More handpicked essays just for you.
Negative effects of Television on Family
Technology has a detrimental effect on family
How tv has done more harm than good
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Negative effects of Television on Family
Throughout the years, television has altered the lives of many American families in a number of ways. When television was first invented, it brought entertainment and togetherness into the homes of many Americans. However, during the course of years, television has caused turmoil in many American homes. Television has led to families being disconnected from one another and has caused a lack in family unity and tradition. It is crucial to ensure that a family maintains their togetherness and interaction with one another. However, many American families are so consumed into the depths of the unparallel force of the television universe that they have become unconscious and blind sighted by the harmful effects that television has caused them.
In Marie Winn's article, Television: The Plug-In Drug, Winn brings forth the destruction that television causes a family’s lifestyle. The “rituals” families normally partake in are becoming less concurrent, sometimes even extinct. Winn mentions, “By its domination of the time families spend together, it destroys the special quality that distinguish...
Moody, Kate. Growing up on Television: the TV Effect: a Report to Parents. New York, NY: Times, 1980. Print.
It may be hard to admit, but television has become an intricate part of our everyday lives. People children often find themselves sitting in front of the television screen for a longer period of time than before and this has evolved immensely over the past few years. In this article, “The Trouble with Television,” by the author Marie Winn, mentions that addiction of television is negative effects on children and families. It keeps the families from doing other things and it’s a hidden competitor for all other activities. Television takes place of play and on top of that kids who watch a lot of television grow uncivilized. Also, the author mentioned that televisions are less resourceful for children and have negative effects on children’s school achievement and on physical fitness. Although there are so many other types of addictions but the author Marie Winn’s points of argument of watching television is a serious addiction that our children and families have negative effects.
Marie Winn claims that television over the years have effected many American family life. Since television is everyday ritual, many American tend to spent more time with television than they do with their family and this result in unhealthy relation in family. She also acknowledge that television destroy family unique quality that they carry, such reading, cooking, games, songs and other special rituals.
I never realized the impact television has had on my family until recently. My parents divorced eleven years ago, resulting in my sisters and I being raised in a single parent household. My mom decided to go back to school and get her degree; soon after she met the man she would marry and become our stepdad. Our family transformed from a nuclear family, to a single parent family to a mixed family. My mom had made a career for herself instead of being the stay at home mom like we saw in the traditional nuclear families. I was truly shocked to see how closely television shows resembles my own family. It is safe to say that television has progressed the culture of American families everywhere, even our
White, A. V. (2006). Television Harms Children. Opposing Viewpoints. Television. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Mothering, 2001, 70)
In the argumentative essay “T.V. Addiction” by Marie Winn, Winn relates watching television to having an addiction with drugs and alcohol. The television experience allows us to escape from the real world and enter into a pleasurable and peaceful mental state. When it comes to television, Marie asks the following question: Is there a kind of television viewing that falls into the more serious category of destruction addiction? I believe there is. Why do so many people, instead of doing what they’re supposed to be doing, put everything on hold and just focus on television? I think this is because they want an escape from their problems.
Morgan, M., Sinorielli, N., (1990) Television and the Family: The Cultivation Perspective (pp. 333-347) Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Society today tends to fixate on and gravitate to television shows. Certain people even believe some of the families depicted on these shows are what a normal family should be. There are two types of television networks, broadcast and cable. Broadcast television stations are the channels that air for free, while cable you pay a subscription for. While television is a great platform for various issues and ideas, I believe that most broadcast television stations’ depictions do not accurately represent families are or what they go through. For example, while soap operas tend to be exceedingly sensational and over the top, most comedies gloss over the terrible things that may befall a family. Gritty crime shows and other dramas try to portray families more accurately, but still must follow certain rules. For this reason, dramas still tend to be unrealistic. The recent rise of popular cable television programs highlight key content regulations that contribute heavily to inaccurate family portrayals and ultimately, the broadcast networks’ decline. I believe these regulations on content are outdated.
continues to exert a profoundly negative impact on our social, moral, ethical, behavioral and educational life.
Television is everywhere these days, not just in our living rooms but in bathrooms, kitchens, doctor's offices, grocery stores, airplanes, and classrooms. We have access to TV virtually anywhere and as American's we are taking advantaged of it. Adults aren't the only ones watching TV; children today are watching more TV than ever before. TV has even become known as "America's baby-sitter." (Krieg). Meaning that parents are now using the television as a way of entertaining their children while they attempt to accomplish other things such as cooking and cleaning.
One can argue that the invention of television is one of the greatest of all time and since the 1940’s, television has had a major impact on American culture and society. The content viewed on television influences the way individuals think about race, gender, social classes, and especially politics. Television has allowed society to view world events within the click of a button and has served as major tool, whether it is used purely for entertainment or for politics.
Television was one of the most innovative and important inventions of the 20th Century without a doubt. But can something that was so revolutionary do more harm than good? The majority of households have at least one TV and each watch an average of about 3 hours a day. That’s pretty insane if you think about it! In the short by E.B. White he writes, “Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere”. White has this idea that it would be so easy to see, and hear basically everything from everywhere on the TV, that over time those certain sights we see wouldn 't have as much rarity value to us. Furthermore, White says that it may make people especially interested in nothing if everyone is able to see and hear everything. He wrote the short in 1948, and now
Television has become nearly unavoidable and American society is more affected by television than they realize. According to Nielsen Media Research, the average TV household in the United States now owns two sets, which are watched just over 30 hours every week by the typical American adult (Mahler 12). American society is more affected by television than is realized. Television offers thin slices of the real word, becoming a version of reality that is created by numerous components from mechanical parts to people, making up the medium of television. Because what is heard and seen on TV is a lot like what is experienced in real life, it’s easily and unconsciously assumed that what is on television- the sex, the violence, the commercials, the cartoons- is real, true, or normal. Viewers must realize the difference inbetween the fiction of TV and the reality of their own lives.
Harmful Effects of Television on Children Is television harmful to children? I think television is harmful to children, but I mostly think it isn't. There are many shows and movies on television that are harmful to children, but there are also many television shows and movies that are not. The biggest influence that television has on children is the violence. Many people think that kids do violent things because they see it on television.
Few people doubt that watching a lot of violence on television can have a negative impact on the minds and well being of those people who are exposed to the violence, especially children and teenagers. Many ask how individuals and society can counteract the influence of media violence. After a review of chapters six and seven in the Baran text focusing on the role of television in society, I believe that parents should restrict their children’s amount of exposure to violent television programs and increase their exposure to public broadcasting television, Discovery Channel, and positive local community group involvement (Baran).