TV and its Negative Impact on Literacy SkillsOverviewTV and Early DevelopmentReading and Brain DevelopmentNegative Effects on Adolescence Social SkillsPreparation for Post-Education EmploymentImpacts on adulthoodVideo: Effect of Television on Young ChildrenSourcesAccording to a study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent PsychiatryWatching three or more hours of TV a day leads to:Poor homework completionNegative attitudes towards schoolBad gradesPoor performance in college16% of 8th graders and 22% of 12th graders have not mastered basic writing.Only 3% of 8th and 6% of 12th graders read at the "advanced" level.Students are unprepared for more advanced classesChildren who watch more TV are less likely to read.Children who don't read before age 8 are much less likely to start reading later in life.This leaves them unprepared for high amounts of reading and writing in high school and college courses.Students who read show much better grasp of writing skills than those who don't - skills that are necessary for advancement later in higher level classes and in the professional world.Adolescents who watch excessive amounts of TV often lack simple, yet necessary social skills.Passive interaction with TV leads to less interaction with peers and parentsVital social and communicative skills are slow to develop, or never develop at all.Reading and the BrainReading forces the mind to translate words on a page into images in the mind. The brain has to develop its own images and ideas, triggering the development of imagination and creativity. This is called "active participation."TV, on the other hand, requires "passive participation." Television provides images for the brain, removing any need for imagination or creativity and drastically reducing a child's vocabulary, word recognition, and critical-thinking skills.
