Published on 12, July, 2020
There is some contentious stuff out there about high levels of tv watching increasing the chances of a child becoming autistic. What if however children with autism/autism traits are more likely anyway to watch tv. I don't know if that is true, I'm just throwing it out there for debate.Possibly more time stuck in front of the box would mean less time engaged in imaginative play.I was a toddler in the late 50s/early 60s and apparently watched a lot of television. Nowadays a toddler watching lots of tv or videos would not be that unusual, but I'm not sure it was the case back in the late 50s/early 60s .
Watching too much TV makes people stupid, not autistic.
If watching TV made kids autistic, then, in this age when parents use the TV as a babysitter, there would be so many more autistic kids now than decades ago when TVs were not so commonplace.
If that theory were true, then, presumably, keeping an autistic kid away from the TV would cure them.
I think that not watching TV has the potential to inhibit social development in children.
There is some anecdotal evidence that back in the 1980, and 90s, children from families which had books and toys but no TV were better behaved and better when it came to academic knowledge but they were out of sync socially with their peer group and had a poorer sense of fashion. They were basically uncool.
I'd have to disagree with that evidence. As you stated it's anecdotal but I'd go as far as to say it's cynical. It seems to be taken from a viewpoint of someone who sees the study group as consumers. "Out of sync socially" probably means that they aren't consuming and seeing the world from the way the media would desire. "A poorer sense of fashion" is subjective and fashion trends are only set to increase consumption. They are superficial and easily manipulated standards, not practical social skills. Those standards only existed after the intergration of mass media into the mainstream of society. Being uncool isn't a developmental disorder. It's a subjective opinion of the way someone is percieved. I've seen the "coolest" person in one group of society not be able to adjust to another groups norms. Which made them "uncool". People just are who they are.
All people are different though. In my experience parents just want their kids ASD or not to have good friends, not be the most popular kid in school. Even as an adult, nobody is going to be totally popular. Maybe the kid or adult doesn't want to enjoy the social side of anything. Social skills are something even "neurotypicals" struggle with. I've been to school and work with people who are total dicks. Being ASD may mean that people struggle with certain aspects of social situations but I think you hold the negative view of this. ASD isn't a social death sentence. We are on a spectrum too. Some struggle more than others. ASD individuals can learn to have social skills but they don't have a place for dicks to learn social skills. You can be socially awkward but real friends will like you.