Because our viewing was limited, we learned to appreciate the time that we did have in front of the television. Today's families don't have the same luxury of time that my family enjoyed during my childhood. While we were active in Camp Fire Girls, sports, and church, we always seemed to find time to be together in the evenings. Naturally that became more difficult when we got into the teen years, but we still managed to find family time at least three days per week. Because of cable and satellite systems, there is an enormous variety of programming available.
Programming can actually pull families apart.
Competition for viewers between networks and cable channels give families many choices, so many that parents may want to watch a particular show while their children watch a different show on a television in another part of the house. Instead, TV can actually intrude on family time. Each family needs to make viewing decisions that they feel are best for them, but clearly there are pros and cons to having so many channels and shows to choose from. Parents today can still use television to bring their family together, but need to use caution in selecting shows and monitor the amount of time their children are spending in front of the television in order to maximize the pros. In my home, we try to put family time first.