Tv Flaws

Around the world, The United States is widely known as a leader in mass media production, like television and movies. There are very few inventions that have affected America as much as the television. Before 1947, the number of TV’s in the US could be measured in thousands, and by the late 1990’s about 98% of homes had at least one television set in it, which were on for on average, more than seven hours a day. The Typical American spends about 3-5 hours watching TV a day. TV became a way for Americans to either escape their lifestyle, relate to it, or keep up with current events. It has become a tool that the US uses to relate to each other

The world has grown and evolved in so many ways. One of the most revolutionary, man-made, everyday appliance for your house hold is the TV. The TV has brought so much more to a person’s finger tips at a click of a button and flipping to a channel to what they want to see. You can watch different food programs, where to buy things, what is going on in everyday American life knows as the “News”. Or just a show on TV for entertainment. And the list goes on and so forth.

Television holds an important part in most of our lives. From a young age, we spend countless hours sitting in front of a television set. Every year there are new shows created, and our favorite shows are renewed for another season. There are numerous programs to choose from. Television broadcasts are free, and there are also paid options for more diverse programming. We are fortunate enough to be able to spend on average a third of our leisure time watching television all from the comfort of our homes. Given the incredible reach that television has on our lives, we can say that television has a significant impact on our lives.

If something as old and simple as the television may have had such an impact, just imagine what harm will come from recent and even future forms of technology.

     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

Add to this study a statistic from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics “75% of teenagers now own cell phones, 25% use them for social media, 54% use them for texting, and 24% of them use them for instant messaging” (Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe). We have an entire generation that is developing socially and emotionally while “plugged-in”. This negative effect is not only caused by just internet use and cell phones, our old friend the television is causing us harm as well. With the invent of newer ways to deliver television shows, the ability to better record television shows, and watch “on demand” shows it shouldn’t be shocking to know that according to Neilson Ratings the average American household watches “5 hours and 11 minutes of television a day” (Who Watches What (and How Much)? U.S. TV Trends by Ethnicity). Psychologists have proven that too much television has been shown to “hamper development of the pre-frontal cortex -- the area of the brain responsible for planning, organizing and sequencing behavior for self-control, moral judgment and attention” (Abell) there should be no doubt that this fact and the fact that nearly “1 in 10 children in America have been

Television is incorporated into my daily routine whether it is watching the news in the morning or a movie at night. When I watch the news in the morning I catch up on current events and other news. On the other hand. At night I watch movies for entertainment and enjoyment. Television is not just changing people into couch potatoes by watching “chasing fast cars, drinking lite beer, shooting each other t close range, etc.”, it also can be a daily tool to learn new things and catch up on current events.

Television is a technology that has been very prominent in our society since the time it was invented. With it being so present in our lives, it vastly impacts society. Newton Minow touched upon this topic in his “Vast Wasteland” speech in 1961. He states that television gives us a power like no other and that it could cause a variety of good or bad things to occur, making it the job of the people and government to ensure that television is sending a positive message. Minow’s statements about the power of television being either beneficial or detrimental to society and our role in assuring that it is beneficial, are all valid points despite the rise in popularity of the internet.

In the article, The Trouble with Television, Robert Macneil describes his viewpoint on the negative effects of television. He states that “by the age of 20, you will have watched 20,000 hours of television.” The author believes that we waste time that could be used to do more productive things. According to the article, in that time you could have “learned enough to become an astronomer or engineer or be fluent in several different languages.” Another opinion of the author is that Television is one of the main factors of illiteracy. He says that “some 30 million Americans are functionally illiterate, and cannot even understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.”

In the article “The Trouble with Television”, Robert MacNeil explains how television is destroying our society. He states in his article that television is a narcotic, not a stimulus. He also says that it encourages us to apply no effort. He says in his review, television results in inefficient communication. His prospective is that people would rather watch television than talk to others. He also says that we don’t talk as much when we watch television, so therefore talking is in the past.

Many inventions throughout history have made their mark on contemporary American society, but none so much so as television. According to Mitchell Stephens in his article entitled History of Television, “Before 1947, the number of U.S. homes with television sets could be measured in the thousands. By the late 1990’s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set, and those sets were on for an average of more than seven hours a day.” As the quality of the image improved over the years, so have the number of televisions in American homes. According to an article in TIME magazine in 2009, “The first

1938 was the beginning of television. E.B. White said “I believe TV is going to be the test of the modern world, and in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision, we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by TV, of that I am quite sure." We are now living in an age of electronics. Ninety-seven percent of all American homes have at least one TV (Why I do not have a TV?). Not just that, but most homes also contain laptops, tablets, and smartphones which allow additional viewing of media. Television started as an experiment and has now become a franchise. Even though that may seem like an achievement, as E.B White said “we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky”, and I personally feel that television is a disturbance to us all.

The author of “The Trouble with Television,” Robert MacNeil, states that television can get addictive. The article says that you will AT LEAST watch 20,000 hours of television to the age of 30. The author also states that “the trouble with television is that it discourages concentration.” He is trying to persuade the reader that television is a waste of time. MacNeil clearly believes that television is the most disruptive invention. And he’s trying to encourage us to try to find something more productive than just sitting and watching TV.

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

People very often debate whether technology is good or bad. Many people believe that technology can only cause harm to their lives and society, while many others strongly defend the technologies which have made their lives much more leisurely and enriching than it could have been several hundred years ago. In my opinion, both of these views are correct to an extent, but I also believe that what should be examined is not whether technology in its self is good or bad, but rather how we as humans use it.For decades now, television has been accused of contributing to the dissolution of the American family and the destruction of the minds of those who watch it. However, although the TV has been involved in this, the problem roots not with