Televisions are probably one of the world’s greatest inventions. Nine out o f ten people won’t know how to explain how it actually works, but everyone who can afford one owns one. There is a lot of debate about whether TVs are good or bad. “A television is a device you can sit in front of and watch other people do things that you could be doing if you weren’t sitting there watching them do it.” - Unknown Yes, TVs provide mass education to people, for example, in Australia, people get their schooling via TVs if they live in remote areas. Everyday the teacher does lessons across the TV, and if the ‘pupils’ have any questions they phone in and ask on air. In South Africa we have ‘School TV’, but it isn’t a proper schooling, like Aussie’s. Sabc also offer the Math, English and Science lessons for matrics, but they are so boring that most people don’t even bother watching it. There are good shows like Dr. Phil and Oprah, where they actually are helping other people and teaching them right from wrong. Shows like these are interesting to watch and they are teaching us morals unlike everything else. Channels such as National Geographic and Discovery Channel also provide education, whether you learn about Hitler or whales, you learn something at least. But these channels are only offered on DSTV which is very expensive and the people that can afford it are the well-educated ones who don’t need it, the people that really need it can’t access it anyway. Another good thing about TV is the ‘News’, with the news on everyday, in lots of languages, everyone can keep up to date with everything that is happening around the globe without having to go to the trouble of actually reading it in a newspaper. As everything has its pros, it must have its cons. One of the main topics that people speak about is the fact that the programs are promoting immorality and it is eroding true Christian values. In every ‘soapie’ and lots of other shows, there are the people that are having affairs, pre-marital sex, taking alcohol, drugs, using bad language…the list goes on, but people think it’s funny and cool and do it all themselves. People believe what they see, and think it’s alright if they are also doing it because it makes them ‘cool’. In one incident on Dr Phil, there was a woman who was married to a great guy and they had three children, but she wanted to get divorced so that she could move in with a gay friend of hers, he didn’t love her and obviously never would, but she kept insisting, so finally he went to Dr Phil for help.
In summary, the real detriments of reality television far outweigh the artificial claims that some people consider benefits. Reality television is a successful form of entertainment for many people, but no good comes from it. Scripted television shows that are entirely fictional can serve all of the same purposes. They can be just as dramatic, catastrophic, and interesting as reality television shows. It is important that viewers take the time to evaluate and understand the reasons they enjoy reality television. It is essential to become familiar with the statistics of reality television, learn about the process of producing one, and examine the morality of such shows. Presenting contrived situations as reality, promoting unethical values, and presenting humiliation as a form of entertainment are only some of many detriments of reality television shows.
As I read Television as a teacher written by Neil postman, His main argument throughout the article is that television isn’t a good or effective way to use education, and he describes how it’s actually worst for us and were not learning the full purpose of education and learning by watching tv. His main example was Sesame Street, and how children sit in front of a television for hours watching what they call education television and claiming they get knowledge from it but they're getting no social interaction by watching it. Also, Neil postman makes excellent points by comparing education television to a real classroom, saying how a classroom has social interaction, the ability to ask a teacher question, development of language, and it’s a
Steven Johnson in “watching television makes you smarter” believes that the complexity of the shows' plots has a cognitive value, nutrition for the viewers. Dana Stevens arguments this fact by also stating that television only “teaches you to watch more television”, the complexity of the new shows help you understand how the show will turn out. However, they do not help you for real life events that the shows try to depict. In my opinion, television is just a fun thing to do occasionally to relax and get your mind off of the regular life. It can teach you some things however you should take them in consideration.
In our society entertainment has become an immense part of our daily lives. We spend extensive periods of time watching TV, which in general has become a habit for many individuals, and a necessity for others. In the article Television as teacher by Neil Postman he argues that television does not help us learn what is necessary for further education, and that it shouldn’t be utilized as a main learning tool because it undermines the techniques applied in teaching centers. Some of these technics are obtaining a previous education before practicing the advanced learning, paying attention to the material being provided, and retaining the information given for future references. Nonetheless I agree with Postman’s point of view that Television is
Majority of reality shows today carry little to no moral standards with there being a lot of sexual behavior going on between young adults making it seem acceptable to have one-night stands and lay down with whoever not thinking about consequences such as STD’s or unwanted pregnancy. Most movies have sexual content in it as well but movies have ratings making it not seeable for most age groups. Whereas reality television makes no effort to censor or contain a lot of their sexual content. “As television can have a strong influence on young adults, we suggest that psychology and public health organizations consider advocating for reality television shows of such genre to limit viewer exposure to sexual insinuations during these shows (Fogel and Kovalenko, 2013).” There is a show called Teen Mom that is of course about teen moms and this show in the beginning was made to have teens be aware of the consequence of having unprotected sex. This show has not made really difference in the amount of teen girls getting pregnant. The girls on the show teen mom are now celebrities, one is even a porn star. So where is the help in spreading the message of waiting till you’re out of high school to have kids or have sex in general? Maybe that comes with morals taught to you in childhood but either way reality television is making things better especially not
Before television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive their little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today. It was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course, inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household (MGHR). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
Barney, Sesame Street, and Arthur are just a few of many television shows that children watch. Many kids all over the world watch television, but the question is, is it really educational? Although there is no actual proof that television shows children watch are educational, surveys say that they can help enlarge children’s knowledge, increase imagination, and also introduce social behavior.
...sold worldwide. This makes teenagers and other young adults do unruly things to try and gain their own spot in the limelight. Even though reality television is supposed to be this great source of entertainment and may make us happy at the moment, if not watched carefully and really thought about it could ruin someone’s life with its negative values.
Reality tv producers focus on driving profits without regard to how it affects real life. For instance, the producers over-dramatize events that happen in the show so they can reel in more viewers. They also script the show so they can control what happens in the show so it will appeal to more viewers. Also, the producers glorify bad behavior because it increases their pay rate. These producers glorify this bad behavior so much that now it is twisting the minds of people who watch it.
...ducational television programs finally came about. These shows succeeded in intellectually educating children while also entertaining them. They have positive affects on children of all races and social status. Those who viewed it gained more knowledge over those who did not. They offered educational and beneficial programming that helps in improving a child’s vocabulary and by encouraging their reading. These programs also taught children moral values. Because public television teaches children the basic knowledge and the valuable facts of life, parents should encourage their children to watch more public television.
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.
Besides the positive fact that we are better informed and in touch with the latest news, we should be aware that accepting this enormous flow of information and allowing it to make our mind can be dangerous. The TVs infiltrate our lives, guiding us what are we supposed to wear, how are we supposed to look and act.
Television is something that is easily accessible for any child. I can agree with Postman when he stated that the transformation of childhood was when literacy disappeared, education disappeared, shame disappeared and essentially childhood disappeared. Though, he predicted all of this in the 90’s, I see it happening every day. The culture of our current generation of children has completely changed from when I was a child and the young are more tech-savvy than generations before (Postman, 1994).
According to Paediatrics & Children’s Health, T.V can teach kids many different things, such as “watching Sesame Street is an example of how toddlers can learn valuable lessons about racial harmony, cooperation, kindness, simple arithmetic, and the alphabet through an educational television format.”(2003) T.V shows can teach very good lessons to children about many important things, that these kids can use in their adult life. Another positive effect of television for kids is that it sort of opens their horizons to different things and people. For example, according to The Raising Children Network, teens and children can benefit from media exposure by developing cultural and political awareness. Television, films, magazines, and social media sites expose teens and children, who might be otherwise be limited to interactions with people from their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds, to an array of different people”. (Mokeyane) Children can really benefit from watching T.V, they can learn many educational things from shows like Sesame Street, Barney, or Caillou. Also, older children can learn about other cultures and political things that might not be talked about at home. Television really helps kids learn more important personal and educational lessons, that the generations,before, never had. Children, nowadays, have a great advantage in learning much more
Television has become one of the major entertainment providers in our modern life. It sits in the living room of about almost every home in the world and it is the one thing that most people like to come home to after a long day of work or school. Not only does it give us something to laugh or get scared at but it also provides us with valuable information about what is happening around our local community and around different places in the world. But, as good as this sounds, Television may be affecting us without even realizing it. Being one of the major distractors in today 's society, it gets us attached to its content in which a lot of people spend a lot of their time watching. Being thus, watching too