Tuning Out

Sun Herald

Sunday May 28, 2006

By Janelle McCulloch

Television is all-powerful. It sucks hours from our day; we design our homes around it. Yet some households are choosing to detox from the box in order to reclaim their lives - and families.

There is a joke doing the water-cooler rounds that goes: what's the real meaning of Lost? Being stuck on an island without a TV. But perhaps it's funnier that millions of viewers tune into a cult TV program about a group of plane survivors stuck on an island, without a TV.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 82 per cent of Australians watch an average of two hours of television a day. Children like it best, with a 2000 ABS study revealing that it's the most common leisure activity for 97 per cent of the five- to 14-year-olds surveyed. Half of those watch television for a staggering 20 hours or more each week, or three hours each day.

But in suburban homes across Australia, a quiet revolution is taking place. Many families, weary of their small-screen addiction, are turning off their plasmas and unplugging their flatscreens - not to replace them with a wider screen but to try to live without the omnipresent TV. And they haven't had to move to a far-flung atoll to do it.

"I simply picked it up and put it out on the veranda," says Sydney designer Sarah King, 40. Almost a year ago, King and her artist partner, Ben Blakebrough, 40, along with their daughters, Kit, 9, and Gussie, 6, decided to detox from the box. "I did worry it was a bit extreme, a bit Steinerish," she says with a laugh. "But I was in the kitchen one night and realised that at some stage, it had switched from ABC Kids to what felt like 24 hours of The Simpsons. I just decided enough was enough."

The gesture may have been dramatic but the reaction, says King, was more shocking. "Once it was out, no one missed it," she says. "After a few initial objections, the kids didn't even notice it was gone."

Instead, Kit and Gussie became creative, says King; they played imaginary characters "and basically learned to get along again". Meanwhile, their parents bought a fish tank and "we talked to each other". And they're all still talking.

Another Sydney family quarantined their TV after the parents noticed one afternoon last Christmas that their four children were endlessly fighting, usually when one tried to switch channels. It was only allowed back on in March this year. Even now, to the surprise of all, the screen doesn't come on as much as it once did.

"I knew it was a drastic move but I couldn't stand the sound of it. It was just white noise," recalls the mother, an art director, who didn't know what else to do to reunite her family. "Our eldest son would get sucked in and watch it for hours and when our toddler danced in front of it, he would scream, 'I'm gonna kill her.' My children became angry little people. The funniest thing was, when I said we weren't going to have television for three months, they simply said, 'Oh, OK.' Instead, they made comics, played games and generally got along again."

Sarah King saw the same patterns whenever she switched on and off. "Our children's behaviour with and without television was what surprised me the most," she says. "I didn't want to be militant about it because there is a danger of starving your kids of popular culture but without TV, my children were loving, kind little beings. With TV, they were monsters."

The figures make for alarming viewing. As well as the ABS research, a 2002 study, by developmental psychologist Dr Helen Skouteris and Melbourne's La Trobe University, found that almost 30 per cent of children aged between three and six watched television every day, with 58 per cent of those watching it several times a day. "It's a constant stream you can't control," says King.

And then there are the concerns for our mental and physical health. While views differ about the cause and effect relationship between television and obesity, it

is generally acknowledged that sedentary behaviour leads to bigger bottoms, and childhood obesity has been linked to exposure to junk-food commercials.

Jo Salmon, a research fellow at Victoria's Deakin University, found that at least 70 per cent of children snacked while watching the box, with chips and biscuits the munchies most often eaten. While ?research published late last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that watching television not only increased the risk of attention problems in children but could also lead to antisocial behaviour.

In his book Remotely Controlled, British psychologist Dr Aric Sigman says children now spend more time watching TV than they do in school. As a result, "teachers are facing a generation of children who find it more difficult to pay attention and learn but also exhibit poor self-restraint and antisocial behaviour." Sigman, who analysed results from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the American Medical Association, National Academy of Sciences and Harvard and Stanford medical schools, also writes that watching television lowers an adult's libido, contributes to clinical depression and triggers sleep problems, which in turn increase appetite and body fat.

But not everyone is convinced that television is an electronic evil. Catharine Lumby, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Sydney, says parents are bombarded with horror stories and "panic". "Television is seen as a terrible, toxic, ticking time bomb," she says. "But used in an appropriate way, it can be as productive as reading.

I think it's under-recognised as a cultural form."

Dr Sue Turnbull, an associate professor in media studies at Melbourne's La Trobe University, agrees. She believes television has been "demonised"

ever since it arrived in our living rooms in 1956. "Everything that's gone wrong with the family has been shifted onto the TV," she says. "But family dynamics are family dynamics. Television won't change that. Parents might feel they can't control their children's viewing but if you shut it off, you're shutting off a whole set of experiences."

Tell that to thirtysomethings Victoria and Martin Walne and their children, Ivo, 7, Tempe, 5, and Nona, 2, who have never owned a TV. "Neither Victoria

nor I had a television as children so it never occurred to us as adults to get one," says Martin, a project manager with an investment bank. "Most people feel the peer-group pressure to 'tune in' but we hate the violent content and the ordinariness of it all."

People are shocked and then intrigued by the revelation, says Victoria, an interior designer. "Strangers say to us, 'What on earth do you do with your time?' They think we play cards and knit! But our kids are active. We read papers. We do the same as everyone else - we're just less distracted. In fact, when people talk about TV, I often think, 'Haven't you got anything better to do?' I'm a working mother with three children. I don't know how they find the time."

"We often laugh about 'TV perspective': when you go into a room and all the furniture is facing it," says Martin. "Everything's being sucked into it."

"It's become the focus of modern rooms," adds Victoria, who often designs homes with a TV point in every room as part of her job. "My mother used to put it on as a social warmer, to start the conversation."

In Melbourne's leafy Berwick, one television-prone family is still attempting to disconnect from their central circuit (see box). Dean and Lee Wiedermann and their daughters, Gemma and Abbey, decided to do without as a social experiment. By the second night, however, Lee - the instigator - was already losing strength without the "quiet time" that a TV induces. By the fourth night, Dean was considering dragging the entire 51-centimetre screen to the garden shed where he wouldn't be discovered watching it. "I just thought I'd watch the news headlines but five minutes became half an hour," he recalls with shame. "Then a good documentary came on Foxtel. Then another one... "

While all the families in this story admitted to flicking the switch in moments of weakness ("We recently moved into a place with a TV while we were renovating and Martin was disgraceful. He was glued to it every night," laughs Victoria), by and large, all are satisfied with the absence of the electronic family member. "We realised that TV is just a habit," says Victoria.

Sarah King agrees. "We wheeled it back in one night to watch the new Dr Who together but it wasn't a big deal," she says. "I also turned it on one night when I couldn't sleep. I expected programming to have changed, to have improved. But it was the same. We realised you don't need TV, especially reality TV. Just live your life."

Diary of a TV-free week

Melbourne project manager Dean Wiedermann, 40, his wife, Lee, 41, a nurse, and their daughters, Gemma, 9, and Abbey, 6, like their TV. "We'll watch it for one and a half hours before school and maybe two hours after and Dad will watch it for maybe four hours after tea," says Gemma, the family spokesperson.

As an experiment, the Wiedermanns decided to detox - for a week at first and longer if they could handle it. "Dad says that Abbey and I will be fine but I don't know how he's going to go. We've got Foxtel," explains Gemma with the wisdom of a daughter who knows her father. This is Gemma's account of what happened when her family went from watching seven or

so hours of television a day to none.

DAY ONE - SUNDAY

Woke up early and drew a big sign to put over the telly so no one would watch it. It says, "Do not watch until Sunday. Especially Dad." Mum woke up because Abbey and I were fighting over Beanie Bears. We were only playing with them because there was no TV. Abbey and I thought it would be easy to go without it for a week but we miss the Nickelodeon channel.

We miss Drake & Josh and SpongeBob SquarePants and Fairly Odd Parents. We also miss the Animal Planet channel. Instead I read a book about a prince who thinks he was swapped at birth. Then I started a 100-piece fairy jigsaw puzzle. In the afternoon, Abbey and I cut up paper to make houses for a miniature town. Dad helped. In the evening, Dad flew to Sydney for work so it was just Abbey, Mum and I. Mum says she misses not being able to turn on the TV for some "quiet time".

DAY TWO - MONDAY

I'm used to watching telly while I get dressed for school but today I read one of my Saddle Club books. After school, Abbey had a friend over so I made vegie pies with Mum. It feels weird not having the TV on. Played with the paper houses we made yesterday.

DAY THREE - TUESDAY

Miss the TV but it's easier when we have school or something to do. In the afternoon, I played outside with Gran and Grandad. Abbey and I went on the trampoline, then Grandad taught me how to siphon water out of the swimming pool.

DAY FOUR - WEDNESDAY

Abbey and I had to go to Mum's friend's house because Mum was working. They had a telly. But we ended up going outside to play on the trampoline. In the afternoon, Aunt Kerry and Uncle Rob came from Canada to stay and I helped Kerry make risotto for dinner.

DAY FIVE - THURSDAY

I walked to school with Rob, Mum and Abbey. At 4pm, my cousins Alex, Meg and Shae came over. At night, I chatted to Mum and read my Harry Potter book. Then we all went to bed early.

DAY SIX - GOOD FRIDAY

After we all went to bed last night, Abbey got up and sprang Dad in the living room, watching telly. He said he was watching a show about ghosts. He said he couldn't stop watching. With the school holidays on, it has been hard not to watch TV. But my nanna came over to keep us company. At night, I did some maths homework, which took up some time.

DAY SEVEN - SATURDAY

The last day. Abbey and I listened to a CD of Barbie hits and made up some dances. In the afternoon, Mum and Dad both had to go to work so Gran and Grandad came over with chocolates. With chocolate, it's not so bad not having a TV. But I don't know how I'm going to go next week...

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

The good news is that "research suggests that Australian children may be watching less TV per day than children in the US," says developmental psychologist Dr Helen Skouteris. "Aussie kids are watching TV on a daily basis but they are also usually involved in many other activities, such as playing with friends and sport." However, Australian Bureau of Statistics findings that about 50 per cent of children are watching three or more hours of TV a day is "clearly too much", says Trevor Shilton, the Heart Foundation's WA director of cardiovascular health. "The Department of Health and Ageing and most world authorities set a level of less than two hours per day. Television viewing of more than two hours a day in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor fitness, smoking, raised cholesterol and being overweight in adulthood."

© 2006 Sun Herald

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