The Media

I am a computer science major. It would then naturally follow that my life revolves around a finite state machine that processes zeros and ones: My homework, personal goals, journal, pictures, work projects and music are all stored on this remarkable device. I also use this device for gaming. I like to see the occasional funny blog post, news story, or Facebook comment, as does anyone else. But I also grow tired of it. I recall going to a Mario Kart tournament that went for upwards of three hours. After the first hour or so, I kept wanting to go back to my apartment, knowing that I had homework to do. But, I stayed so I could be around other people. It appears that some American kids also feel the same way. While it is indeed alarming to notice that youth are spending increasingly more time on the Internet, and watching television, it is comforting to note that the same study reported an (admittedly, small) increase of physical fitness.* It is simply important to keep balance. As Elder Russell M. Ballard explained: “It is not watching television, but watching television hour after hour, night after night. Does not that qualify as idling away your time?”**

* See http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf for the complete study
** Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Be Strong in the Lord,” Ensign, July 2004, 13–14. (Quoted in Charles D. Knutson and Kyle K. Oswald, “Just a Game?,” Ensign, Aug 2009, 46–51)