Area students turn off television's bright lights

Television programs hoping to climb the Nielsen Ratings Index might want to pick another week to unveil their big plot twist or guest star.

Students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and across the nation put the remote down as part of the annual TV Turnoff Week program.

TV Turnoff Week is a U.S.-based program that encourages children to limit their television viewing time in order to promote healthier habits. The program also will have its largest international participation this year with 10 countries turning off their TVs.

“The focus is on spending more time on what is really important: family, friends, reading and having fun,” according to a campaign press release.

The program began 11 years ago to educate the community about the effects of watching too much TV, said Joann Ingoglia. Ingoglia is a board member of LimiTV, a Raleigh-based organization that motivates area schools to participate in the program.

“All Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools will be participating to some degree or another,” said Mike Cureton, family involvement specialist for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

“Elementary and middle schools will be more involved than high schools,” he added.

Schools will decorate their halls and lobbies with posters about alternatives to watching television featuring slogans such as “Turn off the TV, turn on life,” and will use other promotional devices to get students involved.

“It’s nice outside and a good time to bring awareness to the fact that we are too addicted to TV,” said Aviva Scully, family specialist at McDougle Middle School.

National observation of TV Turnoff Week will have three focus points, Cureton said: academics, family time and physical fitness.

“But some schools will be focusing on one issue more than others,” he added.

Twenty-five percent of North Carolina children watch about four hours of television each day, Cureton said.

Edwina Zagami, a nurse at Phillips Middle School, said excessive television viewing can be problematic, as children take what they see on television too literally.

“Children who watch TV are not reading and not getting enough exercise,” she said.

“There are value gaps between what is seen on TV and what reality is.”

Shelly Heath, media technology teacher at McDougle Middle, said that too much of anything is bad and that what is seen on TV is not always accurate.

Scully shared similar sentiments, adding that kids get a distorted view of reality by watching television.

“Commercial TV is entertainment and promotes spending,” she said. “It’s not the most wholesome message to the younger population.”

She said even commercials can promote unhealthy behavior.

“Soda commercials promote soda as hip and cool, which promotes unhealthy behavior.”

Commercials also can cause children to become brand-loyal, Ingoglia said.

McDougle’s principal, Debra Scott, said TV also can affect a child’s communication skills.

“So much of what they watch is short snips of conversation.”

More information on TV Turnoff Week can be found at http://www.tvturnoff.org/index.htm.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.