Media and Today’s Families
“Mom, guess what...?”
“Kristy, don’t bother me now, I’m watching my favorite program.”
“But, mom, it’s important. I have to tell you what happened...”
“I said, not now! Wait until the commercial, then I’ll listen.”
“My favorite movies are slasher
films. I like the way people look when they’re dead,” stated a fourth grade
girl in an interview by employees of Focus on the Family as they did research
for Learn to Discern. Their research
found no discernable difference between the favorite television programs and
movies of children in public schools and those who attended Christian
schools.
A
It’s a fact! Television and large doses of media affects
people within and outside of the Church!
If we are to share the Gospel
and reach individuals for Christ, we need to be aware of media’s influence.
Media
can be positive. It informs, entertains,
stimulates. It provides times for
families to be together. It offers
opportunities to see history-in-the-making across the world. When tragedy strives, it motivates us to
respond. Most importantly media gives us
the means to proclaim the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ to a sin-filled world
(Rom.
While
recognizing these positive aspects of media, we must also be aware of media’s
negative influences. We need to educate
families, especially parents, so they can manage media effectively in their
lives.
What
does research indicate about the effects of media on you and your family? Does a constant diet of profanity, sex, and
violence have an effect on Christian beliefs and morals? Does what we view on television impact how we
perceive the world we live in? Are we,
as Christians, becoming desensitized to situations that the Bible clearly calls sinful?
Beware
of the flaming missiles Satan fires at us daily through media! Read Eph.
6:10-18 with a Christian friend or at the dinner table. Then discuss the following:
How can media’s negative
influence be a spiritual problem? How
has media desensitized you or your children?
Finish the following statement: Media programs often make Christians
look… How does the media’s portrayal of
Christians affect our witnessing efforts?
Statistics
indicate that the average child watches four hours of television each day and
will spend 7.4 years watching television in his lifetime. Excessive television viewing with little or
no interaction from parents can affect children’s physical health. Obesity in children has increased 54% over
the past 15 years and doctors have found obesity more common in children under
12 who watch excessive television. Excessive
media viewing can stifle children’s creativity, cause children to be poorer
readers, and have poor verbal skills.
“Television
violence affects kids in a number of ways: It makes children less able to
empathize with the pain and suffering of others,” says George Gerbner, a
professor at the
There
is an average of two murders per night on prime-time television. By the time a child reaches 18, he has
witnessed 25,000 TV murders. Children
who watch excessive television with no supervision often become more fearful of
the world they live in. Violence becomes
an acceptable solution to most problems.
It may increase aggressive behavior, according to several studies.
In
Who Cares for American’s Children?
Urie Broonfenbrenner states: “The primary danger of the television set lies not
so much in the behavior it produces - although there is danger there - as the
behavior it prevents, the talks, the games, the family festivities and
arguments through which much of the child’s learning takes place and through
which his character is formed. Turning
on the television set can turn off the process that transforms children into
people.”
Research
has demonstrated that viewers begin to believe that the world is like the one
they see on television when they watch excessive amounts of television. Television and other forms of media can
become a filter on reality for a vast number of people.
As
you read these statistics notice there are two questions we need to ask about
media consumption. Are the programs we
view appropriate for Christians? How
much time are we spending passively watching TV? When we are watching television, cable, and
movies, we are not relating to others, enjoying God’s creation, working out
problems, enjoying life together as families, and sharing our faith with
friends and relatives.
Are
you or your children watching too much television? Could you be addicted to it? Is it negatively affecting your life?
The
following are suggestions for church leaders, school leaders, and parents:
1. Ask for God’s help to become
better viewers and learn to manage media more effectively within your life. Ask God for forgiveness if you have not used
good judgment in your viewing habits. Remember
Jesus died for all your sins, even the sin of viewing inappropriate programs (1 John 1:9)!
2. Educate families within and
outside of the church by offering seminars and programs on managing media
within the home.
3. Set up a lending library to
offer Christian alternatives to prime-time television, cable, video cassettes,
and movies. Purchase audiocassettes,
books, and other literature to learn more about the influence of media on
children and families.
4. Help children choose programs
that are appropriate; establish television usage schedules; use television
coupons; purchase or rent Christian and family-oriented videos and watch them
with your children.
5. Consider instituting a
once-a-week ‘no television’ night.
6. Plan a family or congregational
fun night instead.
7. Write or telephone the networks
when you are unhappy with programs. Pray
for producers and network executives. Pray
that God will raise up Christian producers and writers to develop Christian
programs. Pray that families will learn
to use the full armor of God, stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Eph.
“Parents
should work to alter the viewing habits of their children,” stated Dr. John
Frahm on the Action Today program. Dr. John Frahm has good news for those who
become involved in the mitigation process with their children. He shared, “It is important to note that when
parents become involved in the mitigation process concerning television
programs, when they begin to view and discuss programs with their children, all
the negative aspects of media viewing can be negated. And media, which is seen as a great evil by
many, can actually be used to the benefit of the family and society. Mitigation produces improvement in family
cohesiveness, communication, academics, and offers parents opportunities to
share their faith with their children. But, remember, the earlier you begin
mitigating within the home, the better!”
Although the Bible does not
mention ‘media,’ ‘television,’ ‘cable,’ ‘movie,’ or ‘satellite’ it still has
words of wisdom for us concerning issues that relate to media.
Bible verses to review include: Eph. 5:1-7, Phil. 3:9, Ps. 101:1-3,
Phil. 4:8, Prov. 3:21, and Matt. 18:6.
For information about
educational programs and resources contact: Family Shield Ministries, Inc.,