Television is the deadliest invention of all time. It is like a black hole: it is so powerful, given the ‘right’ circumstances, nothing can escape from its deadly magic. Unfortunately, a lot of parents didn't and don't have a clue what happens with children that are sucked into the television - or, more likely these days, into their mobile phones. 

Eric Cantona doesn't want his kids to have a mobile phone - listen to what Cantona has to say on the topic:

The development of my social life was brought to a standstill by television. The ‘right’ circumstances being: hell as a substitute for school, parents as a deadly combination, no life on the street, but glued to the television.

Most parents don't have a clue how harmful a screen can be to a young kid. If you don't have an emotional connection with anybody, as can easily happen due to the limited amount of social interaction lots of kids have, and you spend as much time as possible in front of the television, that television will present you with a view of the world that will make you think it's a very dangerous place - so better to stay inside. There is no limit to the intensity of the sex and violence you get to see.

Watching screens should never have become an option for kids. You have to be on the street as much as possible, making friends and enemies. Or at least, do things, not be a spectator and become a coach potato. You will not develop any skills sitting in front of a television. You will not learn to draw, play an instrument, write, sculpt, play sports. And you will not develop any social skills, which is the most important thing you should learn, if you want to become an adult. Making friends, enemies, discovering what you want to do with your life.

The most important thing: parents should realize they actually disable their children by letting them watch television, play video games, use mobile phones and computers. They should stimulate them to discover what talents they have and how important it is to use these! Otherwise they can end up in a bullshit job and thus life and forever hate their parents for being the idiots they were. If you think it is not necessary anymore to be a responsible parent, you should never have had children in the first place.

It makes me very sad to know kids on average spend 6,5 hours daily (!) watching screens, mostly mobile phones. All this time they are not actually doing anything, not learning new things, improving skills, don't interact with other kids, only drive themselves crazy watching influencers, that never should be able to influence anyone, and videos of ‘beautiful’ and ‘succesful’ people. The amount of screen time is one of the main causes of a worsening of youth mental health. 

Parents should take a collective responsibility and forbid children the use of mobile phones, watching television and using computers. These devices should be regarded as dangerous hard drugs, from which it is almost impossible to rehab from. But this calls for a revolution in thinking about screens and technology in general, which is highly unlikely, as today the whole world revolves around technology. But: maybe something is gradually changing: Smartphone ban for kids 'worth considering' - MPs.

Neil Postman has written a briljant and must read book on the impact of television on childhood: The Disappearance of Childhood. 

There is a lot more to say about the destructive influence of television, and the screen in general. I will add more shortly. For instance, it creates and reinforces stereotypes, which you will not be able to ignore in daily live, because your mind doesn't distinguise between real and virtual, when storing these images. And it destroys authenticity, because you've already ‘experienced’ almost every conceivable situation in a movie or television series and subconsciously let your own behavior be influenced by that.