Television Essay

Television has Made our Lifes Better Nowadays, television is our main source of news and current events around the world. It is indefinably the most popular media in society today. By watching TV,we are kept updated of the various events and dealings occurring around the world. It provides us with broadcasts of the news and weather stations and many more,therefore helping us not to be dropped back from the world of information. People need to be aware of whats going on around them and to keep on top of current affairs,and television allows us to do so.
Without it we would be an outsider in society and totally cut off from the happenings in our local area as well as the political world(Palmer,2010). Not only this, but it helps us increase our feeling of humanity towards other people and provides us with crucial knowledge and information. This essay however will discuss both the positive and negatives roles television has in our lives today. Each positive aspect will contrast with a negative showing the different opinions.
The essay will convey how television makes us more intelligent,assists us to lose weight,acts as a catalyst in the family home,provides us with knowledge how to do certain things and also how it is a great form of entertainment. On the otherhand we will see the downfalls television brings to society such as is it dumbing down our society? Is it making us gain wait rather than lose it? Are we abandoning are families to watch our favourite programmes or Is it just a waste of time?. These topics will all be seen throughout.

Many people will agree that watching television makes people more intelligent for instance people that watch educational television such as documentaries,discovery channels,national geographic,science and history channels are very benefited, as it may encourage people who take an interest in them to make a career out of it. Educational TV does not only benefit adults but children aswel. Children can watch shows such as “Sesame Street”,”Dora the Explorer”,“Indiego go”,“Bear in the Big Blue House” and many more which entertain them and educate them at the same time.
Several programs and movies reguire a lot intelligence to follow and understand,these shows are very beneficial as they get our brains working and encourage us to look at things in different ways. In other programs we obtain information which we may not have known before. From watching TV we can learn something new everyday. However, in contrast to television being a great advantage to our intelligence levels, it is also argued that television is merely dumbing down our society. We need only watch some of Americas reality TV shows and we can see why its effecting our youth. A study conducted in 2005 and published in the Archives of Adolescent and Pediatric Medicine showed that kids who had their own television set scored lower on mathematics tests”Numerous other tests have supported this information to make it almost clinically proven. Its very important to encourage our youth of today to read and get involved in other various arts which will help them with their academic studies. (Leong M. D. ,2008) Television is also very helpful in the form of excercising. When using exercise equipment such as an exercise bike or treadmill for example,we all know it can get very boring.
This is where the TV comes in to play as it takes our mind-set from the running or power walking perhaps to that of the happenings on the television screen. We understand that reading is difficult because of the movement and therefore is less appealing. When we listen to the radio or our ipods, we are entertained but still our mind is not fully occupied as we have nothing to look at, this being the reason why the majority of gyms have televisions rather than radios. (Jennifer Wagner,2009) Another way in which television makes exercising a lot easier,are the exercise and workout videos which are available to buy.
This way you don’t have to spend as much money on gym membership fees or a personal trainer for that matter,you can just do it at home. (Palmer,2010. )On the otherhand,people may also argue the opposite to this point. As stated by Kristie Leong, she claims by sitting in front of the tv set actually makes you make on the pounds rather than lose it,”burning a paltry 68 calories per hour. Not exactly a formula for good health and fitness”. She also argues that the majority of people whilst watching television consume many high calorie foods,making matters even worse.
Television is also a great way of representing togetherness. Its a simple reason for family to spend time together. Setting aside some hours specifically for family viewing encourages conversation,interaction and a certain sense of togetherness. Television brings many different conversation topics both in to a family home and work. It helps people who may have little in common, to talk and therefore acts as a good catalyst for family interaction(Keanney,2010). From time to time, something which occurred on TV can lead to discussions of something that happened in our own daily lifes hich is a great conversation starter. (Wagner,2009) Furthermore, this is not everyones frame of mind as many people believe that family life and interaction is negleacted beacause of television. It’s often the case that a family could sit in the one room for hours on end without actually speaking to each other. Sitting there like zombies totally engaged in whats happening on the TV and not even acknowledging each other. Not only that but many people,children in particular eat their dinners in front of the television screen.
This means that conversation of a family around the dinner table is totally gone and if our youth do it,it doesn’t leave much hope for the future. (Banks,2008) Television has various benefits and another one being the useful way in which it tells you how to do certain things. Whether it’s a cooking receipe you need,or how to arrange flowers in our gardens right as far as how to build a shed. There seems to be a channel to suit everyone. We can become very skilful in our everyday lifes by watching certain programs. Television is here to teach us and improve our ideas.
Another point,“with cable channels such as HGTV and the Food Network, you can actually learn how to do almost anything to or for your home”. (Wagner,2009). Television helps us to broaden our knowledge of everyday life,teaching us right from wrong,and also the correct manner in which to act. It enhances our spiritual lifes in many ways. With the variety of language teaching programs we are provided with nowadays we are given the chance to learn any of the world’s most popular languages. For children in particular TV can be very enriching in their academic life.
The History channel can expose children to people,places and cultures they would not have encountered otherwise. It engages them, and teaches them different ways of life all over the world. This can be very helpful for a childs development,introducing concepts which are both complex and intellectually stimulating. It encourages the child to be more aware of their surroundings, leading them to be more engaged and involved in classes that deal with those specific topics. (Keanney,2010). Dissimilarity,people argue that television is merely a waste of time.
As Kristie mentions if people only knew the amount of time the waste watching television they would be shocked horribly. They could in fact make a list of more productive activites to do, for example spend time with family and friends,play a sport,take up a hobby or even test yourself by learning a new language. People discover there is a lot more to life than watching the latest happenings on the reality TV programmes. (Leong M. D. ,2008) Television is most definitely our greatest form of entertainment to date.
With all the various types of programmes there is something to suit each individual. Comedy programmes for instance are a great source of entertainment,as they make us laugh and enjoy ourselves. As the saying goes “laughter is the best medicine. It has been discovered to lower blood pressure,increase circulation and so on”. With other programmes such as cartoons,discovery channels,movies,sports,weather and many more you will never be bored. The television can be seen as our companion when we are home alone with nothing to do. Without it we would be lost.
For those who adore nature and like to watch scenery abroad but cannot afford to travel with recent circumstances,the television is a great source to just sit back,switch on a travel station and enjoy the beautiful nature and scenary of the world. (Mehta,2008). In contrast however, there are certain aspects to television which should not be broadcasted. A lot of television material is not properly monitored making it easier for inappropriate content to be shown on TV,for example violence or inappropriate sex scenes which should not be viewed by the public eye.
Not only could this damage society but also our youth of today who need to be protected from such behaviour. (Kulkarni,2009) In conclusion,we can see how the positive aspects of television outweigh the negative. A lot more good comes from TV rather than bad but nevertheless,we are still aware of the negative. What it has done, is made peoples lifes change for the better providing people with more entertaining,exciting and in fact more educated lifes. It brings people together and is something all individuals can share and relate to.
Its no doubt a great resource which has turned the world upside down for the better,opening a whole new outlook on life. Reference List: Palmer,B. Break Studios Contributing Writer(2010) “Benefits of Television”,(Made Manual Instructions for Life (www. mademan. com/mm/10-benefits-television. html) Leong,Kristie M. D,featured contributer in health and wellness(2008) “The Disadvantage of Television Viewing”,( http://voices. yahoo. com/the-disadvantages-television-viewing-) Wagner, J. (2009) “Top Ten Benefits of Watching Television” www. connectwithyourteens. net) Keanney,I (2010) “Advantages for Children to watch TV” (LIVESTRONG. com) Banks,A (2008) “Advantages and Disadvantages of Television” (http://www. fictionpress. com/s/2482693/1/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-television) Mehta,N (2008) “Advantages of Watching Television” (http://voices. yahoo. com/advantages-watching-television) Kulkarni,A(2009) “Advantages and Disadvantages of Television” (http://www. infobarrel. com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Television)