Television's Harmful Impact on Society
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ArinaTelevision's Harmful Impact on Society
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ArinaБорисенко Арина
ИЯИЯа-16-1
Argumentative essay
Television does more harm than good
Since the invention of the television in 1927 it has become to be one of the
influential parts of the everyday life. And if in the past days TV had only ten
channels, right now there are thousands of different channels, broadcasted on TV.
Indeed, in many homes there are more than one set of TVs. Unfortunately,
television is taken for granted and it is seen as an innocent part of the furniture.
But, in fact, it does more harm than good.
Supporters of television argue that TV provides some good information and
keeps us up to date with the latest news. TV can be the way of leisure activity with
its numerous music, cartoons, fashion shows, news, political debates, educational
and religious information. It keeps us busy and doesn`t let us get bored.
However television channels have a negative effect on the spectator and
society by showing harmful programs such as violence, war, crime and various
disasters. Television promotes guns and knives which would lead up to causing
violence. Violence can be seen in films, game shows and even cartoons. For
example, «Tom and Jerry», where Tom is running after Jerry and trying to kill him.
The result of it is insensitivity to the real thing. Moreover, the general public can
adopt the ways which are being shown on the television channels. This leads to
more aggression in the audience which results in more criminal activities.
It is believed that television is a helpful tool for elderly people and the
physically handicapped, who is unable to go out and enjoy the outdoors activities
like they had in the past.
On the other hand, such passive activity like watching TV discourages
critical thinking. It shows only one point of view and does not show the opposing
side. TV is controlled by corporations to impose the representation of the world
and to control the dialog in a way that benefits them. The entertainment programs
cater to the more base desires and encourage materialism. And the news programs
habitually put out false information. There is not equal sharing of information,
opinions or cultural expressions. TV is often used as a propaganda tool. Federal
channels are the grand champions of propaganda.
The continuous watcher does not have much time to think of what he
watches, especially children. They watch television indiscriminately. Apart from
this, it consumes most of the free time that could have been put to better use.
Children used to be more active and prefer recreational activities which would help
them grow intellectually and spiritually. But nowadays all they do is to go to
school, come back and watch TV.
Moreover, television has reduced the need for outdoor activities and made
the new generation lazy. For example, sport channels have decreased the need to
go out to watch sport matches and other things like that. Children would rather stay
at home and watch these events from the comfort of their living room.
Furthermore, a study shows that the more children watch television at the
young age, the more likely they will have problems with concentration. The child
learns to switch attention quickly from one object to another due to bold colours
and the loud voices of the characters. As a result he will not be able to focus on one
thing for too long for the rest of his life.
In conclusion, television, controlled by the monetary interests, does a lot of
harm to the mental and physical health of people. It destroys the art of
conversation, healthy and optimistic view of life and turn people into illiterate
couch potatoes.