Impact of Television on American Family Life - Essay Example

?Impact of Television on American Family Life Introduction The invention of television, undoubtedly, signifies as being one of the most striking aspects in the realm of technological development. During the era when it was invented, the same was nothing short of a technological revolution. There is no denying of the fact that television has been contributing greatly, in terms of providing both entertainment and also education. Despite all that, it has to be admitted that, television also exercised some negative effects on the society. And it is one of those negative facets of this invention (television) that is going to be examined in this essay. This essay would attempt to elaborate upon the unpleasant manner in which television has been impacting the family life, in the United States. Division in Families Perhaps, the biggest drawback of the advent of television is attributable to the fact that, it (television) has brought about an unwanted division in families. Owing to the varied programs that are being screened on the television, differences are cropping up amongst family members; each one chooses to watch the program of their choice. People of a household are becoming increasingly reluctant to be more considerate towards each other, with regard to usage of the television. All the family members sitting together to watch television is now a thing of the past. As a matter of fact, this has led to an unpleasant scenario as its direct outcome. The generation gap between the young and the older members of family is widening even more. In fact, another relevant point is worthy to be specifically mentioned here. The impact of television is so strong that, American families are now deciding about the way in which their houses should look, based solely on what they get to see in various soap operas. (1) Statistics It has been estimated that, in the modern era, an average citizen of the US spends about four hours on a daily basis, watching television. Based upon this statistic, it can conveniently be stated that, by the time the citizens attain the age of 65, they would have consumed about nine full years, only by watching TV. It has also been projected that, approximately 98.5 percent of American homes own a minimum of one TV set. Various surveys revealed that, roughly 90 percent of residences of the US are having at least two TV sets, too. It has been calculated that, the time spent by each American family in watching TV, for duration of one week, is roughly fifty one hours. (2) Based on the statistical figures stated in the preceding paragraph, there is no hesitation in arriving at a logical conclusion. The quality time spent by family members, by interacting with each other, is being compromised. And that is solely for the purpose of not missing their favorite shows on the television. This trend is steadily leading to a scenario where the bond between family members is slowly getting weakened. The time that was allocated for family members, in the pre-television era, is now being given to TV. Television has been successful in getting the undivided attention of people, and has also managed to take a powerful grip of their lives. Television projects a negative image of family Apart from the disadvantages of TV that have been emphasized upon, earlier, it (TV) is showing its negative impact in another way. There is now no dearth of television programs, which depict parents in poor light. There are now many shows, in which, parents are shown as lacking the capability to both take proper care of children, and also to be successful in life. Simultaneously, children are being depicted as the people of family who are more knowledgeable and hence having every right to question the parents. In the TV shows, the character of a family elder is projected as being a comedian who is at the receiving end of ugly jokes. All these leave a strong impression on the tender minds of children who, owing to all the stuff being shown on TV, would end up disregarding family values. They would display scant respect towards the parents and elders. (3) The contents discussed in the previous paragraph are in stark contrast to the corresponding scenario of the past. During initial days of the American television, there used to shows that projected ideal families where, parents left no stone unturned in taking good care of children. Also, in those shows, strong emotional bond could be seen amongst all members of a family. There is no doubt in arguing that, in the recent past, movies focusing on the right family values were screened on television. But the disturbing fact is that, at least as of now, the negative effects of the shows stated earlier is much stronger than the positive impact of these movies. It is now high time that there is a resumption of good family-oriented shows on TV. (3) A Real Life Example While speaking about the negative effects of TV on American family life, a mention needs to be made of the reality shows, which have gained immense popularity. Here, a reference has to be made to MTV, which is amongst the pioneers of reality shows. A show titled “The Real World” being screened by MTV glorifies reckless partying, by a bunch of youngsters. As a matter of fact, the channel (MTV) subtly points out that, such behavioral patterns are fully acceptable. The fact that such shows instigate the youngsters to experiment with things such as alcohol and casual sex warrants no special mention. In fact, these kinds of shows directly attack the traditional family values of the American society, and thus play a role in endangering the family life. (4) More Perturbing Points As has been seen earlier, more and more American households are now choosing to own two or more television sets. The inevitable of consequence of this is that, healthy interactions between people of a household are now slowly becoming a passe. People are now preferring to remain glued to the TVs, and in the process, displaying no intention whatsoever in interacting with their family members. This obviously has lead to an unpleasant scenario where, a constantly widening gap between individuals residing in the same home is being seen. Also, it has to be noted that, whenever there is any stress, people are choosing the TV shows as a means of relaxation, so that the mind can get diverted from the reason for stress. They are forgetting the crucial fact that, the means being adopted by them would provide them with only temporary solace where the main cause of anxiety cannot be addressed. At this juncture, it needs to be highlighted that, when television is preferred as a means of temporarily escaping from the problems, in all likelihood, they (problems) would get aggravated. As a matter of fact, in this connection, relying excessively on TV also paves the way for new problems that just compound the already present stress. (5) The real and concrete solution for any stress-causing issue can be arrived at, only when there is a wholesome interaction between members of a family. And it is this very interaction that is consistently becoming less and less, courtesy the over importance being given to TV. Different studies carried out in the avenue of “Impact of television on American family life” have shown that, families with limited income are getting more addicted to television. There indeed is a highly valid reason for that. When compared with other means of entertainment, a television is the one that fits into the budget of low income households. Especially, it is observed that, if TV sets are present in bedrooms of children, there is every possibility that they could get distanced from other family members. Children would then show no inclination towards attending various family events. (5) Conclusion Before concluding it needs to be stated that, the focus of this essay is confined to elaborating upon the adverse impacts of TV, only in relation to family life. There are several other drawbacks of television like increased risk of obesity and people becoming passive, etc, that have not been discussed here. The topic of the essay is an exhaustive one and it is not possible to be covering all the related points in a brief essay such as this one. Yet, a sincere attempt has been made to cover the most of the important aspects. Sources 1) “Impact of Television on American Society”, exampleessays.com/viewpaper/82315.html, Internet, ExampleEssays.com, ND. 2) “The Social Impact of Television”, cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv030.htm, Internet, CyberCollege, 2009. 3) “The effects of television on the American family”, helium.com/items/1288825-family-values-in-american-television, Internet, Karla Perry, January 2009. 4) “The Positive & Negative Effects of Reality TV”, ehow.com/list_7160667_positive-negative-effects-reality-tv.html, Internet, Laura Wood, September 2010. 5) “Television and its Effects on Interfamilial Relationships”, schoolworkhelper.net/2010/11/television-and-its-effects-on-interfamilial-relationships/, Internet, SchoolWorkHelper, 2011. Read More