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Strolling this Sunday to replace watching TV
The coalition behind No Television Day (NTV day) said there was an improvement in the number of television programs aimed at children that were categorized as “safe” for the targeted audience
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he coalition behind No Television Day (NTV day) said there was an improvement in the number of television programs aimed at children that were categorized as “safe” for the targeted audience.
However, the overall quality of local television in general is still far from satisfactory, highlighting the need for the public to turn off their TV sets once in a while, the Children’s Media Development Foundation (YPMA) said.
On Tuesday the coalition called on the public to turn off their TV sets on Sunday, July 25.
Carried out since 2006, the event encourages people to engage in other activities such as reading, walking and socializing.
YPMA said that in 2010, 59.3 percent of the 914 programs were safe for children, an increase from 2009 where 42.8 percent of 795 programs were considered safe.
The amount has increased significantly from 15 percent in 2006, Bobi Guntarto from the coalition said.
The amount of shows deemed “harmful” for containing scenes depicting violence, sex and exaggerated mystical elements declined from 29.9 percent in 2009 to 19.6 percent this year.
Despite the findings, Indonesian television still has a long way to go before it could be considered beneficial, or even decent for public consumption, Bobi said.
“Sinetron [local soap operas] and infotainment shows are still rampant. We’ve seen no increase in quality,” he said.
The mostly lachrymose, dramatic and sometimes slapstick-ridden sinetron have been called counter-educative by critics, a fate shared by infotainment shows, which delve into gossip surrounding local celebrities.
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) announced earlier this week that infotainment shows received the highest number of complaints from the public so far this year.
Paulus Widiyanto from the Society for Communication and Information (Maksi) said broadcasters should reduce the amount of entertainment programs and increase the number of informative and educational shows.
He stressed the dangers of television dependence, in which some people’s lives are controlled by the television program schedules and the dependence on television as a source of conversation or surrogate babysitters.
The NTV committee also organizes rallies and communal activities usually targeted at children, such as puppet shows and storytelling.
Bobi said an AGB Nielsen Research study that surveyed the number of people watching television a week prior to, and on NTV day, showed a significant decrease in those watching television on NTV day in 2008 compared to 2006.
“We cannot say for sure that the decrease was due to No Television Day as there could be other
factors, including a general decrease in television viewers altogether,” Bobi said.
AGB Nielsen August 2008 newsletter said that its survey conducted in 10 cities showed that on NTV Day in 2008, the lowest amount of children watched television compared to previous years.
