True, amid all these ‘withdrawal pangs’ the youths found some very positive substitutes for TV. One girl recalled: “I talked to my mom. She became a much more interesting person in my view, because my attentions were not divided between her and the television set.” Another girl passed the time trying her hand at cooking. A young boy named Jason even discovered it could be fun to go “to the park instead of TV,” or to fish, read, or go to the beach.

One family made the decision to sell their set and they report: “Not having a TV has been like a complete recovery from a long, burdensome illness.”