LETTER : Effects of television ban

Mr Rodney J. Smith
Wednesday 09 August 1995 18:02 EDT
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From Mr Rodney J. Smith

Sir: Regarding Melvyn Bragg's article on TV and violence ('You can't blame it on the box,' 4 August), may I suggest that the issue is not that viewers become criminals through watching TV, but that they develop a hyped-up and anti-social condition which makes them open to anti-social acts.

For what it is worth, my six-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son are banned from watching TV from Sunday night until the following Saturday morning because of the troubles we were having with them.

As a result, there has been a noticeable change. They now read a lot, have a sense of humour, play musical instruments, get on well with other children, do reasonably well at school and play various sports. They are not the zombies they were becoming before the ban on TV. I am not saying they are angels, but the important thing is that they are approachable and one can communicate with them.

Yours faithfully,

Rodney J. Smith

Croydon,

Surrey

5 August

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