Television - A Blessing or Curse or In Between?

I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. - Psalm 101:3

The subject of one of my new polls is television. I know several families who do not watch any television, and I admire them for their convictions.

In our family, we grew up with very limited television, and at one point my dad threw our set out.

But we have a television now, which don't spend a lot of time watching, and I think there is a way to guardedly watch television. I believe young children should not watch much if any television, as it may be a distraction and hindrance to work, growth, and intelligence. It may even be the same for adults if we are not careful. There are so many bad influences on TV, that it is necessary to keep a tight rein on it. Even the so-called decent, family movies and shows usually have their problems.

Is a television useless and bad, then? Some may say yes, but I say no, with caution. There are some good shows on helpful things such as cooking, gardening, and household projects. There are even some historical documentaries from which we can learn. But we have to keep our mind sharp, not taking everything we hear as fact, and helping our children to understand what is right or wrong. Then there are DVDs and movies, some of which are decent or even very helpful. You don't need a television for those, of course, as they can be played on a computer.

What of those awful ads? That is one of the wost problems, no doubt. But if you change the channel in between your show or watch only a couple of more conservative channels, it is possible to remain free of such influences.

There are bad influences all around us, from real life to online to on television. We should try our best to avoid the bad, and perhaps it is harder to do so with a television, but I am not convinced it is wrong to have one. I'm open to changing my mind on this, though.

Thoughts?