This study was designed to investigate the influence of television on the lives of young people and the correlation between home computer programming, the playing of video games at home, and the playing of arcade games out of the home related to self-esteem and locus of control. Subjects were 405 students in grades 4 through 12 from 21 classrooms in 6 separate schools. Subjects completed the Self-Esteem Inventory and Locus of Control instrument and also completed questionnaires asking for age; gender; school; grade; and time spent watching television, playing arcade games, and playing computer/video games. Copies of daily television schedules were distributed to subjects who then checked specific shows they had watched. The findings revealed that most students watched television daily for 3 hours or more on weekdays. Weekend viewing was not examined. When the 79 students who reported watching no television during the week were eliminated, the mean time for the group approached 4 hours per day. Self-esteem scores were not significantly related to time spent in watching television, playing arcade or home video games, or in programming home computers. External locus of control seemed related to time spent in playing arcade games or in home computer programming. Subjects who participated extensively in playing arcade games or in working with the home computer seemed more externally locused than did other subjects. (NB)