Lesson 82 : Limit Their Screen Time

[MTM 운영자]

[Limit Their Screen Time]

One of my friends recently bought his one-year-old daughter a laptop. "I want my kid to be media-fluent," he says. He believes that there's nothing wrong with screen time for children because it will help them become wise. But, I think he should give it a second thought. In most homes, the TV is on for 7 hours a day. By the time the average kid graduates from elementary school, he/she has spent 11,000 hours in school and more than 15,000 hours watching TV. Kids under six already spend more time watching TV and playing video games than they do reading.

It's funny that I'm discussing the negative effects of technology in a cutting-edge era, but the problems are serious. Childhood obesity and consumerism have been directly linked to excessive screen time. Doctors recommend that children under the age of two get no screen time. The first two years of life are very import!ant for brain development. If TV will get in the way of your child's ability to develop physically, socially, and emotionally, you should get rid of it.

I haven't banned technology from our house, but there are limits. My 11-year-old son can't watch TV until his homework is done. How about the PC? Microsoft Word, yes. Cyworld, no. What about playing video games? No. Sony PSP? Forget about it. He's allowed to listen to music on his PC, but the screen has to be off. Bill Gates restricts his 10-year-old daughter's screen time to 45 minutes during the week and an hour and a half on weekends. She goes to a school where the kids use PCs everyday, but still, he's doing this for a reason: Our kids are born with infinite creativity, and we can't let excessive screen time spoil it.

***Vocabulary

l       media-fluent

l       cutting-edge

l       obesity

l       consumerism

l       banned

l       infinite

l       excessive

***Discussion Questions

1.       What do you think about setting limits on screen time for children?

2.       Is having limited screen time only good for children? What about adults?

3.       If you were to limit the amount of time that your own child sits at a computer, how much time would you say is enough for a day? How much time a day would you give to a teenager?

4.       If you had a child who really insists on spending a lot of time in front of a computer, how would you control the amount of screen time? What ways would be effective?

5.       How much time do you spend in front of a computer each day? What would you say if someone tells you to limit your screen time dramatically?

6.       Would there be any positive effects of having children spend more time with a computer or a video game?

***Dialogue: A Suspicious Neighbor

Patricia: What do you think of our new neighbor?

Ray: I don’t know. I haven’t met him yet.

Patricia: Me neither, but I think he’s a shady character.

Ray: Why do you think that?

Patricia: Well, when he was moving in, I tried to shoot the breeze with him and he was shifty. When I asked him what line of work he was in, he was very evasive.

Ray: Maybe he just didn’t want to talk to a busybody when he was busy moving boxes. Have you thought of that?

Patricia: I wasn’t being a busybody. I was just being neighborly. When I offered to help him, he practically kicked me out of his apartment.

Ray: Okay, you must be right. He’s probably a serial killer.

Patricia: I wouldn’t put it past him.

Ray: Come on. My guess is that he just wants some peace and quiet.

Patricia: He wants peace and quiet to do what? That’s what I want to know.

Ray: I think we should just mind our own business.

Patricia: You can do what you like, but I’m going over there and I’m getting some answers. If I have live next to him, I’m entitled to know something about him.

Ray: Why don’t you leave the man alone? He’s entitled to some privacy. And plus, he probably won’t let you in.

Patricia: That’s what you think. I’m not taking no for an answer.

Ray: That poor man!

***Key words and Expression‎!s

1. shady 1 그늘이많은,그늘진,응달진(opp.sunny);그늘을 만드는,그늘이 되는;그늘  속에 있는,응달의;어렴풋한

2 《구어》떳떳하지못한,드러내 놓을 수 없는;의심스러운,수상한

2. shoot the breeze 수다를 떨다. 《미·속어》 잡담하다, 쓸데없이 지껄이다

Ex)  After dinner, we sat around shooting the breeze.

 우리는 저녁 식사 후 둘러앉아 수다를 떨었다

3. shifty 1 꾀가 많은, 책략을 좋아하는, 농간을 잘 부리는;교활한;믿을 수 없는;엉터리의, 부정직한
2 의뭉스러운, 흘금거리는 <눈길 등>
3 <운동 선수가> 움직임이 재빠른, 붙잡기가 힘든

Ex)  Donald always seems a little shifty to me.
              도날드는 나에게 좀 정직하지 못한 것 같아요.

4. line of work

What do you do (for a living)? or What´s your occupation? or What business are you in? or What line of work are you in? or What´s your line? or What´s your job?
직업이 무엇입니까?

5. evasive  1 회피적인
2 파악하기 어려운(elusive), 애매한
3 <대답 등을> 둘러대는, 속임수의
4 <시선 등을> 똑바로 보려고 하지 않는;교활한

          Ex)  His answers were brief and evasive.

그의 대답은 짧고 알쏭달쏭하였다.

6. busybody 참견 잘하는 사람, 일 봐주기 좋아하는 사람

7. put it past him

-  not put it past a person (to do) 《구어》 …가 …할지도 모른다고 생각하다

-  put it past a person 《미》 …에게 어울리지 않는 일이라고 생각하다

8. mind our own business 자기의 직분을 지키다 《남의 일에 간섭하지 않다》

             Ex)  Mind your own business.
                  참견 마라, 네 일이나 잘 해라.

9. taking no for an answer

Ex)  I won’t take no for an answer.
       나는 싫다는 대답을 용납하지 않을 것이다.

Ex)  I didn´t want to eat out, but my wife wouldn´t take no for an answer.
나는 외식하고 싶지 않았으나 아내는 우겨댔다

Ex)  I won´t take no for an answer.

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