Intellectual Merits of Watching Television - Essay Example

Intellectual merits of watching television The 21st century has brought about many technological innovations that have allowed people to be more advanced intellectually. Television especially now that it has moved to digital enabling people to see what is happening all over the world has proved to have many benefits. For example, people get to learn what is happening all over the world through watching television that provides the news. Television today consists of more things other than entertainment where most of them are intellectual; For example, a Show like 24 depicts mostly what is happening in the world in relation to terrorism. For that reason, it keeps people more aware of their surroundings making people smarter when it comes to solving societal issues. Therefore, in my opinion TV makes people to be intelligent. This argument is in agreement with Steven Johnson essay” watching T.V makes you smarter.” The choice of material that people choose to watch on television is what matter in relation to the intelligence it is going to add on that person. For example, shows like Simpson have an entertaining aspect while at the same time has quality of morals and knowledge that it shares with it viewers. For that reason, most people who spend their time watching the Simpson get to grasp knowledge what the show is trying to bring out (Johnson 170). Furthermore, the shows targets the average American so promoting the life of a middleclass American. By so doing, it encourages individuals who watch the show because they know that there is a person who understands what they are facing each day, hence adding and intellectual advantage. Moreover, television has its advantages when it comes to the group of people it wants to target. The television shows that are aired have an age bracket meaning that the content that is aired for children adds some intellectual value. For example, tellytubbies and other cartoons act as a good method to measure the children intellectual capability to establish whether they understand the content. Thus, although the content is entertaining it also grabs the attention of the children meaning that at the end of the show they will have achieved something. Furthermore, television acts as an intellectual advantage because it promotes many possibilities such as higher learning, as well as, providing entertainment (Johnson 175). For example, when watching a documentary a person get to understand many thing and by seeing the visual pictures on the documentary makes them more alert; hence, acting as a great source of gathering information. Another advantage that comes with watching television is the information gathering. This is because although it is not allowed that a person spends their time watching television, it is vital that some time should be used to understand what is going on around them. Because majority of sources and data comes from the television and by so doing, a person increases their cultural capital, as they understand what is trending. Steven’s in her essay” Think outside the Idiot box” does not seem to agree with argument because he does not understand who gets to regulate what is being aired on the television (Stevens). However, the fact is if an individual is able to filter the important information that is being put across that will be of help to them to some point it does not matter. This is because at the end of the day people get to make choices on what they think is beneficial to them and what is not beneficial. Television shows depicts what is going on in the world and in the society that we live in, especially societal inequalities. Such societal inequalities makes people to make decision that are not morally upright, but to them they are for the benefit of the greater good. For example, a show like breaking bad illustrates how a person is driven to the wall to a point where he becomes a drug lord in order to make enough money for his family when he dies. Although it is not the right thing to do the show illustrates how people even civil servants, face challenges in their lives because the money they are making is not adequate for their families. Therefore, some shows depicts what is actually going on in the society making the viewer’s relate to them and get ideas of how they can get away from situations that they stuck in at that moment in their life (Johnson 180). Stevens argues otherwise because she indicates that a person can become a slave of the television because each time they are waiting to see what the next episode will be about; hence, concluding that the only purpose of television is for entertainment purposes and not intellectual. However, Johnson differs from this argument stating that watching television has an intellectual value because some people manage to relate with the script that is written for the shows. Watching television increases the brain activity in the sense that some shows require the thinking of the viewer. In his argument, Johnson indicates that shows such as “Hill Street Blues,” “Lost” and “24” require the viewer mind to be active as they anticipate for the next move that the act is going to take. Therefore, requiring a lot of thinking on the part of the viewer, he states,” you have to follow the plot and in focusing you’re exercising the parts of your brain that map social network, that fill in the missing information.” Thus, the television gives an individual a cognitive workout as their brain is working towards answering the missing information. This is great advantage because as much as a person is getting entertained through watching television they get to think like the actors as they anticipate for their next move (Steven). For that reason, they also get involved with the actions of the actor making them more intellectually smart. Conversely, in order for a cognitive workout to happen a person watching tele vison needs to choose the right material that will be informative and educative. In conclusion, many some of them indicating that it is just a waste of time have condemned watching television. Nonetheless, it is not in the sense that it provides information that keeps people alert and provides an entertaining effect at the same time. Additionally, it provides the brain with some activity as they anticipate what is going to happen next in the show. Therefore, parents should be encouraged to let their children to watch television as it gives the brain a cognitive workout. However, while allowing their children to get entertainment the choice of material that children should watch should be informative and educative in order to benefit them. Work cited Johnson, Steve. "Television Make You Smarter." 169-181. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. Stevens, Dana. "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box." Web. 29 Jan. 2015. Read More