Editor:
I am sending this letter to both the writer of the article I am responding to, as well as to the school paper itself, because I feel the entire paper staff needs to be aware of what is going on in the Rip (since it appears to me that there is little proofreading, if any). I hate to single out one writer, because I feel this way about almost every article I read in the Rip, but this is the one that put me over the edge. To the paper, I want to say that you really should hold your writers to a higher standard of writing quality and journalistic integrity.
Hi there, Elizabeth. I just read your article in the Rip titled, “TV Rots Young Minds,” and I thought I should let you know I am thoroughly disgusted. I am always annoyed by the quality of writing (or lack thereof) in our school paper, and your piece definitely followed suit there. However, you take terrible journalism to a new level with your generalizations, assumptions, and disregard for logical reasoning. You preach that “Children must never watch television,” and attempt to provide “facts” to support this claim. However, anyone with any sense of logic can see through your attempt to sound like you know what you’re talking about.
?”First, a study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 83 percent of children under the age of 2 are watching television over two hours per day on average.” This tells us children watch television for about 8 percent of their day. However, it says nothing about what?that fact?actually means.
?Then you go on with some attempts to connect television to very serious social problems. Like this statement: “There are nine million children who take prescription medication for Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder, and that number is doubling every year….” That’s a good start to presenting real facts about ADHD. However, your attempt to connect it to television watching is completely ridiculous. It’s?an assumption?that holds no basis in the real world, yet you attempt to pass it off as a fact. Had you done your research, you’d know that ADHD is mostly hereditary. Scientists estimate that non-genetic contributions to ADHD only occur in about 20 percent of cases. These possible causes include head trauma, in utero tobacco and lead exposure and other pregnancy complications. Watching television is not on that list. You also claim, “Children have lost their sense of imagination,” with no attempt to connect that statement to real-life events.
?Then you move on to obesity. Yes, it’s true that sitting is not as physically engaging as playing a sport. However, that doesn’t justify saying that “one in five children are obese because they are spending more time sitting in front of the television.” Obesity is strongly influenced by genetics. Even if you ignore that (which it appears that you did), the other half of the “television leads to obesity” equation is nutrient intake. It is possible for someone to watch TV every waking moment and maintain a healthy weight. It is also possible for people who are fairly active to become overweight due to improper dietary habits. This should be common knowledge, and yet you attempt to clarify with numbers that “children who watch television are fatter.” Now, I’ll ignore the fact that you don’t clarify what or who they’re fatter than?and point out the most obvious conflict between your argument and this fact: This means that the other 65 percent of children who watch television are not fatter. Let me continue: 65 is more than 35. Your argument is betting against the odds.
Then you go on to talk about how television shows children inappropriate and unrealistic content. I suppose that’s true, but that’s assuming the parents never pay attention to what their kids watch and never attempt to explain to them the difference between fantasy and reality, which is the type of behavior your article is arguing against even though that situation is as common as you attempt to make it sound.
I just wanted to leave some constructive criticism for you and all the writers (if they can be called that) at the Renegade Rip.
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Tyler Scott
BC math major