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you are here: > Self > 5.
Society and ME
| 5.27 |
General Social Trend #4:
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| The rise of personal and home entertainment | ||
| Computer games, like computers, are relatively young phenomena. Even more recent is the trend of “super sized” TV’s connected to high quality video and audio devices creating “home theatre” environments. | ||
| 5.27.1 | Obesity epidemic in children as a symptom, not a cause | |
| In many developed nations, the epidemic of childhood obesity is causing great concern given the long term health implications of diabetes, heart disease and other complications. Yet what is the underlying causes of such obesity? | ||
| Some “experts” blame the fast food industry for targeting young children by slick marketing campaigns. Some lawyers have even jumped on “fast food” as the next big thing in class law suits after the success of tobacco. Yet is fast food a cause, or a convenient scape goat for a much deeper problem? | ||
| There are numerous studies by non-litigious “experts” that counter the argument of fast food being to blame for childhood obesity pointing to the levels of consumption and calories intakes being roughly the same as those from the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. What is dramatically different is that children today perform far less physical activity than children of previous generations. | ||
| 5.27.2 | Why are children spending less time with physical activity and exercise today? | |
| If the underlying “cause” of childhood obesity is the dramatic reduction in childhood exercise and physical activity, then what is the underlying cause of this fact? The answer quickly comes back to the growth in popularity of both computer games and home entertainment systems. | ||
| Homes across the developed and developing world are fast becoming the new “pinball arcades” with children glued to monster sized televisions with high quality computer game consoles, DVD players and surround sound. When children are not playing their high quality graphics computer games, the rest of the family is using the “super-sized” TV’s for other entertainment such as cable, DVDs and recordable “live” cable/TV devices such as TIVO. | ||
| 5.27.3 | The always-on TV home entertainment system | |
| In the 21st Century, the super sized TV in many homes is always on. Even new kit homes being developed in nations such as Australia, The United States, the UK and Canada are being designed around the entertainment room being the most important room of the house, next to the kitchen. These new “McMansions” are being designed on super-sized bedrooms for computers, cabling throughout the house, large entertainment areas and no need for backyards or in some cases even a front yard! | ||
| The fact that such houses are popular- houses for families where the outside space for children has been sacrificed for the indoor space for personal and home entertainment systems speaks volumes as to the likely future trend of childhood obesity. If it is bad now, this is only the start. | ||
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