Some people blame TV for bad parenting and social problems. When are those folks going to realize that the world is a tough place, and the sooner children can understand the good from the bad and make their own informed decisions, the better. That includes some of the good and bad on TV. The problem with society is that many folks are looking for the magic “blame bullet” for our ills. Television is another in a long list of targets that are easy to attack. TV is not the problem for a lack of good parenting or our social problems, we are!

TV has been around for over sixty years, and has made a significant impact on all of our lives. The world is a smaller place because of it, whether we like it or not. TV has been blamed since the early sixties for interfering with the family structure, and there are many good examples of it. The “boob tube” as it used to be called, was right in our living room, vying for attention as the family was about to sit down for dinner. “Wait a minute, I want to see this promo for the new TV show” someone in the household would shout as they get up from their chair as Mom was serving dinner. “Don’t dare change that channel” shouts Dad as he is waiting for the football scores to scroll across the screen. Need more proof that TV has done its share of interfering? Is this a machine’s fault? It’s only a stupid electronic box, right?

How could we as a supposed intelligent society blame an inanimate object for our problems? It is completely ridiculous, like blaming the car for traffic jams, or a credit card for our overspending. It is just our penchant to want to blame something, or someone, for the lack of our reasoning ability. Or for the fear of blaming ourselves, where the blame should be.

Families have fallen apart, communication goes over our heads, and social problems seem to get worse…..and we blame a TV because of it? No, no we must blame ourselves for miss-managing the wonderful gift we know as television for the power and potential of improving our lives. Don’t forget, Man invented this device for a reason. The reason was to enhance the joy of communication through entertainment. We invented cameras as well, should we blame the camera for pornography? Did the gun commit the murder, or the operator of the gun? We have the power to control all of our devices. We need to learn how to be more responsible, and it starts in the household, first and foremost.