TZiggy:
We literally jerked the cable out of the side of our house seven years ago, and can only get two stations with an antenna. We may turn the TV on two hours during the entire week (evenings). The kids went through withdrawl for awhile, but when you absolutely can’t watch a show there is no where for the discussion to go. We have four kids 13, 10, 4, 1.(no T.V., had to find something to do), and I have no idea what Yugi-O is! Without TV the kids keep more active with play, sports, breaking things, torturing the dog etc…
Amen! Growing up, my two older brothers and I didn’t watch TV because … we didn’t get cable. We had a VCR for movies - but no TV shows. I cannot express my gratitude to my parents for this. After college (when I could afford it) I tried cable for a while, but eventually had it disconnected. I found that the shows were just … drivel … and that I could get all my important news from the internet. I also found, however, that TV was strangely addictive and that I found myself watching pointless shows that I didn’t actually WANT to watch - but there I was, watching anyway. I’m very glad that there is no TV (just vcr and dvd!) in my house.
My parents mistake, however, was that they allowed video games and computer games. These were new, at the time, so they weren’t aware of the dangers. I’m not talking moral dangers here - these things aren’t in themselves evil. They are, however, addictive. And they’re designed to be addictive and they target the psychology of young boys (girls as well, but mainly boys, I think) perfectly. Sometimes I wistfully think of the literally hundreds of hours I have spent over the course of my life playing video games that I know cannot remember and that when I “beat” them, I had nothing to actually show for my time. If only I had spent the time reading books, or working on a craft/hobby, or … anything!
The TV/card games series tap into the same addiction, I think. They combine the addictiveness of TV with the addictiveness of video games in which you can become increasingly powerful. Evil? I personally don’t think so. Manipulative and addictive? You betcha.
My wife and I have already decided … when we have kids … no TV, no video games, and the computer is
school only (well, maybe I’ll let them read CA and similar sites when they’re old enough!)