Told You So…

I am not keen to blame the woes of the world on TV, or computer games. It seems to be a very easy excuse. Research in recent years has suggested that there is a link between too much time spent watching TV and psychological problems in young people.

But what, the sceptics cry, of those young people who also take plenty of vigorous exercise between stints in front of the screen? Well, it seems that they too suffer ill-effects. Research published last week shows that 10-11 year olds who spend two or more hours per day in front of a TV or computer screen are over 50% more likely to have psychological and behavoural problems. The figure for those children who also do an hour’s vigorous exercise every day was also around the 50% mark although slightly lower than for the more sedentary subjects. Computers seemed to have a slightly less deleterious effect than the TV.

Of course, this does not show that watching the screen causes the problem. It could be the specific content that those individuals are watching. It could be associated behaviour such as eating sweets or sugary drinks whilst watching. It may be that children with psychological problems are drawn to screen entertainment. I am also not sure what the background level of psychological problems is so cannot be sure how significant a 50% increase is.

However, whether as an indicator of potential trouble or an instigator of difficulty, it does seem that too much time watching TV or playing computer games may be a cause for concern.