Television and family: between a threat and a chance

Abstract

Television was very quick to make itself familiar in the homes in all countries. The TV-set has also entered the shopping structure of the Polish family. It has become a necessity. It has modified the structure of the living space and takes a prominent position in it. Also in the structure of family time watching television soon has outdistanced other forms of spending spare time.

Television has become an integral element of the Polish family's life. It is perceived as a factor integrating the family by a considerable proportion of Poles. A peculiar style of life with television has been formed and a peculiar television culture of both the weekday and of the holiday is being shaped; or, if defined in a different way, the Polish family is becoming a television family. Television creates a specific context for the family life and performs a lot of functions in it, e.g. supplies information from Poland and from the world; it is a means of spending spare time and “somebody” who keeps company; who plays the role of a “babysitter”, as it absorbs the baby's attention and the parents may have some peace; it is an escape into a world that is different from the one the person lives in and that seems not very friendly, and sometimes even hostile to him; it supplies one with topics and subject-matter for his conversations with the family and at work; it supplies a variety of experiences; it is a means of learning something new. The effect of television on a family may be vast – from determining the family's timetable and shaping family interactions to defining what is good and what is evil.

Television greatly contributes to decreasing the amount of time devoted to being together, to exchanging the news about experiences of the day, to talking about the family's achievements and plans for the future. Due to excessive TV watching by all or some members of the family their contacts become loose or do not take place at all. Living “with each other” changes into living “beside each other”. Because of watching too much television the family becomes less familiar and more a “television one”.

Television, as well as other media, is an important means of education and socialisation. However, it is not right if the parents hand over their educating and socialising function to it. This phenomenon occurs the more often the less time the parents have, the more busy they are doing their work, and the lower the social status of the family is.

The time spent by children in watching television is different depending on the stage of its development. According to polls, in Poland children spend 4-5 hours in front of the TV-set. It is the same amount of time they spend at school. TV-station owners know that children are perfect viewers and so they create special programmes for children.

Most parents try to control their children watching television, however, it is rather the programme than the time they supervise. They try to have discussions and explain the programmes to their children, they help them to understand the information and educational programmes. The parents' presence and their discussion with the children cause that even the bad programmes, ones with violence, have a less negative effect on the children.

Taking into consideration the fact that television becomes ever more international, that the television space becomes more and more globalised, and the culture propagated by television more and more non-national, excessive and uncritical watching television threatens the identity of the individual family and the Polish family understood in the general sense.

Aiming at elimination, or at least lessening the negative effects of television on the family, the family itself, the education system, medial and family policies, broadcasting stations and non-government organisations should undertake a variety of actions.

Television and family cannot be perceived as opposite factors but complementary ones. Legislature should go in this direction. Also this is the way heads of television stations, journalists and recipients of TV programmes themselves should see them.