Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family
In the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of children, the tube is winning hands down over parents, asserts Pawlowski in this accessible look at the influence of television on American families. Following a short overview of how our ideals of family life have become increasingly codified since the advent of the written word, this professor of media ecology at New York University draws on recent studies and her own research to reveal the impact of broadcast media on family interactions and the fulfillment of family members' emotional needs. Contrasting the "perennially sunny, trouble-free world" of Ozzie and Harriet with the bed-hopping antics of Dallas's Ewing clan and the race-neutral popularity of The Cosby Show, she shows how TV has warped our perceptions of what constitutes "normal" family relations. At the same time, TV has eroded family relations by siphoning away time and attention that family members would otherwise devote to one another. With a barrage of statistics that buttress her view of the decline of family interaction, Pawlowski relentlessly decries TV as a powerful purveyor of negative cultural and racial stereotypes, one that steals important roles (mentor, hero, friend) away from parents and thus undermines their ability to shape their children's values. Pawlowski is at her best when acerbically detailing exactly what television's ever-shuffling roster of sitcoms and advertisements teaches viewers about gender, family and sexuality. Her final chapter offers practical advice on how to kick the TV habit.Though many of the author's points have been stated before, her accessible overview of the issueDwhich will get airplay on the author's national radio campaignDwill appeal to parents grappling with the effects of technology run amok. (Nov.)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.