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Essay on Ways in Which Television Corrupts American Society

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When the first television was first successfully shown, people thought that this invention brought people to a new age, and that the television was a huge benefit to humanity. Unfortunately, since then the Golden Era of television's moral and standards have fallen drastically. We are far away from the days when Lassie and the town of Mayberry ruled the airways and were the talk of America. What was once intended as a benefit for society has become its detrimental fall, now instead of upholding American society's standards, television is working to corrupt the very society it intended to help. When used on television programs that children watch, vulgar vernacular degrade society's standards; children use the words without thinking about …show more content…

This senseless use of violence desensitizes children to the use of violence, which then causes them to respond to situations with a negative or violent action that results in adverse consequences. Two new series, Human Target and Spartacus depict violence as the only way to solve problems in life, because both programs depict fighting as a lifestyle that can be glorious. Another infamous example would be the series 24 which often has scenes of “gruesome violence and torture which is consider controversial” (Johnson). What are children supposed to learn from a show that allows the portrayed, Secretary of Defense, to torture his son to uncover evidence of a plot of terrorism? With this desensitization, young minds see violence as the solution to real life problems, not only destroying and wasting our community when they are put in jail for consequences of violence, but destroys the basic foundation of American society's morals. Yet, another thing about the media of television that has changed in the decades that it has been around is the promotion of sexuality and promiscuity. When television was till relatively young, sex was a taboo that was not to be talked about, touched on, or showing. Married couples had to be shown to have “separate beds to sleep in” (Sipe). Now, immorality has been shown in prime time slot with shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Spartacus, and especially

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