Wednesday 10 June 2009

advantages and disadvantages of TV

Television has been one of the most significant devices invented in the last two hundred years. It is well-known fact that most households around the world have TVs in their homes. Yet, TV still causes controversy about the advantages and disadvantages of it and it is one of the most important issues in society today. The advantages and disadvantages of the TV will be discussed in this essay.
The first thing that should be noted is that people spend a lot of time in front of the TV. Consequently, it can lead to isolation and sometimes to less communication between family members. For example, it has been claimed that the time wasted watching TV by households is about seven hours a day, also the amount of time that people spend watching TV varies with age, gender and education; however, they spend on average three to four hours a day. Furthermore, TV programs are full of violence. According to a study in the USA, they analyzed 1600 programs and found that 80 percent of these programs contain violent acts. Therefore, violence on television promoted the violent behavior among youngsters and communities.
In addition, children and TV is one of the most concern issues in societies. There have been many research studies on the relationship between violent TV programs and the aggressive behavior on children. Most TV programs watched by Children are cartoons. Cartoons contain the highest number of violent acts of any type of TV program. It has been claimed that TV turns children into zombies while they are awake and gives them nightmare while they are asleep. Moreover, children's ability to learn, their moral values and acceptance of social norms will decrease as a result of staying in front of the TV for a long time. For instance, my children watch cartoons for a long time every day. They always imitate the characters of the cartoons: language used, behavior and the violent actions.
One the other hand, there is substantial evidence that watching TV has positive benefits among a wide range of viewers. Not only does TV entertain, but it also educates viewer and can be informative; as a consequence, it can help viewers to learn every thing about any kind of science or art. Also, it might be useful as a companionship to viewers, particularly if those viewers are socially isolated, aged or invalid. Moreover, TV can be used by society to transmit cultural values about what is appropriate behavior to its members.
Furthermore, some researchers have also pointed out that children do not just copy the behavior they see. They interpret or "read" what they see. It means that violence in TV programs are not responsible for children's behavior; instead, children's behavior is affected by how the violence is presented and dealt with and also the attitudes and values that the children have already developed.
In summary, TV has several negative effects which are: its programs contain violence, viewers waste much time in front of it, that might lead to social isolation also it has been claimed that there is a relation between violence on TV and children aggressive behavior. Alternatively, the TV is informative, useful, entertaining, and educational, also offers a companionship to its viewers. Between the advantage and disadvantage of TV, we can choose what is appropriate for us and our children, it is our decision.

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