For a week from today, see if you can stay away from the idiot box and, instead, use your time in healthy and productive ways.

no tv 210409 fomca team This is the challenge before Malaysians in a national campaign themed ‘turn off the TV and turn on your life’, organised by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) and its affiliates.

“Studies show that television has been cutting too much into our personal lives. Hence, we hope that this campaign will spur families to spend quality time together instead of sitting in front of the television all the time”, Fomca consumer youth educator Liew Siew Hui told a press conference today.

“The average Malaysian adolescent now spends about four to six hours per day watching television. This translates to about 35 hours per week, or equivalent to the time spent holding a full-time job. Even their parents are spending about the same amount of time on television.”

no tv 210409 liew siew hui Liew cited findings from a survey conducted by Omnicom Media Group which revealed that sedentary activities such as surfing the Internet and watching television rank first and second as the favourite activities of Malaysian youth, at 84 percent and 73 percent respectively.

Respondents ranked physical and interactive activities such as dancing and sports as their least favoured activities.

“Therefore, we can say that the national obsession with watching television has contributed indirectly to obesity among Malaysian youths by taking away their time from more healthy and productive activities,” concluded Liew.

The campaign is part of a international event that has been observed since 1995, but this is the first year that Malaysia is joining in.

Broader goal - all screens

Fomca chief executive Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman emphasised that this is not a campaign to boycott television or chide people who enjoy television but rather, to encourage people to spend their leisure time in more meaningful ways.

Pressed on the likely effectiveness of the campaign - when a majority of urban youths spend an equivalent or even more time on the Internet - the organisers conceded the point.

no tv 210409 paul selva raj Consumer Research and Resource Centre CEO Paul Selva Raj said: “It is true that, from a broader perspective, reducing television consumption is only part of our broader goal to inculcate smart consuming.

“In fact, the main aim should be in encouraging people to stay away from screens. Not just television screens, but also computer screens, handphone screens and iPod screens. Nevertheless, we will start with television because that is the most accessible screen to most Malaysians.”

Fomca will promote the campaign mainly by distributing leaflets to the public. Participants are encouraged to write in , describing their experiences in abstaining from watching television.