In this age of high-tech gadgetry and dazzling special effects, entertainment—which is neither all good nor all bad—can work for or against its viewers. It depends on the quantity of any given program watched or video games played, and how regularly it is practiced.

Brain-numbing entertainment affects the minds of 21st-century youth. According to the National Coalition on Television Violence, children in the United States are exposed to an estimated 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of elementary school. Aggression, suffering, sexual misconduct, and ungodly language—the entertainment industry constantly bombards young minds from all angles. This is exactly what game developers, Internet web designers and television producers strive for: time with your mind.

Audiences drawn to today’s explicit television shows, movies or Internet videos, which are filled with action-packed performances, have become accustomed to receiving mental stimulation and repeated adrenaline rushes from them. Some of these shows blur the lines between reality—the here and now—and fantasy, with certain audiences unable to distinguish between the two.

Today’s teenagers—a huge audience—are susceptible.

Being occupied with empty, time-wasting entertainment can be a catalyst for learning and forming the wrong habits of behavior.

Images and Concepts

It is natural to be curious. Curiosity can help one to learn, leading to new discoveries. Throughout the course of your life, you will continue to develop personality and character traits. Your curiosity will remain at a high level, especially in the teenage years.

However, adolescent curiosity can take sudden twists and turns and guide youth into problematic circumstances.

Television programs regularly watched by people of all age groups are becoming increasingly violent and filled with derogatory scenes. Such “entertainment” can have a desensitizing effect on viewers. It can strip away empathy from their thinking. It can create a reaction-less response in young minds that witness countless acts of raw human nature.

Entertainment media flashes images of premarital sex, drugs and other illicit activities before our eyes, serving a poisonous diet of perverse images and concepts, which no mind, regardless of age, should ever absorb. And being easily influenced, in addition to inexperienced in sound reasoning, young people can quickly throw away their time being “amused” by empty subject matter, thereby causing youthful imaginations to degenerate.

Engaging in such activities can make time seem to vanish in the blink of an eye—and nothing gets accomplished.

Tools—One of Many

What is fast-paced and changes all the time? The Internet. Whether it’s a research project for a school paper, watching a documentary, or communicating with faraway family members or friends, the Internet puts the world at our fingertips, supplying up-to-date information about daily news, sporting events, entertainment, etc. If used correctly, the online world can be a helpful, time-efficient tool.

Through the years, the Internet has changed to fit the individual, making it easier to form habits of dependency.

Young minds—which cannot be supervised by an adult all the time—may have good intentions before connecting to the World Wide Web, but there’s always something new and flashy that can pop up on the screen, distracting thoughts from the goal at hand. Just a mouse click away, wrong and unsafe material from websites can—by luring your vulnerable mind into their vice grip—dominate one’s life. Don’t mindlessly “surf the web” for hours on end and allow it to steal your time. Be balanced or risk becoming sedentary, living an inactive life that produces or accomplishes nothing worthwhile.

Balance Is Key

 

Source: Getty Creative Images

 

Source: Getty Creative Images

The University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, conducted an extensive research project on American teenagers and their use of digital media. The study showed that teens can develop positive, technical and social skills online—essential job skills for the workplace.

But this era of new media has created a problem for youth, altering the way they learn and socialize in face-to-face interactions. With so much entertainment available instantly, you can easily be sidetracked. If the bulk of your communication is from behind a computer or phone, your social skills with other people tend to wane.

Most learning and growing happens when a teen has face-to-face encounters with family and friends.

Try cutting back to one hour a day to view (appropriate) entertainment. Space time between watching movies and TV shows. While having meals with your family, turn the TV off. It may seem difficult at first, but you can do it! Continue to use the Internet for school projects and friendly communication, but force yourself to limit the time. Most importantly, be balanced.

Outside Enjoyment

Rather than seeking enjoyment through mindless entertainment, get a part-time job working outside, such as mowing lawns in your neighborhood.

Plan park activities: a game of basketball with friends, a dip in a pool during the hot summer months, or hitting golf balls at your local driving range.

You are only limited by your imagination when it comes to discovering wholesome entertainment.

Learn and study

While you are at it, put your time to good use by opening your Bible and reading from the mind of God. Recognize that you must make decisions about your priorities. You have a tremendous storehouse of knowledge available to you. Pay particular attention to it—study and learn from reading Church literature.

Put into practice what you learn from correct sources—it can make all the difference in your life!