No Longer Family Viewing

Submitted by ub on

I remember when I was a kid, sitting around the TV with my entire family enjoying our favorite shows chatting during commercials and making small talk together.

Family Viewing Hour was first established by the FCC in 1975. Under the policy, each television network in the U.S. had a responsibility to air family-friendly programming during the first hour of the prime time lineup 8 to 9P.

That concept had continued to be used by some viewers who believed in communal family-friendly programming. The TV was considered an electronic fireplace where the family gathered for their warm and fuzzy feeling.

Just as the telephone land-line disappeared as a household must have, the television set has started to look as a thing of the past. Some must see TV as an unneeded expense. Like my eighteen year old son and may other young people nowadays they're a growing breed who watch their favorite films, or video clips alone on their tablets, or smartphones and are quickly developing a detached viewing life without the need of a TV.

No TV, therefore no opportunity to sit together in the same room and become an extended part of The Family Viewing Hour. I recall the good old days when one family on a block might invite next door neighbors to join them in watching their trusted electronic gadget that formed a gathering place and a constant household companion.