"I really didn't like TV-Turnoff Week, except I did notice that my grades went up and I was in a good mood all week." These are the words of Drew Henderson, a 2nd-grader from Donora, Penn. The TV-Turnoff Week Henderson is talking about is an annual event that starts on April 25. It is a time when our nation is encouraged to turn off the tube for seven days and read, talk to someone, exercise, think and just live.

But why wait until then? Why not start now? The end of April is wrought with final exams and papers; there's no time to begin a new project. Before midterms and spring break is the perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf.

Television does have its benefits. Easy access to multiple news sources, reruns of favorite early '90s sitcoms and even quality shows on the History Channel or the Discovery Channel are all reasons to tune in.

A few times a year, there are events that "need" to be watched-the World Series, the Olympic Games and the presidential debates are just a few. But maybe they don't need to be watched, just experienced. Listening to a ball game on the radio proves to be a unique and pleasurable time for many. Hearing the commentary live without visual advertisements is a way to experience the game as if you were really there. Try reading a newspaper or news magazine, listening to National Public Radio or KMOX or checking the foreign press online. You may find the variety of opinions refreshing and more in-depth than a 30-minute news segment.

In addition, TV provides a kind of belonging. In following a show for several seasons, we start to feel part of the characters' ongoing conflicts and celebrations, doubts and joys. Their successes and failures become our successes and failures. We feel we gain rare insight into what people really think. But this is a false sense of intimacy. The characters don't know you; there's no interaction, no relationship. It is a fictionalized, romanticized way of life-how is that closeness?

The average United States household keeps their set on seven hours and 40 minutes a day.* Four of those hours are spent watching it. Forty-five percent of parents said they use the television to keep their kids entertained while they tend to important matters. Forty-nine percent of Americans feel they watch too much television while parents spend a mere 38.5 minutes a week having good conversations with their children. Most upsetting is that 54 percent of four to six year olds would rather watch TV than spend some time with their fathers.

And then there's the issue of obesity, violence, and product marketing. With far better things to occupy our mental space, it seems a crime to clutter our heads with reminders to lose weight, buy shampoo, or see a movie.

So what does this mean? In short, while TV has its positive attributes, they are probably better ways to use that time. Encouraging exercise will improve the health of our society and promote better self-esteem. Talking with and spending time with friends and family will strengthen relationships and provide a type of satisfaction and interaction that TV cannot. Reading anything helps kids get ahead in school and develop a life-long love of learning. Even with all these reasons, there remains an intuitive sense that a whole lot of TV just isn't a good thing.

Television in itself is not a bad thing-it provides a window into worlds we might not otherwise see. How many of us could really see what the tsunami did without the aid of visuals? Or understand a different part of the planet? However, we shouldn't use TV as our primary means of having experiences; much more meaningful than staring at the box is seeing something for ourselves. It might take more work but the result is so much sweeter. Nothing good ever comes easy, right?

Like everyone else, I struggle with clicking off the remote. But, I took a step this year and didn't bring a TV to school; instead I decided to catch up on life-finishing that book I've been halfway through for a year, reconnecting with an old friend, dragging myself to the gym before class, doing homework, learning to cook more than omelets. As T. S. Eliot said, "The remarkable thing about television is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."

All statistics were taken from www.tvturnoff.org. Please visit for more information.

Maryam Zia is a junior studying biology and Spanish.