Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family [Hardcover]

Cheryl Pawlowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2000

Are Joey, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Monica your best friends? Did your children learn about the birds and the bees from Ally McBeal? You're not alone. Research shows that TV has become such a part of our lives, it actually has taken over the roles once held by cherished family members.

Glued to the Tube explores the strong influence TV has over family interaction and communication. Using hundreds of reliable research studies and statistics, this book breaks down familial responsibilities into categories such as friend, family manager, arbitrator and sexual advisor, then shows how television has taken over these roles, and how it has performed.

While it may be easy to identify TV's presence in society, Glued to the Tube goes one step further, exposing how:

The ratings system is set up to woo younger audiences Common depictions of race and religion isolate viewers Prime-time programming manipulatesadults and children alike Network television attempts to teach us all how to live--from what to buy to how we choose and communicate with our partners

Author and media ecologist Cheryl Pawlowski relies on numerous studies and her own research to conclude that the modern family is competing with the tube to its own detriment. Pawlowski offers practical ways a family can break free of the television addiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of children, the tube is winning hands down over parents, asserts Pawlowski in this accessible look at the influence of television on American families. Following a short overview of how our ideals of family life have become increasingly codified since the advent of the written word, this professor of media ecology at New York University draws on recent studies and her own research to reveal the impact of broadcast media on family interactions and the fulfillment of family members' emotional needs. Contrasting the "perennially sunny, trouble-free world" of Ozzie and Harriet with the bed-hopping antics of Dallas's Ewing clan and the race-neutral popularity of The Cosby Show, she shows how TV has warped our perceptions of what constitutes "normal" family relations. At the same time, TV has eroded family relations by siphoning away time and attention that family members would otherwise devote to one another. With a barrage of statistics that buttress her view of the decline of family interaction, Pawlowski relentlessly decries TV as a powerful purveyor of negative cultural and racial stereotypes, one that steals important roles (mentor, hero, friend) away from parents and thus undermines their ability to shape their children's values. Pawlowski is at her best when acerbically detailing exactly what television's ever-shuffling roster of sitcoms and advertisements teaches viewers about gender, family and sexuality. Her final chapter offers practical advice on how to kick the TV habit.Though many of the author's points have been stated before, her accessible overview of the issueDwhich will get airplay on the author's national radio campaignDwill appeal to parents grappling with the effects of technology run amok. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Nearly everyone agrees that watching too much television is unhealthy. Pawlowski (speech communication, Univ. of North Colorado) argues that it also destroys families. The author has marshaled an impressive number of sources, but, unfortunately, she makes no distinction between current studies and those done more than 20 years ago: for instance, she cites a 1979 paper to show that TV promotes gender stereotypes. Moreover, in her eagerness to assail TV fare, she sometimes contradicts herself, as when she describes Fran of The Nanny as "brassy and assertive" in one chapter and "subservient and belittled" in the next. By demonizing television, Pawlowski oversimplifies the influence of all types of media, and she ignores the fundamental and far more complex reasons why families fail. She reveals her primary goal in the last chapter: to rid the airwaves of "offensive programming," a goal shared by the conservative Christian organizations on her resource list. An optional purchase for public libraries.DSusan M. Colowick, North Olympic Lib. Syst., Port Angeles, WA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks; 1st edition (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570714592
• ISBN-13: 978-1570714597
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL-BUT SCAREY!!!!!!, May 5, 2002

By 

"momma4" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family (Hardcover)

This book surprised me with its "pro-family" statement and the research to back it up.Dr Pawlowski is very thorough and wonderfully straight forward in her writing.The book is divided into 3 sections.The first ("How Did We Get Here?") gives a history of media in general and specific to television.The second section ("Stolen Roles) has 7 chapters each dealing w/ a different role that TV is or has taken from the family.The third section ("What The Future Holds") talks about what you can do about the hold and enormous influence TV has on today's society.The BEST thing about this book is the research evidence Did you know that there are more households w/ TV than indoor plumbing?Did you also know that children growing up today who watch TV will most likely spend 10 yrs of their lifetime watchng the tube?This book really has made me take a hard examination of TV (media in general) and MY viewing habits.The hold that this invasive media has on our lives is extremely frightening.I am recommending this book to all my friends and family.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i loved this book!, January 25, 2001

By 

Terra Morse (Greeley, CO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family (Hardcover)

this book is just wonderful! it not only shows the impact of tv on society today, but it gives advice on how to lessen its powerful grip. a must for anyone who feels that they are 'glued to the tube'!

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well-documented parts mixed in with hidden agendas, March 4, 2004

By 

M. David - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family (Hardcover)

This book has both good and bad points. Powlowski relies on numerous studies to develop her thesis that TV has become a cultural addiction, and these parts of the book are excellent. For example:

a) She offers that TV is the "vanguard of consumerism" that has tremendous impact on our lives

b) That TV is becoming a family manager without us noticing

c) How TV is "a misguided cure for boredom"

However, there is a dark side to this book as well. Readers should be warned that Powlowski uses this book as a whipping boy to explain why our culture does not match her political views. For example:

1) TV is to blame for why we are not all feminists ('Womanhood on TV' pg. 87-104). She seems to believe that we are all natural feminists and TV moves public opinion in the opposite direction, e.g. "Despite a growing number of strong female role models on TV, the overwhelming message remains little changed [that] women are second class citizens". This is ridiculous. One can look at non-TV cultures (Muslim, Amish, pre-1950 USA) and come to the opposite conclusion - that TV seems to encourage feminism. In truth, the general public is simply not big on feminism and TV simply reflects this view. Regardless, Powlowski offers no evidence for her opinion.

2) TV is why men gravitate towards manhood and machoism. ('TV and Manhood' pg. 91-95). Powlowski believes TV has made the naturally sensitive and soft man into a brute. TV is to blame for 80% of teens finding it "acceptable to use force if the couple was married" and men's propensity for "violence, misogyny". She is very concerned with ensuring "Manhood needs to be redefined in a way that allows women equality". Of course, again she offers no evidence for this correlation, and it's not hard to find many misogynist cultures that are not TV based (try ancient Greece, Rome, etc.).

3) How the printing press ('The Printing Press' pg 14-16) provided intellectual freedom for all except Catholics, who remain dumb and sheepish. For example, "Ordinary husbands and fathers achieved a new position that Catholic men entirely lacked" and that "Catholics were required by the church [sic] to rely on a priest for scriptural interpretations" as if the printing press was outlawed for Catholics (it was invented by a Catholic). Again, Powlowski seems to have her personal beliefs and is intent to pass them on.

Overall, this book has well-documented parts mixed in with personal biases and unsupported whoppers. However, if one can struggle through the latter and take it with a grain or two of salt, it's not a bad read.