Boston.com:
Heavy TV viewing under 2 is found. Not all toddlers are sensitized, but if you watch a gaggle of ‘em, you’ll see a couple who will stop stock still when commercials come on, rapt attention, unresponsive, until the commercial ends. Increased volume? Flashing? I never did figure it out. I wonder what the long-term effects of never-understood graphic symbolism are.
Comments:
Neil Postman talks about some of the physiological tricks tv uses to keep eyes focused in How to Watch TV News. There’s a centering reflex where movement in peripheral vision triggers a reflex where the eye focuses on the movement’s source. 60Hz refresh of CRTs is also a trigger. One experiment he suggested: record a news program and count effects. Turn off the sound and focus on the visual effects (flashes, edits, etc). Then listen to the same segment for audio effects.
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I do sit my son down in front of the TV when I need to do something, or just need a break. But to think that its an all inclusive educational tool is just silly and stupid.
As far as commercials go (which he doesn’t see much of since we watch mostly commercial free stuff) he gets bored and almost angry when they come on. He gives me a look that says “Hey! Where’d my cartoon go?”
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