Introduction
Dr Aric Sigman is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Member of the Institute of Biology. He has conducted research on a range of subjects, worked on health education campaigns, written and presented scientific documentaries for television and radio and is an award-winning author. He lives in Brighton with his partner and four children.
In his latest book, ‘Remotely Controlled’, Dr Sigman looks in depth, not only at the serious effects that television has on growing children, but also how it can lead to depression and obesity in adults. In a refreshingly frank and fascinating interview, Dr. Sigman answers my questions on how television can be seriously damaging to children.
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DF: When did you first become concerned about the effects of watching television?
Dr Sigman: It was as a result firstly of fatherhood and secondly, of my travels to countries such as Thailand, Tonga and Fiji, where television has only recently arrived for the mass population. In these countries I observed alarming changes in the culture, which I believed could be attributed to the arrival of Western-style televisions shows. When I saw young Buddhist men break-dancing in the streets and Coca Cola baseball caps arriving in remote parts of the world, I was able to connect it to the escalating levels of violence and crime, previously unrecorded by these countries. And when I had to make decisions about the watching habits of my own children, I was prompted to begin a lengthy and in-depth project researching the effects of television watching on the world - and on children in particular. What I discovered about television is unequivocal; it is the greatest health scandal of our age.
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DF: So what exactly do you think is wrong with watching television?
Dr Sigman: On average, as a nation, we watch four hours of television every day. That adds up to one full 24-hour day every week. Children now spend more time watching television than they do at school. The average 6-year-old has already watched for nearly one year of their life. Children with a television in their bedroom are being deprived of up to one month’s worth of sleep each year. At the very least, watching TV means we are all doing fewer positive things. Watching television is the exact opposite of what a toddler needs for his developing brain. When your child watches TV, he or she burns less calories than when sitting and doing absolutely nothing. A recent American study concluded that television leads to half of all murder, rape and grievous bodily harm crimes in the industrialised world. TV plays a huge part in depression, which is now at the highest recorded levels ever for both adults and children. It is highly addictive and doesn’t lend itself to being watched in moderation. It is also extremely powerful – more people voted for Will and Gareth in the final of Pop Idol than voted for the Labour Party in the last two general elections. The makers of television programmes are deliberately manipulating viewers. There are very few people now in the world who don’t watch television, so we are losing the ability to make comparisons. We think that this amount of TV watching is “normal” and even the government seems to be actively promoting it by talking about increasing our “media literacy” and thus making us better consumers.
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DF: Why don’t we hear about the harmful effects of television watching?
Dr Sigman: The scientific facts about the effects of watching TV are reported by scientists all over the world, notably at Oxford University, Harvard Medical School and major international groups of paediatricians and psychologists. Medical journals write up their findings and publish them to the small audience of scientists and doctors who are concerned with aspects of the research. You will not find these facts in your daily newspaper or on the TV news. If a whiff of one of these reports makes it to a broadsheet newspaper or a website, the scientific information frequently gets distorted by the media, and the facts are suppressed or ignored. This is because it is clearly not in the interests of the TV industry to report the danger it presents to the average adult and child. The television stations own the newspapers. Even book publishers are often owned by large media conglomerates. It is hard to be heard about something so controversial.
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DF: Is it true that television has been linked to ADHD and behavioural problems in children?
Dr Sigman: About 7% of our children now suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and these numbers are rising. It is a serious neurological problem because parts of the brain do not work properly, including that part which controls our impulses. Boys who suffer from ADHD are four times more likely to develop a mental illness. A recent study concluded that early television watching is consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD. Children who watch TV at the ages of one to three have a significantly increased risk of developing attentional problems by the time they are seven. In response to their findings, the American Association of Pediatrics advises that children under the age of two should watch no television at all, and that no child of any age should have a TV in their bedroom. The link appears so strong because exposure to TV during critical periods of brain cell development distorts the wiring in the brain. The damage may happen when fast-changing visual scenes, which are deliberately designed to keep the viewer’s attention, overload the brain. Life is not meant to take place at such a rapid pace and a growing brain needs a slower, natural pace to understand the world around it.
As a result of damage to the ability to pay attention, everything is compromised: learning a language, schoolwork, exams, job performance, relationships, a sense of identity, developing an inner world with a conscience and spiritual life. Watching TV is the exact opposite of what the developing brain needs and the attentional and behavioural problems that can result are in danger of becoming a national epidemic.
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DF: What other health problems can be attributed to children watching television?
Dr Sigman: Other health problems associated with watching television include a poor effect on reading recognition, comprehension and maths ability, raised cholesterol levels, obesity and depression. Also, damage to children’s eyesight is far more common in the West where televisions are in every home. The Lancet recently made a study of the physical activity levels of children aged 3-5 and discovered that most youngsters do not move at all for 80% of their day. Many are active for only 20 minutes a day. When the findings were shown to a separate group of scientists, they guessed from the statistics that the group was made up of desk-bound office workers. Children who have the lifestyle of middle-aged adults will be more likely to suffer from heart disease and osteoporosis. The natural energy levels of a three-year-old child are so high that it takes a tranquilliser as powerful as Valium to keep them inactive for 80% of the day.
Sleep problems for children with televisions in their bedrooms are prolific. Their sleep rhythms are disrupted if they are up late watching TV or playing video games. This affects natural growth and hormone rates, as well as the function of the immune system, and has been linked to early puberty. There is also a huge decline in language skills among British children. We all know that children like watching television - it’s deliberately addictive - but that doesn’t mean it’s good for them. It is used by some parents as a babysitter and, in many households it is taking over the role of the parents. If you don’t rear your children, someone else on a television screen will. And it’s unlikely to be Mary Poppins.
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DF: Do you think that watching TV is the cause of increased levels of violence amongst young children and teenagers?
Dr Sigman: Indirect aggression is learned from on-screen manipulation, plotting and scheming, gossiping and hurting others. 92% of programmes popular with British adolescents contain this kind of aggression. A strong association has been made between these kinds of behaviour on TV developing in children, especially in girls. The links to bullying and fighting in children are also proven. The likelihood of a child becoming a bully between the ages of six and eleven is directly linked to how much TV he watches at the age of four. Experiments have been done in the USA that noted a 40% reduction in physical violence and a 50% reduction in verbal aggression when the TV time was reduced.
The dramatic surge in levels of violent crime in countries where TV is relatively new is clear to measure. Studies have been done on these countries, which have found a 10-15 year incubation period of TV arriving to the crime rates doubling. We have rising levels of gun crime in the UK, our murder rates are at the highest in recorded history and rates of violent assault and attempted murder are at record levels. Just one hour a day of TV for teenagers makes a significant difference to how violent they become as adults. Yet when these unequivocal scientific findings are made and researchers conclusively advise the removal of TV from children’s bedrooms, you will not find these reports in the newspapers or on the news. The tabloids and broadsheets alike report the “health scandals” of AIDS, MMR and the Pill, but there is no mention made of this far more significant threat to the health of the nation. No one in the media wants to accept the negative effects of television. How else would they sell us our washing powder, make us want the latest fast car or make us feel wrinkled and old so we go out to buy their skin products?
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DF: I know many busy mums rely on television to entertain their children. When children complain of boredom if you take away television, what should they do instead?
Dr Sigman: Boredom occurs nowadays as a withdrawal symptom from a glut of stimulation. If we turn inwards we are not spending money or increasing ratings, so we are being directed constantly to turn our attention to the outside world, via our screens. Boredom is the greatest gift to your child’s intellectual and creative development. Children are frequently over-scheduled and have no time to just “do nothing”, and thus create something from nothing. Children are much less imaginative when they watch too much TV and have their spare time filled with structured activity.
By giving people, including children, an enforced absence of stimulation, there are measurable improvements in a variety of things, from creativity to calmness. It has recently been found that reducing the number of toys children have has significant intellectual benefits. Too much variety distracts and confuses. Reducing the amount and intensity of stimulation we consume is one of the greatest challenges and achievements we could embark on.
Children will keep themselves busy. Trips to the park, visits to and from grandparents, drawing, painting and making things, digging in the garden and playing imaginative games with siblings and friends are all activities that children will enjoy. Prior to 1957 there was little television, so what were children doing to fill their time before then? The benefits of unstructured play are increased when it is outdoors. Exposure to nature can even reduce the symptoms of ADHD.
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DF: What is the recommended daily allowance?
Dr Sigman: Once I began to collect the data that has gone into my book, I stopped my younger children watching TV until more was known about its biological effects. The ideal RDA for TV watching is:
• Children under 3 should see no screen entertainment.
• After this age, TV should be limited to one hour a day of good quality programmes.
• Teenagers should be limited to one-and-a-half hours a day.
• For adults, no more than two hours a day.
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DF: Do you have any useful tips for controlling viewing?
Dr Sigman: You must address the question of who is controlling the screen in your home:
• Do not allow TVs in children’s bedrooms. Lead by example by not having one in your own.
• Don’t surf channels looking for something to watch. Plan your child’s viewing using the listings guide. Turn the TV on for the programme and off when it’s over.
• Don’t let your child watch TV while doing homework.
• Choose your child’s viewing – DVDs and videos are better than TV, as you can control them.
• In general, avoid anything fast-moving and rapidly-edited for young children. TV cartoon channels are generally bad for children as they have higher editing rates.
• Avoid channels with adverts on as this conditions children’s attentional systems not to fully invest their attention, because a story will inevitably be interrupted.
• Allowing your child to watch things you’re not happy with and offsetting the influence by talking with them about it is not good either. Don’t let them see it in the first place. You are the parent.
• Watch programmes you approve of with your child and help interpret what they see by talking about it. If you can’t do this because you’re busy, record the programme and watch later.
• Set a good example! Limit your own viewing and carefully choose what you want to watch.
• Watching a screen can become a habit. Help your child find other things to do with their time, such as reading, playing, activities with family or friends, learning a hobby or sport, playing a musical instrument or painting and drawing.
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Conclusion
I was quickly convinced of Dr Sigman’s arguments for reducing TV watching in our house. I wondered if a gradual withdrawal might be best? Should I tip the telly into a wheelbarrow and cart it ceremoniously from the house? What would my youngest son say if his beloved Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and Postman Pat were no longer a part of his life? Read next month how my sons Dillon and Lenny responded to my attempt to reduce the amount of TV in our house…
Dr Sigman's Website: http://aricsigman.com/
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