Television and Society
In Marie Winn’s Essay “Television: The Plug In Drug,” she states, “Television’s contribution to family life has been an equivocal one.” Winn focuses on the issue of television's influence in the lives of American families. Her emphasis is on the medium's influence on children. Although she makes a strong case for the negative influence of television, she fails to consider all of the benefits television has brought to American families. On its own, the television is neither bad nor good. It offers many benefits: awareness, entertainment, and relaxation. Depending how the television is used, it can have a positive, or negative, effect on the family.
In many cases it can lead to less quality time for the family,
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It is the demands of the children that build the future relationships among the family members.
Today, families now spend more time watching T.V. than engaging in the special family traditions once shared. These rituals, not only brought the group together, but also gave a “special quality” to their family life. By not participating in these activities, families too lose their individuality and sense of “belonging”.
The television not only affects the family rituals, but has an impact on the connection between the family members as well. It weakens relationships by reducing and sometimes eliminating, normal opportunities for talking, and communicating with each other. It is well established that excessive television viewing breaks apart the family bond. Within the “breakdown” of many families, television may have played a serious role.
The T.V. prevents families from forming that personal connection they need to develop as people. Reduced communication within the family, and too much television watching, also negatively affects the ability of the child to carry on future relationships with others. Children often perceive the images they see as reality, for they often are too young or too absorbed in the television viewing to recognize and distinguish the differences between television drama, and real life.
In Winn’s essay, she has made it very apparent, that
Television has a widespread influence on everyone, especially children. Children are impacted so much by the things they have seen and watched on TV. They learn many things from TV, but their social skills and other learning abilities slow down. Watching TV numbs the mind of children and keeps them inactive from daily exercise. Furthermore, speech delays can occur in children who watch excessive amounts of television. Television programming such as MTV, Adult Swim, and Family Guy exposes and promotes negative
Numerous studies have concluded that the content and amount of television programming watched by individuals – especially by children - has a direct result on the behavior of that individual. The behavior affected by television viewing can be anything from a desire for a certain food or material good to violent distemper (Zuckerman 1985.) Recently, more and more woman have given up their traditional role of raising their children opting instead to work during the day and leave their children to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, many children find that spending countless hours in front of the television to be a worthwhile way to entertain themselves. Most parents tell their children never to talk to strangers, but what they fail to realize is that every day their children are subject to the messages and ideas of strangers on the television. In fact, a study concluded that an average American by the age of 18 has spent more time watching television than they have spent in school; this study also went on the state that children spend more time watching television than any other activity besides sleeping. This may explain why an additional study revealed that if a child was told something by his or her parents and then viewed on television something that contradicted what the parents had said, four times out of five the child opted to believe the
It has become so common in our life that there is at least one television in every home. They have become an inevitable part of our lives. We have to admit that we live in a consumption society where we are always surrounded by technological devices. For instance, while we are sitting at home, we watch television shows, series and TV commercials in general. While watching it, we spend less energy than we spend while sleeping. We do not use our imagination because it is all ready and complete in it. The television affects us with its so-called beauty and supervising our lives by telling us what we should do and not do. Almost all of the things shown on TV are enforcing people to want, to consume or act according to the ideas on it without questioning. On the other hand, it blocks the communication between people because it is so absorbing that we cannot even turn our eyes from it. Hence, we start to behave and think only for ourselves. It drags the society to be an individualistic one where everyone seeks for his own pleasure and be selfish all the time. We are being pushed to create unnecessary needs and wants. Some may think that we can shut television down any time we want and stop its effect on us. However, as it is some kind of addiction, certainly people will not be able to get rid of them right away. Some see it as their “family” which may sound creepy but even if one will
What can be the effect of television on people’s lives? People living in these days are addicted to watching TV. However, it is true that watching too much television makes people lose touch with the reality of their lives; they start to see the TV “world” as the real world instead of the world they are living in. This situation divides their loyalties, and all of this is controlled by the people who control the media. Many examples exist in the world that we live and in the world of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. For example, the way the media lies people proves that people are not in the “real” world when they are watching TV and being taught to what had been told to them. Or, people are hooked on television so much that they neglect and
The spread of television has affected American households universally, which started in the 1940s but has continued to make a dramatic surge. There is a trend at that is being captured across televisions in households everywhere. Politics, reality television, social media and public information is being broadcast from household to household. Television has in a way become a mode of how we think and interact with each other. Television is starting to leave that bubble where it was strictly entertainment, now television is becoming a source of what we must believe. The consumer demand for television as spiked dramatically, in the way we view ourselves and perceive others in the world around us is through a television screen. Although we are
Although Marie Win had her point, I tend to disagree that television is a bad influence on our lives. Television does not destroy family value; it is us who destroy family value. For example parents who have little or no time for their children often substitute television as a baby-sitter and parents blame television as child bad conduct. But it is parents who should to be blame for the child's bad behavior because not providing proper care and guide for the child. Parents should set limitation and boundaries for themselves to cope with the television addiction. Family matter should be their number one priority in family.
Television plays a very important role in everyday life. As children grow and develop, they can be influenced by what they see and hear.
What role does television play in society? For decades we have seen many parts of our world rapidly going through changes in technology. Today’s society has been transformed by means of communication and the available information through mass media. Most Americans rely on television for news, sports, and entertainment. Television is just one of the many examples of how technology has changed our lives. Since the invention of the television in the early 1900’s, it has played a very important role in our lives. Having a television set in the home has become very essential in today’s society. We depend on it to entertain us with its sitcoms and to inform us about current world issues. The
Stronger bonds of affection and shared interests would form whenever the family gathered around the television sets. Media Historian Lynn Spigel states that,” Not only was it shown to restore faith in family togetherness,” Spigel notes, but TV did it “in splendors of consumer capitalism.” (Edgerton, p. 92) Postwar television promoters pushed the new “family togetherness” that TV viewing would generate within the family. The era of viewing TV in public setting did influence stations' early programming decisions and civic discourse about the new medium and its audience but it was brief. As stated by Edgerton, “By 1950, 45 percent of families who lived in those areas in which TV was available had purchased television sets. The camaraderie of watching in a bar was outweighed for many men by the convenience of watching it at home.” (Edgerton, p. 97) This supplements the social change of family togetherness in the early period of
In the article “TV’s Negative Influence on Kids Reaffirmed” by Jeffrey M. McCall, he addresses the issue of how TV has a negative influence on children. McCall states that young children and toddler’s cognitive ability does not develop as well when they have television in the background while they are playing. McCall also argues that TV has a very influential role in the teen pregnancy rate and how early teens become sexually active. To further prove his point, McCall proclaims that children and teens that are exposed to too much Television and video games become socially awkward and have trouble interacting in society. McCall also says that the networks are rating their own programs carelessly which is leading to shows that should be blocked
Television is an object that has shaped American lives for many years. Television has a positive effect on American families. Television is one of the multifarious items that influences human lives heavily nowadays. Watching television is an advantage as it provides a lot. For instance, television is educational. Television is also entertaining. Lastly, television is a necessary object for American families as it provides shows and aspects that families rely on laboriously to survive.
Can T.V. shows be the reflection of our society or influence the behavior of the members of our community? Since 1936 when television broadcasting begin, it priority was to inform and to entertain our society; subsequently, a massive amount of rules and regulations were created to control the material presented in TV, which principal goal was to safeguard the moral and ethical standards of it time. Nevertheless, from its beginning to the present home entertainment television standards contents have change; likewise, the moral an ethics values of our society have change and continuing changing from generation to generation. TV shows from the 50’s, 80’s, and the present exposed many changes in the way human role are exposed, the language
Over the last forty to fifty years, television has been a major topic of discussion. Specifically, many debate societal benefits to television watching. One widely accepted opinion is that watching TV makes people dumber. People have referred to it with terms like the “idiot box” and do not feel that watching TV has any benefit at all. They feel that it is a waste of time and people need to spend their hours more wisely. Others are of the opinion that TV is actually has societal benefits. From this perspective, they claim that the development of the structure of the programs now requires one to intellectually participate in watching television. Essentially, the argument is whether TV is a beneficial societal force or is it simply a
This takes away important socialization time for children and young adults by eating into their free time that could be used for socialization and interactions between peers, family, or social groups/clubs. Television also interferes with the natural socialization process of child development. It has become such a staple in homes that many parents or babysitters will just place a child in front of the television to keep them quiet and entertained. This can affect the normal socialization process in which children require interaction, physical and verbal, with friends, peers and parents (Boyse 2010). Abnormal interaction or lack thereof can create physical and mental difficulties in a child with slower learning rates/learning disabilities and health problems being the most prevalent consequences (Tischler 2007).
Television, a telecommunication medium some may not survive without. Today’s generation may refer to television as a technological norm; delusional of a world where television was non-existent. Notably, television unites the nation through local or world events, politics, education, and entertainment. Philo Farnsworth, “Father of Television,” invented the television; the electronic transmission of fixed or mobile images. Furthermore, Farnsworth’s invention influenced a new form of media. Young Farnsworth’s scientific, technological imagination as well as, competitive battle with a major-league corporation, RCA, enticed the growth of one of the most popular media mediums; television.