of children.
Posted by: David Andersen at April 19, 2007 10:18 AM
Not only can it not end well, televisions in the bedrooms of children probably provide sufficient anecdotal evidence to show that it hasn't even started well.
I know a woman who--after her husband took off with a coke addict--felt "bad" for the three little kids she was left to raise in near squalor.
She felt so bad, in fact, that the very next Christmas she purchased them each their very own TV! The two girls shared a room, so they had TWO TVs in the bedroom.
Ten years have come and gone. Things have ended very badly, indeed.
Posted by: Katy McKenna Raymond at April 19, 2007 12:00 PM
... the only thing worse being a computer (with unmonitored Internet access) in a child's bedroom.
Posted by: Paul A at April 19, 2007 1:20 PM
Yeah, but that's quality television they're watching. Back when we were kids it was Green Acres, Dukes of Hazzard, Family Ties, etc. Now they've got ... uh ... The Discovery Channel?
I could never understand putting a TV in your child's room, beyond just lazy parenting. I'll second Paul's warning about unsupervised internet usage. It's too frightening to even contemplate.
Think I'll assign some summer reading for my youngsters. It's just reruns on the TV anyhow. ;)
Posted by: Marc V at April 19, 2007 3:02 PM
And I'm sure if you knew what books they were reading your stupidity alarm would be ringing even louder.
Posted by: jeff at April 20, 2007 7:58 AM
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