Effect of Television on language development - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Modern life is a haven of myriad issues that subject humanity to series of arguments and researches that seek to demystify and define these complex occurrences. Television, though relatively old, is a device that totally revolutionized the social lives of humanity. It brought into focus several issues of concern and continues to elicit heated debates regarding its effects on various aspects of human development and social life. Indeed, it must be emphasized that any technological invention must have its special repercussions on a particular sector of human life. Children today make up much of the population that spends much time in front of the television sets. Perhaps this occurs due to the ample time that children will usually have contrary to their parents and other adults. In that manner, several researches have been conducted with an aim of establishing the influences of television on children and establishing whether these effects are positive or detrimental. One particular issue regards the influence of television on children’s language development and the ascertainment of the myriad hypothesis that abound regarding this heated topic. It must be remembered that this concern actually arose out of the noticeable differences that were established after several years of observation that necessitated the commencement of this search of facts. Television programs are very many today with particular programs specifically meant for children through adults. For children, such programs mostly include comedies and other comical scenes that are meant for a child’s enjoyment. In most cases, these programs inhibit language development since the language used is never proper. In several cases, children organizations have raised concerns on the type of language used in some of these situations. The ability of a child to internalize basic concepts like language is normally very high in the early stages of development. As such, a television program that uses improper English may impart a lifelong discrepancy in a child. It is therefore appropriate that the concerned parties be very vigilant in their effort to ensure effective language use in television programs meant for children. In adults, this is never an issue, since most adults watch mostly news and documentaries, which are normally addressed in good languages. In most developed countries, it is established that by the time most children join high school, they shall have spent 15000 hours watching television. Well, that demands serious attention. The effect of such addiction emerges considering that in most of these countries; family planning has reduced most families to have two children. It then implies that a child will spent almost half of their pre-high school waking hours completely alone or with a brother or sister watching television. Indeed, the actual speaking of the language mostly enhances the development of proper language in children. The failure to frequently practice the language will mean that a child will limit their ability of learning a language and will therefore be impaired in a way. Without doubt, television influences the mental occurrences of children as they simply sit and watch without stimulating their minds and subjecting themselves to reasoning that enhances their aptitude. The several arguments regarding the effects of television on language development majorly revolve around the lack of social interaction in children because of being too much glued to the sets. However, the role of parents in children development is an important aspect that needs much analysis. Several cases abound where parents also become addicted to watching television and thereby spent several hours alongside their children glued to their sets. In such a case, ...Download file to see next pagesRead More