15 Jan

TVs and Weapons

Author: Darcia Helle  //  Category: Things I've Read

According to an article in this week’s Newsweek magazine (which is quoting a book called Statistical Abstract), in 2007 the average American watched 1,613 hours of television. That is the equivalent of 67 days! That is a whole lot of time in front of the TV. I don’t watch a lot of TV, so maybe I come in at around 45 or 50 days each year. But, still, 50 days each year? I can’t help but think of all the things I could do with those 50 days!

Another statistic that caught my eye: In 2007 18-percent of high school students reported carrying a weapon sometime in the previous year. And those are just the kids that admitted to it. Teenagers are not known for their rational thought. Scary to think that 18 out of every 100 has a weapon.

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  • Anne

    67 days every year? It’s probably more in my house if you add in my husband’s football and baseball. That’s a lot of wasted time. And I’m glad my children are grown up and that I am not a high school teacher!

  • http://garyryan.me Gary Ryan

    A person is exposed to an incredible amount of violence on TV. I try to avoid shows that depict murder and mayhem, that’s just not something I enjoy in any way. In fact, it’s repulsive, but it’s everywhere. The commercials for the shows highlight the shooting and killing so you are even subjected to it when you are watching something else. If a 30-second commercial can influence someone to buy a certain brand of pizza, you have to wonder what kind of influence all this violence can be having.

  • http://www.QuietFuryBooks.com Darcia

    Gary, you have a point that many have been arguing for a while now. Violence on TV and in video games can be pretty extreme. In the book On Killing by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (a great book, by the way), he devotes the entire last chapter to this issue. We’ve probably all become at least a little bit desensitized to violence.

  • http://dkvwriting4u.com Karen Cioffi

    Scary stuff…both statistics.

    And, I’m sure between tv, movies, and even today’s music, we, especially the youth, have become more than just a little bit desensitized to violence.

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