does it interfere with family bonding time?

yes i totally agree with you. initially we watched television as a time pass. but now a days watching television itself has become an important agenda in our day to day activities. people are spending more time in front of the tv which is not good. hope people realise this and change their habbit

Yes, I too noticed that people are less communicating physically now. Television, videos, dramas are the thieves of our valuable time. Family bonding also affected by the usage of technology. People are preoccupied with the Tablets, Notebook, mobile phones ... busy twittering, Facebooking etc. Therefore, we parents should have strategy for ideas and activities outside where we can have team building and family enrichment together.

You know, I do think that television can be something that could be attributed to taking away from family time. However, I don't think that is something that is fully true. You see, when I was growing up we had several different television shows that we watched together as a family. Heck, we even all got together on Saturday evenings and played video games together as well. That was great bonding for us and something that I remember with a lot of fondness. So while television might have taken away active time spent with the family, I don't really think that it has diminished the importance of spending time together.

Hi, That's the danger of having technology even right inside our bedrooms. It creates an unseen barrier between family members that may result to estrangement if not given enough attention. It is an insidious malady, nobody would eve suspect that everyone has drifted apart to each its own world when glued to the tube. Times like this, I always make it a point to make commentaries to everyone around in order to remind them that we are still in one roof and sharing the same show. It is a good strategy to reconnect with them when things get to drift apart in the process of watching that favorite series on television.

I have a television in my bedroom, but I'm still the kid living in the house. If I moved in together with my boyfriend and we had a proper sized flat or house, we would probably have a TV in the living room, not in the bedroom. I do think that watching some TV series every now and then is okay, but it can really hurt a family relationship or a romantic relationship if someone follows like 4 TV shows, and they schedule their lives around those shows... I know about people for whom Formula 1 is the most sacred thing, and they won't visit their families for the proper sunday lunch because of it... or people who won't go to any weekday evening program, no matter what it is (from a wedding to a theatre event anything), because they always watch their daily soaps. I think it's an addiction that should be helped.

And this is why my mom never allowed my younger siblings (and me when I still live there) to have our own TV in our bedroom. Even internet connection. We have to be out in the living room so they can supervise what we are up to when we are online and also to spend time with each other even though we're all out there doing something else. Like, I will be on the computer, my mom will be reading, my dad and bro will be watching the ball games, and my sisters will play dolls.

Thanks for this discussion, in my home there is tv and music system in each room, one is guest room and one big LCD screen flat tv in the drawing room. All in my home are fond of tv serials, so they watch in their rooms, my grand kids watch cartoons for half an hour only.

There's been too many women in my family while I was growing up. Soap operas and beauty pageants dominated our television. I guess this made us more bonded though coz we only had one TV set, so we all watched it altogether. One great moment was, I think it was a Miss Universe pageant that was shown and then right after it was a boxing match. The women stayed and cheered with us guys the way we cheered for those beauties.:)

Not just TV interferes with family bonding time. We don't have TV in each bedrooms, only one in the family room and one in the kitchen/dining area. Still, my kids are glued to their laptops. And in the car, they would put their earphones on and listen to their own music. So even when I ask them something, I have to speak loudly or lightly 'smack' them to get their attention

Hi, You are right. Everyone is addicted to TV. We are busy for whole day and after coming back from work everyone is eager to watch Their favorite programs. We take food in front of TV and talk each other in the break time. TV is given more importance than relations. sometimes some people continue watching TV when some guests arrived their house. They welcome them with tea and snacks in break and don't pay attention to them. I feel it is insulting to guests. We should watch TV for a fun but should not forget our relations.

Agreed.... Like my boy.... he spends his time watching TV/cartoons more than interacting with us. But, nevertheless, we also cannot fault him as at times, we also "stuck" to the tv ourselves when the series gets too exciting. So now, what we do is, we have implement a no-tv time in the evening when everyone gathers for dinner and 30 mins after dinner time so that we have time to interact and to bond with each other.