Television

This is a good, easy-to-read article about different effects of television.

In a study published last year in Child Development, a team led by Marie Evans Schmidt found that background TV has significant effects on toddlers' play.

Fifty children, aged one through three, played by themselves in a room while a parent sat nearby reading magazines. Half the time (either at the beginning or end of the session), an episode of the game show Jeopardy! was playing in the background. The researchers videotaped the kids' playing behavior and found that play episodes and focused attention were shorter while the TV show was on, even though no one was actively watching the show. Over a lifetime, this might mean that these kids are less able to focus on tasks...