The Plug-in Drug: Television, Children, and the Family; Revised Edition

by Marie Winn

Paperback, 1985

Status

Available

Call number

302.2345083

Genres

Publication

Penguin Books (1985), Edition: Revised, 304 pages

Description

This classic study of television's impact on children and family life, now revised and expanded to include computers in the classroom, video games, and the VCR, provides powerful evidence of television's negative effects on children's play, imagination, family relations, and school achievement. By shifting the focus from the TV programs kids watch to how much they watch, and why, and what they are missing as a result, Marie Winn challenges parents and educators to look squarely at the basic issue- television control. Based on interviews with hundreds of families, teachers, and child specialists, The Plug-In Drug details how parents lose control of this powerful medium and then shows how some regain it, even after many years. Updated to incorporate new research, with additional sections on electronic toys, TV for babies, and control devices, The Plug-In Drug speaks to a new generation of parents and educators. Its message is more vital now than ever.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member elliepotten

A stimulating and thorough look at how children and television coexist in a household. Winn explains how children watch television and how their brains work to process the visual images they see on the screen. She discusses how the sheer amount of television watched by the average American child

damages their lives and their education by stopping them doing other things such as reading, socialising with other children and finding interests of their own. She also explores how computers and internet access in schools may be doing more harm than good, reinforcing the instant gratification children expect from life after years of television.

On top of this analysis, Winn offers – shock horror – alternatives to the automatic impulse we all seem to harbour to switch on the TV, stick on a DVD or plug in a games console. She offers inspiration in the form of testimonies from families who have already taken control of their viewing habits and come out the other side with happier children who are more active in the community, healthier both physically and mentally, and have balanced lives full of active pursuits and developed interests.

This is a fairly exhaustive study, but the simple breakdown of topics makes it a manageable one. The argument is balanced and Winn doesn’t preach her message – instead she persuades admirably and eloquently. The book is both interesting and provocative, and a must-read for parents and telly addicts everywhere.

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LibraryThing member chsbellboy

Winn argues that the harm in television watching is not in the content, but in the excessive amount of time children spend fixated upon the screen. While the study may be a bit too in-depth for your average reader, it has just enough scientific backing to help a family with a television addiction

kick the habit.

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