Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Showcase

Media Credit: Patti Gunderson

The average American household has 2.55 people in it and 2.73 television sets, according to 2006 Nielsen statistics released by the TV-Turnoff Network.

The statistics also show that the TV is on more than eight hours a day in the average American home and that the average American watches four hours and 35 minutes a day.

"Television has become a big part of American society," senior Rusty Mehlberg said. "If you aren't watching TV, you're missing out in everyone else's eyes."

Mehlberg said he sees two purposes of television: to entertain and to inform. He said the information provided by television is a good thing, but added the problem is that the entertainment factors are usually put first.

"The entertainment value has deteriorated to a level that things we should never look at are now passed as humor and entertainment," he said.

A group that is concerned about the deterioration and negative impacts of television is TV-Turnoff Network. The network, formerly known as TV-Free America, was founded in 1994 and has been encouraging people to turn of their TVs for over a decade, according to its Web site, www.tvturnoff.org.

TV-Turnoff Network "is a non-profit organization that encourages children and adults to watch much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities," according to the Web site.

Since TV-Turnoff Week began in 1995, more than 24 million people have participated.

The network's motto is "Turn off TV - Turn on Life!" and it encourages people to spend time with their families, friends and even themselves, rather than watch television. One of the ways TV-Turnoff has done this is by encouraging people to participate in TV-Turnoff Week, which lasts from April 23 to 29 this year.

According to the Web site, TV-Turnoff Week is supported by more than 70 national organizations. Some of these organizations include the American Medical Association, National Education Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Mehlberg said he thinks TV-Turnoff Week is a challenge.

"I see the week as a chance to force people to find other ways of entertaining themselves," he said. "You may never know if something you haven't tried before - or at least in a while - becomes a habit in your life."

Continued...

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