Television Watching Interferes with and Affects Learning

As a young teacher in the 70’s, I wrote an editorial about what I called the “Baretta Syndrome” after the detective character made famous by Robert Blake. The thesis was that it was difficult to maintain a student’s interest in class, if he/she watched a great deal of television. We just couldn’t compete with Hollywood and professional TV productions. So, I naturally connect with this factor of learning.

Child Trends DataBank states: “… Eighth graders who watched more than 5 hours of television per day had the lowest average mathematics scores in all countries participating in the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1995.” Child Trends DataBank, http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/eduskills/behaviors/95watching TV.htm.

Even scarier, the April 2004 issue of Pediatrics reports, “each hour of television watched on a daily basis at 1 to 3 years of age increases by 10 percent the risk that children will have attention problems, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, by the time they reach age 7.” This may help explain the rise in ADHD diagnoses in today’s schools. Lisa Goldstein, “Study: TV Viewing by Young Children Leads to Attention Problems,” Education Week, April 14, 2004.
 
That TV watching interferes with doing homework, reading, or participating in after school activities would seem to be beyond challenge. It would appear it is also interfering with intellectual development.