Brett Kotlus is a senior majoring in general arts and sciences and a Collegian columnist. 98 percent of all homes own at least one set, and on average, it is on for more than seven hours each day. If a television set could watch America, it would see a vast landscape of sofas, easy chairs and beds supporting the weights of entranced masses with wide eyes and disengaged imaginations. It asks nothing of you, the viewer, except for your attention. Images are displayed for your pleasure in a seamless, strictly presentational manner.
Nothing is left to the imagination in the pre-fab world of the flickering screen.
As a child, I can remember my mother warning me of the dangers of television. Studies have shown that children are more imaginative when continuing interrupted stories read from books as opposed to stories shown on television screens. Also, it has been found that children who ingest heavy doses of television programming engage in play that is less imaginative than other children's. Television stagnates the imagination. It also detracts youthful attentions from more productive activities.