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Prime time television can be a bad influence

January 06, 2005 ~ 3:53 p.m.

I tend to tow a fine line between social conservatism and libertarianism. I want to defend social mores while keeping the government from becoming too intrusive. I also know that television programs are to reflect real life situations if they are to be of any interest to the serious viewer.

Which leads me to my point: I can�t think of how many times I�ve looked at the cover of the TV guides, week after week, only to read titles that shout out tales of woe involving infidelity, premarital sex, teenage motherhood, drug dealing and abuse, and borderline alcoholism: �Dennis Gets Blotto,� �Dennis Leaves Zo�,� �Zo� Sleeps With Alfie,� �Alfie Buggers Zo�s Kids,� and so on. OK, I made that last one up. But you get my drift. These mainly involve evening soap operas here in Britain running between the hours of 7-9 p.m.

What worries me is that, although programmers swear by the schedule�that any young children would not be watching television at these times�you know that�s not the case. Especially not true when those whose real lives actually mirror those of the show�s characters. Of which, by the way, there�s certainly no shortage of in England. Forget soccer. A night of bingeing and a shag is the new national sport.

It�s indicative of how children grow up that they are exposed to other children on the TV who smoke cigarettes and drink and get pregnant, and adults who act no better. I know these issues have been around a while, but an entire nation seems content to embrace them as natural, as opposed to aberrant, behavior.

We spend our time worrying about the impact of violent video games�a worthwhile debate�but we seem to have lost perspective of what children are learning from prime time television.

� M.E.M.

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