The family who turned back the clock

The Jones family have nine TV sets, six computers, three cars, and every domestic appliance. What would their life be like without them?

When Malcolm Jones woke up last Monday, he heard the birds singing. Not remarkable, you might think, especially given that he lives near a forest. But birdsong in the Jones’ household is usually drowned by a tidal wave of electronic music crashing around the house as soon as his four children wake up.

This is a family who have chosen to fill their home with every conceivable gadget. They have nine television sets, including one in each bedroom and in the kitchen. All the children have their own personal computers and CD players. Of course, there are all the usual appliances we all take for granted, such as the washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher, deep freeze, microwave oven, and video recorder, but they also have an electric trouser press, two power showers, an Olympic-sized spa bath and jacuzzi, three cars, and a music system which plays throughout the whole house. What happens if all the props of modern living are removed?

To help us find out, we asked the Joneses to turn back the clock fifty years and to switch off all their labour-saving gadgets and push-button entertainment for three days. We also wanted them to stop using their cars. The family, comprising Malcolm, 48, Carol, 43, and their four children Emma, 17, Richard, 14, Tamsin, 9, and Tom, 7, were not enthusiastic, but everyone, except for Emma, agreed to try. (She couln’t stand the thought of being without the telephone and her car, which she had only just learnt to drive, so she refused point-blank to join in). The other three children were not allowed to use their computers or watch TV. They were banned from opening the freezer to get out fish fingers and oven chips. Malcolm was forbidden to use his electric razor and mobile phone, but allowed to use his car for work. Carol was encouraged to go everywhere on foot or by bicycle (women rarely drove 50 years ago), told to ignore the washing machine and dishwasher, and she was discouraged from using the telephone.

The much-dreaded three days got under way!

Old-fashioned meals, games, and entertainment were planned for the evenings. After eating together at the kitchen table, they sat playing cards, putting off doing the washing-up because they all hated doing that.

Carol was surprised at how long everything took. ‘By the time I had washed up the breakfast things and got back from walking the children to school, it was nearly lunchtime. Getting to the shops, which normally takes five minutes in the car took at least an hour, so it was impossible just to pop out for a loaf of bread. It was strange having to wait until the washing dried in the garden before getting the ironing done, instead of simply using the drier.’

Although Carol found it quite difficult to get used to the length of time it took to do things, she enjoyed having a slower, more relaxed pace of life. Also, the lack of electronic entertainment, particularly the TV, had a dramatic effect on the children. They got on much better together and seemed to enjoy each other’s company more, although they clearly believed that they were suffering. Tamsin even spent some time gazing at the blank TV screen in her bedroom.

‘All sorts of things that we had put off doing got done,’ said Carol. ‘Bikes got mended, rooms tidied, bookshelves sorted, hamsters cleaned out. Tamsin and Tom started to play games together and even read stories to each other.’

What Malcolm liked most was the peace.’I usually start the day by watching the business news on TV from bed. Then I press the music button while I shower and get dressed. I didn’t miss any of this, I just enjoyed hearing the birds singing and chatting to Carol. I think the whole experience did the children a lot of good. If it were my decision now, I’d throw all the televisions away.’

The children vigorously denied that any good had been done to them. Richard spoke for them all when he said, ‘It was awful. I missed my music, I missed the computer games, and I missed the TV. We had to read books instead!’

Carol’s feelings were the most ambiguous. ‘I enjoyed doing more things together as a family. But as the housewife, I didn’t like my day being so full of household chores. When you’ve got a dishwasher, you stack it as you go through the day and turn it on at night. But you can’t leave dirty dishes in the sink all day, so you’ve got to keep doing the washing. Also, without a phone and a car, I felt really isolated.’

All of this just goes to show that, fascinating as the experiment was, you cannot turn the clock back. This is doubtless a big relief to the Jones’ children!

Comprehension check

Work in groups of three. Read the article again and answer the following questions.

1. What is the first thing the children usually do when they wake up in the morning?

2. What does this family own which is more than the average family owns?

3. What were some of the rules of the experiment for each member of the family?

4. Who refused to join in the experiment? Why? Who enjoyed the experiment most? Why? Who enjoyed it least? Why? Who had mixed feelings? Why?

5. Choose one member of the Jones family and imagine you are him/her. Describe your typical day to the others in your group. ‘Well, the first thing I usually do when I wake up is…’

Now describe a day for the same person during the experiment.’During the experiment, when I woke up I wasn’t allowed to…, so…’

Which member of the family is most likely to have said the following?

Why?

1. There’s no way I’m going to give up using my car!

2. It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it dear?

3. No, I haven’t ironed your white shirt yet! I haven’t had the time.

4. Come on! Stop gazing at the blank screen. Let’s have a game of Scrabble.

5. Well, I’m not doing it! I did it last night. Anyway, I want to mend the puncture on my bike.

6. Damn! I forgot to buy sugar!

7. If it were up to me, I’d throw the lot out!

8. Personally, I think life was much harder fifty years ago.

9. Never again! That was the longest three days of my life!