The positive and negative influences has televisions had on your society - Essay Example

Before television was around, news was reported by radio or in the next day's newspaper. There were no moving images. There was no opportunity to watch sport games or see presidents speak. There were real limitation to the amount of information a person at home could receive. Now, however, that has changed. Television lets us see the world like never before. We have a real opportunity to watch events develop in real time. The recent revolution in Egypt is a great example of this: it was possible to watch the square where protestors gathered night and day.

Viewers could watch as the protestors were attacked by Molotov cocktails. These images brought the facts into vivid life. There are many other aspects which are positive. There are those who say television is bad for children. But scientific studies disagree. The economists found that television was especially positive for children in households where English wasn't the primary language and parents' education level was lower. "We don't exactly know why that is, but a plausible interpretation is that the effect of television on cognitive development depends on what other kinds of activity television is substituting for," says Mr.

Shapiro, 28. Growing up in the 1950s, Sonia Manzano, who plays Maria on "Sesame Street," was part of the first generation of children who watched television. Born in the South Bronx to Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican parents, she says that television "gave me a view of the world -- it gave me sort of a sense of what it was to be an American and what that was about." (Lahart). Television can open up whole new worlds to our children. There are trashy shows, no doubt, but there are also shows of substantial value.

The difference is one of parenting. There is such a variety of kinds of programs, from documentaries to educational shows, that one can always learn something from television (Williams, 78). There are, however, a number of negative aspects to TV that are important to note. Television can be a big waste of time. Many reality TV programs and entertainment news shows are glitzy and glamourous but impart no real knowledge. They are pointless and a waste of time. Many people spend hours in front of the TV when they should be getting exercise or acting in productive ways.

Many children who watch TV can be negatively influenced by what they see. So many shows feature violent scenarios or the commission of crimes that children can get the wrong idea about how they should behave. They may learn to swear or drink alcohol by watching popular TV shows. Again, parenting is very important to help avoid this problem. Television can also be used to influence people in a negative way through propaganda. Television shows do not always show the truth and many people believe what they see on their screens.

This is an unfortunate state of affairs. Governments try to use TV to manipulate their people, feeding them a diet of lies. Because TV images and stories can often seem so real—which is why we watch so many dramas on our little screens—they can be incredibly powerful. Sometimes, there is not an intention behind the manipulation. Sometimes real important discussions are not seen to be entertaining enough, and are therefore kept off the air (Bourdieu, 3). Like with everything in life, there are good aspects of technology