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Vaidah Mashangwa
WHILE families are defined by their internal interactions, they are also influenced by external forces such as television viewing, which influences family interaction and communication to a large extent. According to a book, Perspectives in Family Communication, nearly 93 percent of our population watches television and nearly 99 percent of households own at least one television set while 75 percent have at least two sets.

Children watch three to four hours of television programming per day and it is estimated that by the time they graduate from high school, they would have spent 15,000 hours watching television. This has affected the study time of most adolescents as some fail to balance school work and television viewing.

Some children are left to watch television programmes that are meant for adults only. This has placed adolescents in a dilemma as some watch erotic films meant for adults. This, coupled with the experimental nature of today’s adolescents, has led to premarital sex.

The issue of parental guidance and television viewing is ignored as many parents are preoccupied with other family responsibilities.

At times, television disturbs the family fabric to the extent that parents have little time to shape, share ideas and give corrective measures to their children’s behavioural patterns.

The shaping of a complete individual begins at home through relationships with parents. A strong foundation of parental love during childhood gives youngsters an invaluable resource as they embark on adolescence but this is slowly dwindling as more and more parents and children spend more time on television, internet and games.

It is also generally accepted that youngsters and adolescents perceive their mothers as being more nurturing than their fathers. Other findings revealed that the girl child compared to the boy child more often received praise and affection from their fathers while additional findings suggest that parents react differently to sons and daughters.

Above all, there are also parents and children who in the end become television addicts. In Spain for example, children spend more time on television than they do at school. Parents at times may not realise that inactivity brings about obesity, an increase in cholesterol and spinal deformities.

Other side effects include confusion between reality and fiction, nervousness, insomnia and night terrors. Television viewing also increases isolation and unsociability. The more children watch television, the more they want to watch more programmes.

There are some parents who use television as a reward for completion of homework or household chores. Parents instead should look for other rewards that are not as damaging as continuous television viewing.

Males spend more time on television than their female counterparts and they seem to give more attention to detail than females. Females are able to integrate domestic responsibility and conversation into television viewing. Men at times watch games especially football continually without talking to their spouses or children.

Research shows that in families with a greater perceived problem solving ability and more open communication patterns, the wives are in control of the television and the remote control device and the opposite is true.

In most instances, men spend more time watching television than with family members in a bid to avoid discussions and confrontations.

At times, men use the remote control as a power strategy and to annoy others in the room. The use of the remote control to determine what to watch or not by males might be a good indication that there are family issues in need of attention.

It must be noted that not all television viewing results in negative family functioning. Instead, television viewing can also result in satisfying family relationships. Television viewing can actually bring family members together.

A husband and wife can watch a television program together which can bring joy and closeness as they laugh and share experiences.

Some parents actually watch television programs with their children which promotes family communication.

Apart from that, television also performs an educative function as some behaviour can be emulated and incorporated into family interactions. Television provides viewers with lessons about how to behave in various situations.

While watching television, parents can joke and still retain their authority as well as summarise moral lessons for their children from various episodes.

After all, most family shows are affiliative rather than conflictual. Where conflict arises, it is portrayed in a manner that reinforces values of affection, harmony and trust. Family members can therefore share a lot of positive ideas from watching television together.

Daughters and sons alike can also disclose their romantic problems and relationships after watching some romantic films or soap operas.

Children can actually associate what they see on television to their own practical needs and problems. Parents and children alike can learn a lot from issues such as illness, orphanhood, divorce, unemployment, marriage and chores depicted in television programs.

Some popular local television shows such as Mukadota, Gringo and Studio 263 and others from across our borders such as Half and Half, Hanging with Mr Cooper, Friends and Fresh Prince of Bel Air may come in handy in providing educational lessons.

So television viewing is not bad after all.

Vaidah Mashangwa is the Provincial Development Officer, Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. She may be contacted on [email protected] or 0772 111 592.