Timothy A Mast: Articles
What is happening to our kids? Could it be too much TV?
Television and its negative effect upon brain development

November 15th 2008 - On this journey of health and the study of how to prevent illness, I have found that I am a much happier person as I watch very little television. The TV is a medium used to suck people into drama and all the negativity that is going on around us. And, when all people see is negativity, they tend to live in fear. When people are living in fear, could you label them as stressed? Yes. What is the main cause of illness? STRESS.

Now, I come from a religiously pacifistic background that believes that violence is not going to solve violence. I agree with that. Yet, if we look around, what is most of our media revolve around? Violence and fear. If one is afraid that this or that might happen, is that person going to be peaceful or more prone to violence, whether internal or external. Another thing is that people who are in a state of fear are also more easily manipulated.

What is it that kids often see on TV, particularly when the TV is being used as a baby sitter? And when it comes to computers, what types of games do most males play? Violent ones.

Well, when kids are allowed to grow up with the boob tube as their baby sitter, it causes them to have stunted neural development, as well as a lack of imagination. The violence in what they are watching will cause their body to go into fight, freeze, or flight mode, causing the adrenals to fire up and for cortisol to be produced. And, when the body is in that state enough, it will get stuck there, with often the child going to freeze mode, ie. a catatonic-like state, since there is not true danger. Unfortunately, excess cortisol will also cause the body to store extra fat. Perhaps another reason that there are so many fat children.

Because there are studies out there that believe children's brains are overstimulated by the television and computers, it is possible that this might be one of the factors as to why there is so much ADD and ADHD in the USA. If one adds the effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup and the general consumption of sugar in there as well, it is easy to see in my opionion how that could easily happen.

So, what can we do? Go back to using the brain, read books, enjoy nature, spend time with friends and loved ones. Sounds like such a horrible thing to do, doesn't it? I am very proud of my brother who has 5 kids. He has greatly limited how much his kids are allowed to be in front of the TV or a computer. He has great kids who want to read, be outside and have fun with their friends.


Contact Member:
Timothy A Mast
1406 Falcon Dr
Louisville, KY 40213
United States
Credits:
Dr Bruno Chikly and Joseph Pearce