The TV Turn Off – Is It Still Relevant?

The TV Turn Off – Is It Still Relevant?

Next Monday, April 21^st, kicks off the annual “Turn off Your TV” week not only across the U.S. but in countries throughout the world, and some parents may be celebrating because fewer and fewer kids are watching TV.

But if TV is losing eyeballs, personal computers, iPods, and cell phones are rapidly emerging in its place as the hot new entertainment devices, especially for kids.

In the meantime, manufacturers (of televisions, computers, and cell phones) and content providers (from the traditional networks to Internet giants like Google) are all competing furiously to make sure that the next generation stays plugged in.

So what is a parent to do if the TV goes off and the kids just migrate down the hall to the PC or keep on texting? After all, there is a lot of money betting on parental surrender to this brave new world of instant entertainment.

I realized just how desperate the networks are to hold onto their tech-saavy teen audience when I came across a recent commercial while exercising at the gym.

There were the teens telling their mom they'd have to work her into their busy schedules after hockey and ballet. Even the youngest said in her sweet little girl voice, “Mom, I think I can pencil you in between 3 and 3:30 p.m.” Then a frame later you see the happy family all united in front of the television watching Ice Age, courtesy of a high-tech recording device that let the family all get together when they finally found the time to spend together –to watch TV, of course.

After I managed to stop gaping in horror at this travesty of family life– I think my jaw really did drop-- I began to try to figure out which of the many offensive elements of this family drama I found the most revolting.

Was it the idea that a parent should be subordinate to a child's after-school activities (I mean who is paying for all these after school activities anyway)?

Was it the idea of depicting six-year-olds as having social calendars (what happened to the idea of “down time” or even just “playing”, preferably outside instead of in front of the TV)?

Or was it the idea that “family time” would ever be centered around a television set (instead of something that actually fosters communication like the dinner table)?

In fact, some companies are exploiting parental concerns about the lost of “family time” by promising them that technology can actually help kids and parents overcome their hectic schedules and find time to reconnect. Last fall Panasonic even launched a new advertising campaign – "Bring Back Family Time” purportedly to “explore and document how High Definition technologies can enrich the American lifestyle.”

As part of the program, up to 30 families will be awarded a $20,000 suite of high definition products including Plasma HDTVs, Blu-ray Players, HD Camcorders, Digital Still Cameras and other products and services that Panasonic wants to promote. You can have family time in this tech-dominated fantasy – you just have to pay for it!

Clearly the PC, the cell phone, and music devices like the iPod have become part of the fabric of American life, just like the TV before them. But this means parents need to think in new ways about how they help their kids manage this media saturation before they find that their kids really are plugged in 24/7 and largely doing so without anyone being aware of what they are watching or communicating.

For example, last September, Forrester Research found that those between the ages of 18 and 26 are are more likely to say that their cell phones or personal computers are more important media devices than the family television, and it's precisely because these devices let them access media and communicate privately without coming under the scrutiny of the parental eye that is usually focused on the TV. Kids under 18 are even more likely to follow this trend.

So this week of April 21^st, don't just think about turning off the family TV set. Instead, you might want to start a conversation about the following

• What device matters the most to your kids- is it the TV, the computer, the iPod, or their cell phones? Which one would they be most reluctant to give up? The answers might surprise you.

• Ask the kids to monitor how much time they spend on the computer, the cell phone, listening to music, and watching TV. Challenge them to limit the time they do these things on school nights and discuss a possible reward if their school work improves or grades go up as a result.

• Ask your kids what they think about “family time?” What do you all enjoy doing most together? Would they consider canceling the cable subscription and investing the monthly expense in something that would benefit the whole family (such as a trampoline, or a vacation, or new bikes)?

And when the week ends, don't just go back to old habits. Monitoring and limiting what your kids see on their television and computer screens isn't just about protecting them. It gives them the opportunity to keep their childhood free of the often corrosive media culture that seems to saturate every aspect of our daily lives. If they spend more time outside on their bikes, or inside talking to you at the dinner table, or even curled up beside you reading a book, that's precious time that you're giving them to just be themselves, not some advertiser's ideal of what a child or a family ought to be.