Just for something different, we decided to traumatize our children this weekend watching 'Supersize me'. I actually hadnt seen it yet (yeah, yeah, I know I'm behind) and I have to say, I learned something unexpected from it. I am grateful my kids have been growing up without tv. I do not have cable, satellite, or even local channels. I know this is seen as an oddity; its not because I'm on a big crusade or something. I grew up without it (my dad got fed up with fights over what the family was watching) and I never really missed it. Contrary, it has helped me have some very different viewpoints than friends growing up, mostly because I hadnt seen all the commercials and glitz about something, so when you're left with just the end product, most of the time, its not all that great.
Now my kids are growing up, starting the teen years, and they also havent had tv to inflluence them, and they too have some definite opinions about things, like fast food. They actually would rather not go out for most fast food.In the movie, they mentioned how many commercials kids are seeing, showed how most of us can sing the jingles and recognize characters like Ronald McDonald better than our national anthem and our leaders of the country. Its scary too to see how much influence the boob tube has! And what that food its advertising is doing to us. One of my kids is a step daughter who lives mostly with her mom, and gets to watch tv alot. The differences in the kids is astounding to me, for attitude to adults, food, boys, clothes,you name it. I can only hope we make some dent in her thinking when she's with us; it was mostly for her that we watched that movie, but it was good for all of us. We don't actually eat out very often between cost and listening to the arguments of kids who cant decide what to eat. Plus, we're finding that since we like to cook, we can do better at home--and kick them off to play while we relax and enjoy the rest of our dinner--always a bonus!
And do I miss tv? Not really. I did have satellite hooked up for a year while I had a roommate, and then 9 months after my partner moved in. Did we watch much? I had it shut off when I realized we had watched only a couple hours in that time; and that was the final hockey game of the olympics. Definitely not worth the money! And I'm grateful my kids are growing up slowly, having a chance to make up their own minds--without tv making opinions for them. Should be interesting to see if it carries through to a 3rd generation!
No tv is actually getting a lot more common. We canceled our satelite tv and have not missed it. We prefer to get a series on DVD and watch it that way with no commercials. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I think there is some sort of movement at foot. Bert and I have never had tv station or satelite etc. Our daughters are now 16 and almost 19. I like to think that they are more active, have more diverse interests, and have more of their own opinions as a result.
ReplyDeleteUs too, we have a tv to watch a movie or DVD show here and there - but no subscription to cable or satellite.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of tv our kids watch is very closely regimented and I have found that they are much more creative because of it and do not get bored very easily since they have always had to find a way of passing the time that didn't involve letting a flickering box entertain them all day.