By Edie Humiston
For The Independent

It was a dark and stormy evening, when suddenly there was bolt of light and a loud crash. The lights flickered and then everything electrical shut down. Including my TV! I was up, pacing the floor, almost angry from the imposing silence. I was right in the middle of a good movie. I wanted my TV back on, now!

My husband decided it was a good time to go to bed early while I fussed around the house, with flashlight in hand, waiting for the electricity to come on. That's when I knew I had it. Televisionitis.

It wasn't as if this was the first time I'd been without TV. Through the years, there've been numerous brief interruptions to the electrical service. There have also been times that weren't so brief; like the time of the flood in 1968, the 1980 tornadoes and the 2006 ice storm. I was without television for several days then, so why did it bother me this time?

According to the Nielsen Co., the total average time a household had a TV tuned in during the 2006-2007 television year was eight hours and 14 minutes per day. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping. By age 70 they will have spent seven to 10 years of their lives watching television."

Television is a source of entertainment and information. It keeps us politically aware and updates us on local affairs and weather. It offers interesting shows on nature, educational programs and an array of movies. It helps us to relax, forget the troubles of the day and keeps us company when we're sick or alone.

"Television clearly remains a very important part of daily life in the United States," noted Patricia McDonough, senior vice president of planning policy and analysis at Nielsen Media Research.

However, researchers have revealed both negative and positive consequences of television viewing, especially for children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics noted the most important activities and interactions in infancy are those social, face-to-face interactions that establish the basis for interpersonal relationships. A study of 1,345 children by Dimitri Christakis and his colleagues, found that viewing an extra hour of television daily at ages one to three showed a 10 percent higher probability that children would exhibit behaviors consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD by the age of 7.

Other studies have shown children who watch a lot of television are likely to have lower grades in school, read fewer books, exercise less and be overweight, and that information from television may be inappropriate leading to other behavioral difficulties.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping TV sets out of kids' bedrooms, to limit viewing time and to choose television programs that meet the developmental needs of children.

Excessive television viewing also interferes with family fun and communication. Robert Kubey of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University, wrote, "Particularly because watching television is so easy to do, family members may have become less imaginative about other ways to spend their time together."

While getting interrupted in the middle of a good movie is frustrating, it's not a big deal. There's plenty of other things to do. Sometimes you just need to turn the TV off and get back to the real world.

My idea of a great evening is still relaxing in my favorite recliner, but the week of April 21-27, I'll read, try my hand at scrapbooking and enjoy the laughter and conversation of those around me.