Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 5, 1992 TAG: 9203050337
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB DART
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
Television has become a dominant and sometimes disturbing influence on the national psyche, the nation's psychologists found. The APA report says most of the nation's households have two or more TV sets and a videocassette recorder and subscribe to a cable system.
TV is watched most by the youngest and oldest Americans, minorities and women - often population groups with "restricted mobility," says the exhaustive report, "Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society."
"Many of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in our society are also the heaviest users of television, in part because television is a default option used when other activities are not available," the report says.
The report recommends that the federal government develop a national "television policy" to promote "quality" and diverse programming and to "protect citizens and society from harmful effects."
The 195-page report is the result of five years of research by the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Television and Society. The task force was composed of nine psychologists, who incorporated the findings of many other studies in their research.
The psychologists say television programs don't accurately portray women, minorities and the elderly and have perpetuated negative stereotypes.
Family relationships also can suffer when real folks compare themselves to their television counterparts, the report says.
"Children and parents alike may use television as a source for norms for family interaction," the task force says. "Families may feel inadequate when comparing themselves to the competent, affluent and successful families that predominate in prime-time programs.
The typical TV family has changed over the decades, sometimes reflecting the changes in real families, the report says. But there are still abnormally large numbers of single-parent TV families headed by men, while in the real world, 90 percent of such households are headed by women.
Among the report's other key findings:
The elderly watch television more than any other age group. For some isolated older Americans, viewing becomes a "parasocial activity" that helps maintain "the illusion of living in a populated world." TV often fills gaps left by the death of a spouse or the distancing of a grown family.
Elderly viewers most watch news, documentaries and public-affairs programs.
American kids begin watching television in infancy when parents place babies in front of the set to quiet them. Children under age 7 have difficulty distinguishing commercials from programs.
Childhood viewing peaks at the age of 12 at an average of about four hours per day and declines during adolescence. Television provides the backdrop for growing up, with studies showing that children often play, eat, do homework and talk while "watching" TV.
So-called "children's programming" is preferred by boys more than girls.
The relationship between TV viewing and academic performance is not always as clear-cut as expected. "Children who spend a great deal of time viewing television do poorly in school," the report says. However, "children who watch a moderate amount of television perform better in school than non-viewers."
The researchers suggest that the moderate viewers do better because they have more sources of information than non-viewers or because they "use the medium to its best rather than its worst."
By encouraging children to "watch programs they consider beneficial, like educational shows, nature documentaries and children's specials" and forbidding the viewing of some adult-oriented programs, parents can make TV watching a more positive experience for their kids, the report says.
American television contains a great deal of violence, the report says, with the average child witnessing more than 8,000 TV murders before finishing elementary school. "There is extensive evidence that television violence can influence aggressive attitudes and behavior," the report says.
Meanwhile, portrayals of sexual activity on television can increase physiological arousal in both adults and adolescents. Repeated exposure to such arousing content can lead to desensitization, the study says.
The report says clear "messages about sex were often conveyed" by television: Implied sexual activity occurred most often between unmarried couples with little commitment to one another. Although contraception was rarely discussed, pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases rarely resulted.
The task force found that television portrayals have often reinforced negative stereotypes of racial and ethnic minorities and of women. The model female on TV is still a beautiful young adult, valued more for her appearance than her capabilities and competence, the report says.
The report says television can be effective in teaching cognitive skills and pro-social behavior and providing messages on healthful living. However, it also said TV viewing can promote obesity, with the probability of obesity increasing by 2 percent per hour of TV watched daily.
In recommending a national "television policy," the researchers concede problems will arise from the First Amendment freedom of speech guarantee and from the commercial nature of American networks.
However, the United States "is alone in the world in having no coherent policy about television." Such a policy is needed, the researchers say, because the current system is neither supplying enough quality and diversity in programming or protecting viewers from the harmful side of TV.
> Test your TV knowledge -true or false 1. American children spend more time watching television than they spend in school.
2. Teen-agers watch more TV than any other age group.
3. Black Americans watch more television than white Americans, even when social class is controlled.
4. Throughout childhood, girls watch more TV than boys.
5. Adult women spend more time watching television than do adult men.
6. Highly stressed individuals watch more TV than do those who are more relaxed and laid-back.
7. Television viewing promotes obesity.
8. By the time an adolescent reaches age 13, he or she will have witnessed nearly 2,500 murders on television.
9. Sixty percent of the commercials that run on Saturday morning programs are for toys.
10. "Latchkey" children whose parents are employed tend to watch more television than those whose parents are at home after school.
ANSWERS:
1. True.
2. False. The elderly watch more TV than any other age group.
3. True.
4. False.
5. True.
6. False. Highly stressed individuals tend to avoid TV altogether.
7. True. The probability of obesity increases by 2 percent with every hour per day of television viewed.
8. False. By the age of 13, the average viewer (three hours daily) will have viewed 8,700 murders and 160,000 other violent acts on television.
9. False. Food products - mostly heavily sugared ones - are advertised in 60 percent of Saturday morning commercials.
10. False. Latchkey kids do not watch any more TV than do those with stay-at-home parents.
Source: "Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society," a report by the American Psychological Association.
by CNB