Opinion: Thinking outside the box

A report by the National Consumer Council adds another nail to television's coffin. It is well titled: 'Watching, wanting and well-being: exploring the links'. Along with similar research from other countries, it demonstrates that the more a child watches television, the more materialistic he or she becomes.

Capitalists may applaud this, but it also means these children have a correspondingly low level of self-esteem and low opinion of their parents. The latter might be because their parents have been too wet to stop them watching television. Children who have a low opinion of their parents also have a low opinion of themselves.

The effect is worse in children from disadvantaged areas, who far outnumber the more affluent children in saying the job they want has to be one that pays lots of money and they would rather be shopping than engaged in other activities. They also spend more time watching television.

There is already enough evidence to suggest that every television should carry a Government warning, 'Excess viewing will damage your health'. It has been known for a long time that too much television during infancy causes language delay as well as increasing the likelihood of developing attention-deficit disorder. Viewing causes sleep disturbances in the very young, and the higher the volume of TV, the lower the child's resting metabolic rate, which in turn predisposes to obesity. They are less likely to have a later interest in sporting activities, as their social skills are rubbish. Watching violence powers up the stress response, contradicted by physical immobility. Children with TV sets in their bedrooms are the lowest achievers at school.

The media response to all this is identical to the tobacco industry's indignation at being accused of causing early death. Perhaps this triumph of greed over logic is supported by those who watched too much television when they were children.

Robin Balbernie is a consultant child psychotherapist in Gloucestershire.