September 25, 2011Dear Sir,Television is a technological medium of great importance in the lives of people, because it provides information, sports and entertainment among other things. However, it may be the main cause of school failure for many students. Here are some facts. In all surveys made on children concluded that most children watch too many TV programmes — some appropriate to their age and others for adults. Research on the subject says that when you watch TV too much and without control you can produce a unit, called teleadicción with mental fatigue, especially in children.Many families have their main meals in front of the TV, to use the time to receive information or enjoying an entertainment programme. But this also makes communication between people difficult and usually all members of the family remain silent. In many cases television is the means to fill the free time and where viewers watch movies, political gatherings, soccer, tennis and other fun programmes.This promotes sedentary lifestyles that harm health, and as for children leads to them losing the reading habit and therefore to make increased spelling mistakes, do little sport and have no hobbies. As television takes them away from these other things they end up falling in school failure.Television also affects the formation of personality and loss of habits. Watching TV falls into passivity and comfort and is incapable of the necessary effort required for study.After two or three hours watching television it is hard to move from a passive state to other activities where the student must do everything from understanding books, discussing ideas, relationships, and expressing themselves and remembering.Finally, we can say that in the study room there should never be a TV switched on because the student cannot see and understand both the screen and a book.Does all the above leads to the conclusion that TV is harmful? No, it is positive with proper use, but when related to study the consequences are never positive.ARTHUR RAMOIndependent Forum of OpinionTeruel, Spain