I would like
to start this blog off with letting everyone know that I am not much of a
blogger, I can talk to someone for hours regarding a specific subject or
situation in life, but to try and put it into words becomes difficult and I
typically find myself forever going on and on in writing. So I will try to keep
this relatively short. I would like to discuss the topic of television and the
effects that it has on society. First of all in Lauren's TED video she states
that her mother calls TV the "idiot box".... I happen to personally
agree.... She also states that the average person watches 5 hours of TV a day.
This somewhat outraged me to think that there are people in this world that
literally do that. There are so many other things in our life that this world
has to offer us than a box transmitting and receiving pictures. Why do you
think Facebook is so popular? Personally, I don't watch that much in a week nor
does my almost 3 year old daughter. Actually, it is hard to keep her completely
focused on the television for even a 30 minute cartoon. I can't fathom wasting
so much of my life on watching reality shows, sitcoms, dramas, or whatever
interests you just out of pure boredom or for the use of entertainment. I would
disagree with Lauren when she states that TV has a conscious. My personal
feeling is that the TV should be first used for news related purposes and
second for the gain of knowledge and education; such as the History, National
Geographic, and Discovery channels. But, in today’s society people abuse
the freedom of speech for their own self entertainment, typically when sitting
at home bored or when there is absolutely nothing better to do to pass the
time. People take advantage of the TV and use it as an excuse. We have all done
it. "Sorry I was late.... I couldn't leave until I saw who won American
Idol...." or how about "Sorry I didn't pick up the phone.... I was
watching How to make it in America and didn't hear the phone go off...." I
mean am I right or wrong?
I agree with you that tv is an idiot box. There are plenty of things on tv that have no educational or intellectual value to adults or children. The 5 hours of tv is not a surprise to me because the average person probably watches an hour of news and most sports games take up to 3 hours so there is more than half of that time. With reality tv becoming more popular, tv is making us dumber because of the irrevalance of the tv show.
ReplyDeleteThis is all so true. I feel the same way about television. I was taught to go play outside when I was younger instead of sitting in front of the television, and I will say the same to my kids. The television is materialistic just like the rest of our world. I only watch a few shows and probably only an hour of television a week. The show I watch is a reality show, but I know real from fake, and I know what is more important in life. Other people should too.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. But I admit, when watch T.V. I don't watch the news or history channels every time, I tend to watch entertainment channels. However, I do not watch it for 5 hours a day; more like an hour or so. It's usually just on for noise in my silent room when I'm studying. I think anyone who watches T.V. for more than 5 hours a day needs to change the way they spend their time. Family time, outdoor activities, or having a job are a few changes that could be made.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I thoroughly enjoy watching tv. I do have an excuse, as I'm pursuing a career in film production and just enjoy analyzing television. I do agree that a good portion of shows on tv are pretty bogus. For instance, The Real Housewives of Wherever is absolute garbage. That kind of display of attitude is just terrible to me. However, one can't help but to respect anything with substance and gaining knowledge from it. An example of that would be any outstanding series that has been on tv, such as Friends, Entourage, The Walking Dead, and so forth. These are shows that display deeply woven story lines and character relationships, which is not a simple task to create. Henceforth, there is a ton of garbage on tv, yet there are also shows that deserve respect for their creative processes and entertainment value.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the tv is a huge distraction and there are many other productive things we could be doing during the day. There are some show that are educational, but in today's society, most people aren't interested in those shows. Tv is a distraction only because people allow it be, they let it consume all of their time and end up spending their whole day watching tv. With all this being said, I am guilty of watching most of the dramas and reality shows and some do give out a negative message, but there are some sitcoms that don't. I think that tv has both a positive and negative influence on society depending on the show.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the previous comments on people watching too much t.v.But maybe they do it for a reason... maybe they are so sick of their lives and would rather see a different perspective for once instead of the one they live in. I think people use t.v. to escape reality instead of living in it. Why else would they be consumed by it for five hours? I'm guilty of sitting and watching a couple movies every now and then, but my life is not that bad. However, I have a friend who does nothing but watch t.v. She sits there for hours, doesn't have a job, doesn't go to class, she just sits infront of the t.v. She would rather watch other people living their lives, on extreme levels, then live out her own. This is my reasoning behind thinking people want a different perspective to seeing life, even if its through t.v.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all that you have said. I don't watch tv for anywhere near five hours a day and I believe that television has a conscious many people on television these days dont have a conscious as well. And I agree with the point you made that television should be used as an educational tool. Growing up when I did watch Tv I would watch sesame street which was semi educational as a child now days children are watching TVs such as spongebob which has no educational value whatsoever
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that the tv is an "idiot box". You are a smart mom to not put your daughter in front of the tv all day so you can get stuff done. Many parents use it as something to distract there kids with so they can get work done.
ReplyDeleteI also think that tv should be used more for education/news rather than entertainment for people who don't have anything better to do. It is shocking to me that some people are famous just because they put there lives on tv and don't care how bad it makes them look, as long as they get money out of it. Famous people these days aren't even famous for being talented for the most part; they are famous for putting there lives on blast for everyone to see. For example: Jersey Shore, The Kardashians, Real World, etc.
I think everyone should take a step back and see what they are really doing with their time because before they know, they will start acting like the people they see on the "idiot box" in front of them.
I never get to watch tv because I'm always too busy doing something else. I think it is a shame that kids my age and the younger generations are so addicted to television. Looking back at when my father was a kid it was a lot more fun because they had to use their imagination. There weren't 5000 television channels, only saturday morning cartoons which was fine. In American society today no one ever has to use there imagination. It is a shame that reading a book has fallen to the wayside and television has basically become an american pasttime.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, television has helped garner a generation of lazy people that could watch football all day, but actually playing the sport is not even in the realm of possibility. That is a tragedy. The more a kid doesn't watch tv, and instead plays outside, reads books, and engages the imagination the better.