I want my BTV – Bedroom TV!

Did any of you have a television in your bedroom while growing up as a kid? I didn’t, and in general, wasn’t too interested in having one in my room. Recently, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health published their research finding and discovered, to no surprise, ” Study ties bedroom TV to unhealthy habits in teens:

“Girls with a bedroom television reported getting less vigorous exercise — 1.8 hours per week compared to 2.5 hours for girls without a TV. They also ate fewer vegetables, drank more sweetened beverages and ate meals with their family less often, the researchers said. Boys with a bedroom TV reported having a lower grade point average than boys without one, as well as eating less fruit and having fewer family meals, the researchers said… Among black teens, 82 percent reported having a bedroom TV, compared to 66 percent of Hispanics, 60 percent of whites and 39 percent of Asian Americans.”

Well, that is not too surprising. When I was growing up, we only had one television, and that was in the family room. And of course, my parents were always complaining to my brother and I that we watched too much television. My brother and I did share a computer in his bedroom (but we didn’t have the Internet back then where kids today do). Did you grow up with a TV or computer in your room? Were your parents strict about the amount of television they let you watch?

About John

I'm a Taiwanese-American and was born & raised in Western Massachusetts, went to college in upstate New York, worked in Connecticut, went to grad school in North Carolina and then moved out to the Bay Area in 1999 and have been living here ever since - love the weather and almost everything about the area (except the high cost of housing...)
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