How much time to you spend sitting in front of the television, your computer or listening to the radio? Are you seeking entertainment, information or a little of both? How much influence do you think media has in your life? I’ve learned about more products through television, I’ve also learned more about what’s going on in the world through television, radio and internet than I have by reading a newspaper or learning of events from a friend.
While searching the internet for statistics on media I came up with a few interesting facts:
- The average child spends 4 hours a day watching television.
- More than half the children have a television in their bedroom.
- Billions of dollars are spent annually on advertising.
- According to the US Census Bureau, Americans spend half their lives watching TV, reading the newspaper, browsing the internet and listening to radio.
If media can have this kind of impact on us, what would spending a little more time Christ centered things do for you and your family? We are engulfed in a culture that presses ads all around us. Companies pay big bucks to have their name recognized by you. How influenced are you by your environment? What kinds of environments do you subject yourself to?
I’m posing so many questions here because these are things that I’ve been asking myself lately. I believe where we choose to devote our time has a greater impact on us than we might realize. For those of us who are caring for children, it’s really worth considering how much influence they are getting through TV, video games and music as well. We have a responsibility to monitor what they see and hear to the best of our ability. If we want to raise children who are influenced by Christ, it ought to be Christ centered things we put emphasis on. There will be plenty of opportunity in this world for them to be influenced by other things.
Please visit these related blogs:
How in the World Will We Live?
In the World, But Not of the World