Television as Birth Control

As the planet's population creeps toward 7 billion there's been much chatter on how to slow that number down. Sure, the most obvious and simple solution to the problem would be for people to stop having so many kids. But what about the people in parts of the world who don't even know this is an issue?

For men like Omar Mohammed, population control isn't even on his radar. He lives in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populated state. He tells CNN, "Now you see I have 24 children, 13 boys and 11 girls."

Omar believes only God can decide how many children you should have. He lifts his hands to the sky and says: "This is His command. It's not my doing, it's His doing."

The country's new health and welfare minister has an idea: TV. Earlier this week on On World Population Day he proposed bringing electricity to all of India on the supposition that watching back-to-back episodes of Seinfeld will tire people out before they get around to getting down. If American teenagers are any indication, the minister might want to go back to the drawing board.

And while much of the world is largely concerned about our exponential growth threatens global sustainability, in India there are more immediate realities of scarce resources. The country is home to half of the world's poor, and in the next fifty years is estimated to bump China from the number one spot.

The Arora family in New Delhi does not share Mr. Mohammed's views. They have only two children, and their daughter, born in 2000, holds the distinct title of India's billionth citizen. "You can't even get enough water or electricity now. So its advisable that people have only two children and then they should stop having more kids," mother Anjana Arora said.

Her take on the TV plan: stupid. She believes the only way to help slow reproduction is education.

A.R. Nanda however, isn't ready to scrap the whole thing. As the head of the Population Foundation of India, he agrees education is essential, but also thinks "electrifying villages is not a bad idea." He also cites a 2006 study conducted by an Italian sexologist that shows couples with TVs in the bedroom indeed have less sex.

But, Mohammed gets the last word, "After watching TV," he says, "when we look at scintillating things we will probably want to make more children." The old dude makes a point.

Photo courtesy of USB, viaCreative Commons and Flickr