When I was in college, I met an old soul of a guy, who, despite his chronological age of 20, was like talking to a man many years older. His name was Thomas and he had a crush on me. Although I too, was a bit introspective and probably too serious for my age, Thomas’ maturity seemed over the top to me.

I just couldn’t reciprocate with the type of feelings he had for me. Maybe I was intimidated by his knowledge of Bach and Beethoven, or just plain bored by it, or maybe too embarrassed to walk around with a guy who was comfortable enough in his own skin to sport boots that looked like something straight off of Danielle Boone’s body.

Maybe it was because the day he proudly proclaimed that he didn’t own a TV - by choice - and didn’t even like watching it, I broke out in a cold sweat imagining having a boyfriend that might try to come between me and Beverly Hills 90210.  Maybe he is Danielle Boone, I thought.

In my mind, even though he was cute and attentive, he was just plain weird, and I wasn’t having any of that. My friend, Susan and I, conformists to societal norms that we were, made a full sport out of making jokes about “No TV-Thomas”. 

Nowadays, Susan and I agree that No TV-Thomas gets the last laugh, because both of us have come to believe what Thomas did - that most of what is in the media is not worth taking in, and life is so much more fulfilling when that same amount of viewing time is spent being active doing things.

Now there seems to be more science to support that media exposure might just be downright unhealthy - especially for teens. The conclusion of this study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, February 2009, is this:

Television exposure and total media exposure in adolescence are associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms in young adulthood, especially in young men.

This makes sense, when you consider that boys benefit emotionally from the testosterone surges that take place with achievement - ie. endeavors such as music, sports, or work. This type of good “stress” is cathartic to a boy’s brain, and since increased media exposure reduces the time that boys spend getting that release from achievement through activities, their brains experience less production of these hormones, which result in a healthy emotional state.

Maybe that’s why No TV-Thomas always seemed so content and at ease. Or, perhaps it was just the freedom he felt from not comparing himself to Dylan or Brandon each week, which allowed him to strut around that campus with lace up cowhide boots when everyone else was in flip flops and sneakers.

Obviously, he was on to something.  so moms with teenagers, give some thought to how much media your kids consume!