Group Wants Nation To Pull The Plug On TV

What would Americans do without television?

TV-Free America, a newly established national organization, wants Americans to switch off their television sets for a week and find out for themselves whether there’s life beyond TV.

The organization, which raises awareness about the harmful effects of excessive viewing on productivity and literacy, for example, and encourages Americans to watch less television, is sponsoring National TV-Turnoff Week, April 24 to 30.

And what does it suggest people do without Oprah, Roseanne, the Power Rangers and the NBA games of the week?

“We’re recommending 40-plus suggestive substitute activities that people can do during the week,” said Henry LaBalme, an environmental consultant and the codirector of the Washington-based nonprofit organization, which is funded through corporate grants and private donations. “Included among the activities are things like contemplating, interacting with family, playing sports, taking part in community affairs and volunteering.

“Americans collectively watch 120 billion hours of television a year. This is an enormous productivity sink,” added LaBalme, 34, who is single and doesn’t own a television set.

On the average, according to data gathered by the A.C. Neilsen Co., preschool children watch 30 hours of television a week. Educators and experts in child development and behavior suggest that more than 10 hours a week can have a detrimental effect on children’s attention span, language and communications skills and creative abilities.

Television turnoffs have been held in individual towns and counties around the country since the early 1980s. Follow-up surveys indicate that a majority of people who participated either reduced their viewing or became more critical of what they watched.

TV-Free America’s effort marks the first time the entire nation has been asked to pull the plug. The crusade has been endorsed by groups like the American Federation of Teachers, the American Medical Association, Literacy Volunteers of America, the National Parenting Association and The Weekly Reader magazine.

Broadcasters and, for the most part, major advertisers have turned away from the turnoff which could create a ratings nightmare.

Winston H. Cox, chairman and chief executive of the Showtime Cable network, expressed ambivalence. “I’m in favor of the broad objective here, that children watch too much television and parents need to take a role in controlling that,” said Cox. “But there is a lot of good TV out there. We tend to demean television in our country. But it is also an incredibly powerful and important information medium.”

The success of the campaign may be directly tied to social, economic and age factors, according to its organizers. Many single-headed households, low-income families, families with young children and the elderly rely on television for entertainment, solace and companionship. Turning it off may be easier said than done.

Six months ago, for example, Andy and Marjan Shallal of Fairfax County in Virginia, became concerned that their 6-year-old daughter, Laela, was watching too much TV. The couple decided to put their set in a closet for two weeks.

“Initially, she thought it was fun, just a little joke,” recalled Shallal, a bookstore owner who, with his wife, is coordinating the national turnoff effort in their community. “By that afternoon, she was asking us to get the TV out of the closet.”

On the second day, he said, she became more aggressive, accusing her parents of child abuse and of punishing her. “For two weeks,” he said, “there was hell to pay.”

But by the third week, Laela was reading more, doing artwork and playing with her sister, Nina, 2. The family’s TV has remained in the closet.

“I miss it, maybe a little bit,” said Laela in a phone conversation. “But I think it’s good to turn off the TV for a while. It makes your brain small.”