Tuning Out - TV in the Car?

About 15 years ago, I saw something on the highway that blew my mind. While driving through Memphis on the interstate, during a heavy rainstorm and at night, a car passed us in which we could see the driver watching a relatively large tv he had balanced on the dash of his car! Not one of those tiny hand-held things, but something you might find in a kitchen at the time. Of course, the size doesn't matter that much - he was watching tv while flying along in a downpour at night!

Since then, we've all seen the growth and widespread use of portable DVD players which parents have noted as a godsend for keeping kids, and as a result parents themselves, happier on long car trips. That I see, and totally agree. When it comes to very long trips, all of us, at any age, can appreciate having something to do to pass the time. And, yes, there are some stretches across the country where there truly isn't much to see. Too much screen time can clearly have negative effects but, as someone recently wrote, there can theoretically be a 75% chance of dying of boredom!

Anyway, recently I've finally realized that there's a new gadget in many new vehicles: satellite television broadcast straight to the kiddos in the back seat. Sure, this could just be another option for viewing and boredom-killing on road trips, but what I'm seeing and hearing more about lately involves many parents using that tv now as a way to appease the kids during even the shortest errand around the neighborhood or town. One article recently in the Washington Post cited a mother who realized they couldn't even drive to school in the morning without watching tv in the car.

Again, I'm far from anti-electronics. But, one reason I'm writing this blog is because I meet more and more kids and teens who can hardly describe what general part of the city they live in, or what's near their house, or how far it is from one thing to another. It's a level of almost disorientation, and for sure a level of disengagement from their basic surroundings. So, honestly, do kids really need to watch tv in order to "survive" driving 10 minutes down the street? Save it for those middle-of-nowhere moments on the cross-country trip! They can just look out the window sometimes!