ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept of creativity in children. Parents of nonviewing children often claim that their children are creative or imaginative and they attribute this to their children’s nonviewing. In this chapter, I begin by defining creativity. I then discuss three possible explanations for the creativity perceived in nonviewing children. First, I introduce the idea of flow, or the state in which a child is so involved in an activity that s/he loses track of time and seems unaware of other things going on. I argue that the “creativity” that parents perceive in their children may arise in part from their children’s greater opportunity to achieve flow states when a television is not present. Simply put, with more uninterrupted free time available to them, children fill that time with activities that they ultimately enjoy, making flow possible. Second, the empirical literature suggests that television may cause interference with children’s ability to create novel visualizations by providing them ready-made visualizations. The result may be that nonviewing increases creativity. Third, using family systems theory, I argue that creativity may be increased among nonviewing children due to the value placed on creativity in nonviewing homes and by parents expectations that their children be creative.
