While radio was seen as a menace to mediums like print, film and theatre, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it called a bad influence! But I haven’t really looked very hard into that, I’ll dig a bit more… I’m sure someone had something to say about how evil it was.

Movies and novels (even in the time of Dickens, Thackery, Alexandre Dumas and Wilkie Collins) were definitely seen by many as bad influences; they gave way to romantic flights of fancy (especially in young ladies), dirty thoughts and laziness! More than that, they might kill you: some dime novels were so sensational that it was said women might becoming insane or die from over-excitement.

A young wife might even neglect her duties by sneaking off to see a film in the middle of the afternoon or by laying in the hammock for an hour or more reading a ‘rubbish’ romance novel - and just imagine how hubby’s dinner and the wash would suffer for that!