Sunday is No TV Day in Indonesia

Can you imagine kids these days being told they can't watch TV for whole day!. Well not actually can't be a nice please. It'll never happen in a lot of households. Sunday is cartoon day on most channels.

But it seems that activists have called on families across the country to switch off their televisions on Sunday in recognition of National Children’s Day.

The first ever "No Television Day" campaign to be held in Indonesia and organized by the Children Media Development Foundation (Kidia) is also aimed at bolstering public support for more positive and educational television programs.

"We are very concerned about current TV programs which are often graphic and off-color shows containing violence and sex which are not suitable for children" Boby Guntarto, chairman of Kidia said.

The activist held a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout on Friday distributing pamphlets to passers-by to announce the campaign. The foundation says that the average Indonesian child watches between 30 and 35 hours of television per week or 1,560 to 1,820 hours per year.

There are currently 80 TV programs, or 170 hours a week aired by private television stations aimed at children but only 15 percent of the programs were suitable for children the foundation says. Excessive TV viewing particularly in children has been linked to aggressive behavior and obesity, Kidia also says.

"Children who watch too much television are more likely to be overweight and unhappy. It also affects brain development and learning in children" Boby said. Parents needed to reduce the amount of time their children spent in front of the TV he said.

The foundation says it has repeatedly protested about the poor quality of children's TV programming to television stations and production houses.

"However they always say they make the programs because of commercial interests. They see children and teens as prospective markets" Boby said.

The campaign has so far received support from at least 40 institutions across the country including schools and non-governmental organizations.