"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there by any praise, think on these things."

Philippians 4:8

Effects TV has on the Frontal Lobe

1. Produces Hypnotic Effects
2. Reduces interest in reading and learning
3. Weakens Brain Power
4. Encourages Poor Lifestyle Habits
5. Encourages Obesity
6. Increases daydreaming & weakens creativity
7. May reduce our powers of discrimination
8. Trains in non-reaction
9. Influences viewers to regard violence lightly
10. Makes children more irritable
11. Increases aggressiveness
12. Accelerates Sexual Activity
13. Addictive
14. Reduces times available for productive achievement
15. Steals time from family
16. Adversely affects spiritual pursuits

1. Produces Hypnotic Effects

Have you ever wondered why, when your child is watching TV they can't hear you? You know how it goes, you walk into the room and tell them something and five minutes later, it is as if you said nothing at all. What you have been experiencing is what all parents have, the Hypnotic effect of TV.

If you are like the average American, several rooms in your house are equipped with something that you focus your eyes on, flickers every few seconds, and can produce a hypnotic-like trance. It is one of the most popular devices of our time: the television set. The typical environment for hypnotism induction: a darkened room, a flickering light (the TV set) as a single-minded focus, and freedom from all outside diversions is a classic setting for hypnosis says Jerry Mander in his book, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television.

Some say, "I watch only good programs, so that isn't a issue with me." But, Does what you watch make any difference on our mind and character? The answer is both yes and no. Although the content you view exerts  a powerful effect on your mind, the medium itself also appears to have profound mental effects. Evidence suggests that the television is--in itself--usually detrimental. This deleterious frontal lobe effect appears to be the results of the camera-switching work in most videos and other programming. The technical problem with the filming technique is referred to as as "rapidly changing scene of reference."

Dr. Morris who was sited in Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, said, "Television's rapid change of reference as contributes to the hypnotic-type effect." Researcher Dr. Thomas Mulholland looked at children's EEGs as they watched their favorite television programs. He assumed that since these programs were their favorite shows, the kids would be mentally involved with what they were viewing and would experience an oscillation between alpha brain wave activity and beta. Instead, after just two or three minutes of the show, they sat back and stayed almost entirely in an alpha pattern. This meant that while they were watching they were "not reacting, not orienting, not focusing, just space-out."

Dr. Herbert Krugman, a brain wave researcher, was sited in Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television: "Television is a communication medium that effortlessly transmits huge huge quantities of information not thought about at the time of exposure."

Well over a decade ago, there had been more then 3,000 scientific studies published on the effects of television on the mind, but yet they are rarely heard about. Over 500 books have been written on the subject. It is one of the most well-researched subjects in our culture, yet most people have little awareness of TV viewing's solemn consequences. We should not expect the television media to confess to anything, but we do not have to stay uninformed.

My friends, the Lord desires for us to have the mind of Christ, but how can we if our minds have be stolen by the TV sets. Scripture says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," (Phil. 2:5).

3. Weakens Brain Power

The effects of television are far-reaching. One of the greatest concerns in academic circles is that the TV viewer's interest in reading is markedly reduced. The more television watched, the greater the interest in reading suffers. Children who spend many hours each day watching TV tend to be poor readers. Their reading ability and reading comprehension scores both suffer. 152 Learning other subjects such as history, geography, mathematics, and English is based on reading; thus, poor readers have a general learning handicap. The result has been a consistent decline in the average reading skills of our youth since TV began to be influential in the 1950's. Television affects more than reading skills. It weakens brain power in general. This is true at any age, from early childhood to the "golden years." A recent study revealed that certain activities of retired persons increased mental capacity while other activities decreased it.153

By avoiding mind-numbing activities like watching television and engaging in challenging activities, even people of retirement age can improve mental ability. Retirement does not mean that your brain has to waste away.

4. Encourages poor lifestyle habits

TV not only weakens brain power, but it also encourages poor lifestyle habits. Many children and teenagers are not functioning at their full frontal lobe capacity because of their eating habits.

5. Encourages Obesity

In the days of the Beaver, that great TV show, there were 1 or 2 obese kids a school. When I grew up in New York City, in the late 60s and early 70s, there were 1 or 2 obese kids in a class. Today however, 1 out of ever 4 child is obese. That is horrific since obese children grow up to be obese adults with medical complications.

A report entitled, Effects of television on metabolic rate: potential implications for childhood obesity. Pediatrics 1993 Feb; 91(2): p281-286, found that television viewing requires no physical involvement, and actually slows metabolism more than if you were just sitting in a room resting. To make matter worse, children watching television often eat high fat junk foods.

TV OR NOT TV: FAT IS THE QUESTION

• Metabolic rate of children ages 8 to 12 during television viewing was significantly lower than when the children were at rest doing nothing..

• Lower metabolism combined with the high fat snacks eaten during the hours in front of the TV places children at high risk for obesity.

• Kids watch 26 hours of TV weekly on the average.

• Children obesity now affects 1 out of 4 kids.

6. Increases Daydreaming and Non-Reaction

Another important effects of television viewing is the increases it causes in daydreaming and it ability to fostering thoughts about a non-practical fantasies. Simultaneously, television stifles an individuals creative reasoning power.

Many have the false idea that daydreaming and creative ingenuity go hand in hand. However, the opposite it true. The more an individual daydreams, the less productive and creative he becomes. This is because daydreaming draw the individuals away from the task at hand. Daydreaming deals in a fantasy world, while creative ingenuity deals in the real world.

A study conducted, compared small town residents of all ages before and after the introduction of TV. Within two years of television coming to a media-isolated British Columbia town, both children and adults suffered a 20 percent decrease in creativity. In addition, the residents became generally less persistent when tackling a problem.

Here are a few documented reports on daydreaming:

• Valkenburg PM, van der Voort TH. Influence of TV on daydreaming and creative imagination: a review of research. Psychol Bull 1994 Sep;116(2):316-339.

• Wheeler JL. Remote Controlled: How TV Affects You and Your Family. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1993 p. 39.

• Williams TM quoted in Wheeler JL. Remote Controlled: How TV Affects You and Your Family. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1993 p. 42, 43.

• Harrision LF, Williams TM.. Television and cognitive development. In: Williams TM, editor. The impact of television: a natural experiment in three communities. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1986 p. 87-142.

8. TV Trains in Non-Reaction

Both the Emerys and Dr. Erik Peper point out that viewing of television also trains individuals to be non-reactive. This state of non-reaction describes a passive do-nothing attitude when confronted with needs and problems. Even watching the news day after day tends to induce a non-reactive attitude, which is a protective mechanism. When you view starving children in Somalia, you cannot go to the television set and give them some food. When you see war-ravaged lands, you cannot lend a helping hand. Yes, you could send money to some humanitarian organization (which may or may not address the problem), but the next day’s evening news likely presents the same tragedy that you just donated money to help. Perhaps even worse, two days later you will probably see another shocking event that, were we present at the scene, would again call for our whole-hearted involvement. The more we see tragedies that we cannot respond to, the less we tend to react: we are learning to be non-reactive. Whether it is on the news, in serial programs, or full-length movies, when we see suffering repeatedly portrayed but cannot do anything to correct it, we become desensitized. The consequences of training people in non-reaction are demonstrated by violent crimes with witnesses passively looking on, none lifting a finger to intervene. Television and its legacy of non-reaction can lead viewers to regard violence lightly.--Proof Positive, p.284.

12. Accelerates Sexual Activity

Countless numbers of parents are asking the same question, "Where did my children learn that sexually explicit behavior." Just recently a parent asked me that very question. She had just found out that her daughter was sexually active.

Television effectively increases sexual activity in teens and younger children. Studies show it significantly decreases the age of first sexual intercourse. The more television watched, the lower the age for the first sexual encounter. This was the findings of JL Peterson, KA Moore and JJ Furstenberg, Jr. in an study entitle "Television viewing and early initiation of sexual intercourse: is there a link?" as published in J Homosex 1991, pp 93-118.

Let me explain it this way. If you plant orange seeds, you'll get an orange tree. Likewise, if you plant sexually seeds into the mind, you'll get sexual behavior as a fruit. You are what's you think. Junk in -- Junk Out.

This is why we are warned to "set no wicked thing before our eyes," (Psalm 101:3) and to only think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, are of good report; are virtuous, and if it is praiseworthy," (see Phil. 4:8).

TEEN SEX AND ITS RESULTS

The current high level of teen sexual activity results in:

• Teens dealing with responsibilities and problems far beyond their physical and emotional resources.

• Teens with diseases that are sexually transmitted.

• Teen's entire future changed for the worse.