What Padre Pio said about TV, according to Padre Pio: The True Story:
St. Padre Pio rarely watched the friary’s television set.
By the mid-1950s, the friary had its television room, but no one ever remembered Padre Pio darkening the door, except for an event such as the funeral of Pope Pius XII, and then only for a few minutes.
Padre Pio’s dislike of television was primarily based on its ability to distract families.
Padre Pio, in fact, believed television a pernicious invention that corrupted morals and destroyed family life, and he strongly discouraged people from acquiring televisions. He told Joe Peterson, “The man who invented refrigeration went to Heaven, but the man who invented television …” He pointed downward.
In particular, “Instead of talking to one another, he pointed out, family members spent their evenings staring at the set.”
When it came to movies, Padre Pio had a very negative reaction, reportedly saying, “The devil is in the cinema.”