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Because television has become so ubiquitous so quickly, it is difficult to do before TV and after TV studies.
On the other hand, studying the effects of eliminating or reducing TV is very feasible. In fact this has been done on at least a few occasions.
A lot of laboratory studies have been done on the effects of video games, but only a few laboratory tests have been done on the effects of television.
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Effects of TV on Cognition
"Angeline Lillard and Jennifer Peterson, both of the University of Virginia's department of psychology, wanted to see whether watching fast-paced television had an immediate influence on kids' executive function -- skills including attention, working memory, problem solving and delay of gratification that are associated with success in school. Television's negative effect on executive function over the long term has been established, the researchers wrote Monday in the journal Pediatrics, but less is known about its immediate effects. To test what those might be, Lillard and Peterson randomly assigned 60 4-year-olds to three groups: one that watched nine minutes of a fast-paced, "very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea;" one that watched nine minutes of slower-paced programming from a PBS show "about a typical U.S. preschool-aged boy;" and a third group that was asked to draw for nine minutes with markers and crayons. Immediately after their viewing and drawing tasks were complete, the kids were asked to perform four tests to assess executive function. Unfortunately for the denizens of Bikini Bottom, the kids who watched nine minutes of the frenetic high jinks of the "animated sponge" scored significantly worse than the other kids." - Los Angeles Times (Sept 2011) and Pediatrics (Sept 2011) and Medical News Today (Sept 2011) and USA Today (Sept 2011) and Science Daily (Sept 2011) and Mail Online (Sept 2011) and PsychCentral (Sept 2011) and Earth Sky (Sept 2011) and Obesity Panacea (Sept 2011) and The New York Times (Sept 2011) and San Francisco Chronicle (Sept 2011) and Psypost (Sept 2011) and sott.net (Sept 2011) and Psychology Today (Sept 2011) and Live Science (Sept 2011) and US News Health (Sept 2011) and MedPage Today (Sept 2011)
"Christakis's mice were divided into two groups, one in a normal environment and one in which the mice were overstimulated. After the first 10 days of the mice's lives, the overstimulated mice's cartons were bombarded with audio from cartoons and flashing lights that were in rhythm with the audio for six hours a night. Their mothers also remained in the cartons with them. Then they tested cognition, behavior, and activity in the mice. They found that the overstimulated mice were hyperactive, took more risks, and had learning problems.” - Medical Daily (July 2012) and Scientific Reports (July 2012) and Seattle Mama Doc (Jan 2012) and You Tube (Dec 2011) and NCBI (July 2012) and International Business News (Feb 2012) and Neuro Research Project (July 2012) and Roots of Action (2012) and tvSmarter Blog (March 2014)
"Results: Performance varied according to experimental group and age. In particular, we found that children's orienting networks and error rates can be affected by a very short exposure to television. Conclusion: Just 3.5 min of watching television can have a differential effect on the viewer depending on the pacing of the film editing. These findings highlight the potential of experimentally manipulating television exposure in children and emphasize the need for more research in this previously under-explored topic." - Acta Pædiatrica (June 2009)
"Middle-class 6-year-olds matched for sex, age, pretest WPPSI IQ, and TV-viewing time were blindly assigned to a restricted TV-viewing group or an unrestricted group. Restricted parents halved subjects' previous TV-viewing rates and interacted 20 min./day with subjects for a 6-week period. Unrestricted TV parents provided similar interactions but did not limit viewing. Results tentatively suggest that TV restriction enhanced Performance IQ, reading time, and reflective Matching Familiar Figures scores." - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (Winter 1980)
"Subsequent work by Malach and colleagues has found that, when we're engaged in intense "sensorimotor processing" - and nothing is more intense than staring at a massive screen with Dolby surround sound while wearing 3-D glasses - we actually inhibit these prefrontal areas. The scientists argue that such "inactivation" allows us to lose ourself in the movie" - Frontal Cortex (Jan 2010)
"There was greater frontal lobe activation in children when they were engaged in a picture book reading task with their mothers, as opposed to passive viewing of a videotape in which the story was read to them. Social and verbal engagement of the mother in reading picture books with her young child may mediate frontal brain activity in the child." - Pubmed (Oct 2009)
"The EEG studies similarly show less mental stimulation, as measured by alpha brain-wave production, during viewing than during reading." - Scientific American (Feb 2002)
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Overall Effects of Reducing Screen Time
"5 days away from computer screens boosts preteens' social awareness" - Los Angeles Times (August 2014)
"In a finding that may spur on-the-fence parents to set some limits, researchers found that clamping down on both screen time and media content directly impacted the kids' sleep: kids actually got more shut eye every week. It also was linked to improved academic performance, meaning kids got better grades in school. And since kids got more sleep, limiting screen time also indirectly affected body mass index and resulted in a "lower risk of obesity," investigators stated. In addition, "prosocial" behavior (such as helpful and cooperative behavior in school) rose, while aggressive behavior (like pushing and shoving) dropped. These gains were seen seven months after the parents set limits." - What To Expect (April 2014) and Iowa State University (March 2014) and Science World Report (April 2014) and JAMA Pediatrics (May 2014) and Salon (July 2014)
"What happens if you deprive a group of 7 and 8 year olds of computers, television and games consoles for two weeks?... Even after just two weeks, families found they began to interact more, even to ‘rediscover’ their pleasure in each other’s company... There was no conclusive evidence that the temporary absence of TV and game consoles resulted in changed behaviour in school, but spin-off educational benefits were likely to accrue from the greater enthusiasm many of the children showed for doing homework and as a result of going to bed earlier when there was no TV to tempt them to stay up late at night." - Science Daily (June 2007)
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Effects of TV on Aggression
Reducing TV = Reducing Aggression
"In a finding that may spur on-the-fence parents to set some limits, researchers found that clamping down on both screen time and media content directly impacted the kids' sleep: kids actually got more shut eye every week. It also was linked to improved academic performance, meaning kids got better grades in school. And since kids got more sleep, limiting screen time also indirectly affected body mass index and resulted in a "lower risk of obesity," investigators stated. In addition, "prosocial" behavior (such as helpful and cooperative behavior in school) rose, while aggressive behavior (like pushing and shoving) dropped. These gains were seen seven months after the parents set limits." - What To Expect (April 2014) and Iowa State University (March 2014) and Science World Report (April 2014) and JAMA Pediatrics (May 2014)
"The control group continues watching their usual cartoon fare, many of them violent, like “Road Runner” or “Scooby Doo.” Families in the intervention group are counseled to watch a cartoon fare described as pro-social and educational like “Dora the Explorer” and as neither violent nor pro-social, like “Curious George.” They agree to adhere to this media diet for six months, with a follow-up after a year." - Psychology Today (July 2013) and Pediatrics (March 2013)
"What your kids watch on TV can affect how well they sleep, a new study suggests. Published in the journal Pediatrics, the study found that when parents intervened in their kids’ media diet -- reducing exposure to violent and age-inappropriate content and replacing it with age-appropriate, educational and empathy-building content such as "Curious George,""Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" -- the children had fewer sleep problems, less aggression, and increased empathetic and friendly behaviors." - Los Angeles Times (August 2012) and Pediatrics (August 2012) and Psychology Today (June 2013) and Huffington Post (August 2012) and USA Today (August 2012) and Deseret News (August 2012)
"Effects of reducing children's television and video game use on aggressive behavior: a randomized controlled trial." - Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (Jan 2001) and Research Gate (Jan 2001) and Evidence-Based Mental Health (Jan 2001)
"Mich. kids urged to kick the TV habit" - Daddy Roses (Feb 2006)
Stanford Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television (SMART) curriculum is being used in California and Michigan. SMART in San Francisco, SMART in Canada
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Effects of TV on Materialism
"As well as demonstrating that changes in materialism can predict changes in wellbeing, the paper also introduced an intervention to discourage materialism in adolescents. This three-session financial education program was designed to reduce spending and promote both sharing and saving. Topics included advertising and consumer culture, tracking spending behavior, and integrating sharing and saving into a financial plan. Of the 71 adolescents (aged 10 to 17 years) involved in the study, those who were randomly assigned to the education group became less materialistic after participating in the intervention. Notably, adolescents who began with high materialistic values when assigned to the intervention group reported increased self-esteem over time, while those assigned to the no-treatment control group reported decreased self-esteem. Other studies have also found that boosting adolescents’ self-esteem not only discourages materialistic values, but also eliminates age differences in materialism.[2] These age differences reflect the period between middle childhood and early adolescence when adolescents are more likely to experience low self-esteem and pursue materialistic goals." - Psychology Today (March 2014)
"Effects of reducing television viewing on children's requests for toys: a randomized controlled trial." - Journal of Developmental and Behaviorial Pediatrics (June 2001)
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Effects of TV on Sleep
"In a finding that may spur on-the-fence parents to set some limits, researchers found that clamping down on both screen time and media content directly impacted the kids' sleep: kids actually got more shut eye every week. It also was linked to improved academic performance, meaning kids got better grades in school. And since kids got more sleep, limiting screen time also indirectly affected body mass index and resulted in a "lower risk of obesity," investigators stated. In addition, "prosocial" behavior (such as helpful and cooperative behavior in school) rose, while aggressive behavior (like pushing and shoving) dropped. These gains were seen seven months after the parents set limits." - What To Expect (April 2014) and Iowa State University (March 2014) and Science World Report (April 2014) and JAMA Pediatrics (May 2014)
"What your kids watch on TV can affect how well they sleep, a new study suggests.
Published in the journal Pediatrics, the study found that when parents intervened in their kids’ media diet -- reducing exposure to violent and age-inappropriate content and replacing it with age-appropriate, educational and empathy-building content such as "Curious George,""Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" -- the children had fewer sleep problems, less aggression, and increased empathetic and friendly behaviors." - Los Angeles Times (August 2012) and Pediatrics (August 2012) and Psychology Today (June 2013) and Huffington Post (August 2012) and USA Today (August 2012) and Deseret News (August 2012)
"What happens if you deprive a group of 7 and 8 year olds of computers, television and games consoles for two weeks?... Even after just two weeks, families found they began to interact more, even to ‘rediscover’ their pleasure in each other’s company... There was no conclusive evidence that the temporary absence of TV and game consoles resulted in changed behaviour in school, but spin-off educational benefits were likely to accrue from the greater enthusiasm many of the children showed for doing homework and as a result of going to bed earlier when there was no TV to tempt them to stay up late at night." - Science Daily (June 2007)
"Therefore, to clarify the causal relation between TV viewing and sleep–wake patterns, the present study employed an intervention method. Eight university students and eight elderly people participated in this study for 2 weeks, excluding weekends. They were asked to follow their regular routine during the study; however, their TV viewing was limited to 30 min per day in the second week. The results indicate that the effects of the restriction on TV viewing differed between the two age groups. This restriction affected the sleep–wake pattern and motor activity of university students. When TV viewing was limited, they went to bed earlier and slept for a longer time." - Wiley (Jan 2007)
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Effects of TV on Obesity
"In a finding that may spur on-the-fence parents to set some limits, researchers found that clamping down on both screen time and media content directly impacted the kids' sleep: kids actually got more shut eye every week. It also was linked to improved academic performance, meaning kids got better grades in school. And since kids got more sleep, limiting screen time also indirectly affected body mass index and resulted in a "lower risk of obesity," investigators stated. In addition, "prosocial" behavior (such as helpful and cooperative behavior in school) rose, while aggressive behavior (like pushing and shoving) dropped. These gains were seen seven months after the parents set limits." - What To Expect (April 2014) and Iowa State University (March 2014) and Science World Report (April 2014) and JAMA Pediatrics (May 2014)
"Researchers found when adults who normally watched around five hours of television daily cut their viewing time in half for just three weeks, they cut a total of 120 calories per day. That would result in about 13 pounds lost in a year, without making any other changes!" - About.com (March 2011) and Science Daily (Dec 2009) and MedPage Today (Dec 2009) and The New York Times (Dec 2009)
"Reducing TV Time Helps Adults Burn More Calories, Study Finds" - Science Daily (Dec 2009)
"Children consumed 45% more when exposed to food advertising. Adults consumed more of both healthy and unhealthy snack foods following exposure to snack food advertising compared to the other conditions. In both experiments, food advertising increased consumption of products not in the presented advertisements, and these effects were not related to reported hunger or other conscious influences." - NCBI (July 2009)
"Reducing television viewing and computer use may have an important role in preventing obesity and in lowering BMI in young children, and these changes may be related more to changes in energy intake than to changes in physical activity." - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (March 2008)
"TV and Computer Limits Make Kids Slimmer" - WSJ Health Blog (March 2008)
"Children whose parents used monitoring equipment to halve screen time found they were thinner, a report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows." - Telegraph (March 2008)
"Our results encourage the design of interventions that reduce television watching as a possible means of increasing adolescent physical activity." - PubMed (Feb 2006) and ResearchGate (Feb 2006) and Europe PubMed Central (Feb 2006)
"Dance and reducing television viewing to prevent weight gain in African-American girls: the Stanford GEMS pilot study." - PubMed.gov (Winter 2003)
"The results of the study, published in Health Psychology in 1995, showed that the children who were reinforced for being less sedentary-e.g., less television and less computer games-had a bigger weight loss than the children who were reinforced for increasing their physical activity." - The Reporter (Dec 2000)
"For kids, reducing TV viewing may be a key to preventing obesity" - Stanford Report (May 1999)
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Luckily there have been some
Before and After TV Studies
In Fuji, scientists were able to do a before TV and after TV study. The scientists looked at the effects of TV on body self-image. More on the Fuji Study.
Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences.
More on Bhutan
In 1973 a small town in Canada with no access to TV, had a TV transmitter installed. Scientists did longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on the residents to see what the effects were of TV.
A study in "South Africa, where TV was banned until 1975 "
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New Zealand Study
"These findings indicate that excessive television viewing is likely to have a negative impact on educational achievement. This is likely to have far-reaching consequences for an individual’s socioeconomic status and well-being in adult life.23 Although we cannot prove that watching television is causally related to poor educational achievement, the associations between viewing time and educational outcomes were strong and independent of the known confounding influences of intelligence, socioeconomic status, and childhood behavioral problems. Furthermore, this study fulfills many of the other criteria often used to infer causality in an observational study, including temporal sequence, dose-response relationship, and biological plausibility. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of reverse causation. This is likely to be at least part of the explanation for the strong association between television viewing during adolescence and leaving school without any qualifications. By adolescence, some individuals will be poorly motivated toward schoolwork and may, for example, fill their time by watching television instead of doing homework. This is less likely to be the explanation for the strong inverse association between television viewing in childhood and attainment of a university degree. The finding that childhood viewing was a better predictor than adolescent viewing of not obtaining a university degree makes reverse causation unlikely and indicates that excessive childhood television viewing has a long-lasting association with poor educational outcomes." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (July 2005)
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New York Study
"The researchers were able to show statistically that excess TV viewing appears to lead to poor academic achievement, rather than the other way round. They could do this because they factored the children's learning abilities at the start of the study into their analysis. The team first selected volunteers from a range of socio-economic backgrounds in New York State in 1975. Subsequently, the team assessed the children's TV habits and educational performance at age 13, 16, 22 and 33." - The Guardian (May 2007) and News-Medical.net (May 2007) and New Scientist (May 2007)
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Depression Study
"Teens who spend long hours watching television are at higher risk for depression as adults, a new study finds... “We cannot be sure it is cause-and-effect,” stressed study author Dr. Brian A. Primack, an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “The reason that the study suggests it might be cause-and-effect is that the television viewing came first. It did not include people who had symptoms of depression when the study began.”" - Health News (Feb 2009) - More on this study - Los Angeles Times (Feb 2009)
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Television in the Laboratory
Studying the effects of video games, scientists have done a number of brain-imaging studies.
As for television, scientists have a number of brainwave and brain-imaging studies looking at the effects of commercials (helping marketers to creater more effective TV commercials).
What needs to be done, are brainwave and brain-imaging studies comparing:
- TV watch
- reading
- talking
- drawing
- playing video games.
- creative play
In other words comparing TV watching with activities that TV is replacing.
See Brainwaves & TV
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Video Games & Depression & Anxiety & Social Phobia
"The study, which was based on a two-year survey of 3,034 children in Singapore, found that 9 percent of players were addicted, as defined by how much their playing interfered with their grades, emotions and relationships. The researchers weren't entirely surprised by that result, because of similar studies in the United States and other countries. What shocked them was how the reduction of troublesome gaming habits corresponded with fewer depressive symptoms. "When they dropped below the pathological line (for gaming addiction) their depression decreased, their anxiety decreased, their social phobia decreased," said Douglas Gentile, the lead author. "That's kind of the opposite of what we expected to find. We expected that maybe the gaming followed those other issues."" - Seattle Times (Jan 2011) and Science Daily (Jan 2011) and Iowa State University News Service (Jan 2011) and Child-Psych.org (Feb 2011) and Parent Dish (Jan 2011)
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Correlation Does Not Equal Causation
"What made this simple caveat—a warning not to fall too hard for correlation coefficients—into a coup de grace for second-rate debates?" - Slate (Oct 2012)
"Correlation & Causation" - Rick Nevin
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Statistics
"Statistical Significance And Sample Size" - Explorable.com
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