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Advantages and disadvantages of watching tv for children
Televisions positive effects on child development
Televisions positive effects on child development
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Watching television makes you Smarter…
When it comes to the topic of television, most of us would readily agree that watching television is a waste of time. Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of “are there shows that increase our intelligence?” and what pleasure do some television show bring to us? I would say there are some great shows that increase our intelligence. Shows like “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” this kind of show puts the brain to work; thinking. There are some other shows that tend to convince us that watching television seduces our mind. I find Johnson’s argument about his article “watching television makes you smarter” confusing because he was not actually picking sides in the article and Steven’s “Thinking Outside The Idiot Box” argument about how “it’s really good at teaching you to think… about the future episode” (Steven, 296). Although I agree with the author of “Watching Television Makes you Smarter” Johnson to an extent, I cannot accept that he overlooks how much time people spends each day watching television.
It has been a common discussion for us to dismiss television as a result of the negative things that most of the young viewers tend to copy and practice later on after watching. Johnson is mistaken when he says watching television makes you smarter and because he overlooks the fact that reality television does not teach us what is really going on in our society. For example, shows like “fear factor” (Johnson, 293) where people are being asked and deceived to do crazy things like overcoming their fear and would stoop down so low for the money. Johnson claims that “we need a change in the criteria we use to determine what really cognit...
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...ture episode” (Steven, 296) I wholeheartedly endorse Johnson’s claim that our brain is acting to what we think would happen along with the acting while watching a television show.
Since the television made its big appearance in our society, there has been a lot of debate on whether it is good for us or not. Researches have come up with the conclusion that average person in the United States now watches over one hundred and fifty-one hours of television a month, which is well over 5 hours a day, and while there are many concerned people convinced that watching television has a negative impact on today's society. The question is “Do watching television make people smarter? You might well be surprised that watching television can actually make you smarter but that would be depending on the television show that the viewer spends their time watching.
Not only educational shows accomplish these goals, but fictional television programs can often incorporate information that requires viewers to grapple with a topic using logical reasoning and a global consciousness. In addition, not to diminish the importance of reading, television reaches those who may never pick up a book or who might struggle with reading problems, enabling a broader spectrum of people to interact with cognitive topics. Veith has committed the error of making generalizations about two forms of media when, in truth, the situation varies depending on quality and content. However, what follows these statements is not just fallacious, but
In "thinking outside the idiot box", Dana Stevens responds to Steven Johnson's New York Times article in which Johnson believes that watching television makes you smarter. Indeed, Steven Johnson claimed that television shows have become more and more complex over the years in order to follow the viewers need for an interesting plot instead of an easy, linear story. However, Dana Stevens is opposed to this viewpoint. Stevens is not against television, he does not think it makes you smarter nor that it is poisenous for the brain, he simply states that the viewer should watch television intelligently. That is to say that, viewers should know how much television they should watch and what to watch as well.
The first rhetorical strategy Springen uses in her argument is citing statistical data about the number of hours children spend watching television, the effects of watching that amount of television, and what the most highly rated television shows are among children. She cites in her essay that “American children 2 through 11 watch three hours and 16 minutes of television every day.” This data shows the reader the staggering amount of time children spend watching television each day. Springen further cites data concluding that when children watch over 10 hours of TV every week “they are more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school.” This data exemplifies to the reader the negative effects television has on young impressionable minds and bodies. Finally, Springen cites that among the top 5 television shows “for children 2 through 11…Survivor Thailand” ranks among them. This data shows that children exposed to television are also being exposed to programming that is far too mature for their age. By citing “bad” data about the way television negatively affects children, Springen persuades the reader in her argument to agree with her position that there is no good reason for her children to watch television on a daily basis.
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
Television is a highly entertaining way to pass the time whenever we may want to relax or may not have anything to do. Some believe that watching television is nothing more than staring at a box while others believe that it can help us become aware of things we may not have noticed before such as social issues or in some measure get our brains thinking. This paper will point out the similarities and differences of Antonia Peacocke 's essay "Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious" and Steven Johnson 's "Watching television makes you smarter" aswell as
American actress, Lisa Bonet, once said, “What saddens me is the corruption of youth and beauty, and the loss of soul, which is only replaced by money.” Today’s television shows are decaying into more polluted and inappropriate ideas, which are then presented worldwide. This is a negative influence on not only young people, but also society as a whole. How can it be expected of youth today to be appropriate role models to future generations with such corrupt influences? With the filth, dishonesty, and abuse of freedom of speech, reality television ultimately does more harm on today’s society than good.
In Steve Johnson’s article “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” he argues that a region of the brain is stimulated that makes people think. He claims that TV makes you smarter, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I agree that people tend to contemplate more when watching television. On the other hand, I still insist that viewing TV doesn’t make you any smarter, but in fact, it can actually lower one’s intelligence.
In the world today watching television is so addictive that everything else looks unattractive. The author argues that television is not lethal as drugs and alcohol but it can have many effects such as children getting more violent and reality seem second best. Every person lives are filled with emotions including anxiety, depression, and stress so after long hard work day the best medicine is to turn the television on and not to worry about anything. For example, I usually drive from site to site to take care of business. So when I return home from work I will sit on my couch and turn the television on and flick the channel until I fall to sleep. As Marie Winn describes, "the television experience allows the participant to blot out the real world and e...
Maybe you want to eat worm-based cakes, or fish eyeballs, or even jump off of a building-- but through the television glass, even the scariest of moments of reality can be entertaining. In the article “Reality Television: Oxymoron,” George F. Will speaks about television desensitizing people to important issues. Many shows broadcast are very violent, causing a domino effect resulting in darker and darker shows designed to compete. George F. Will agrees; reality television is more mainstream drama than “reality.”
However, the few that have been done seem to contradict each other tremendously. Some studies have proved that excessive television watching can lead to lower reading levels, while another study said television watching did not affect the way a person reads. This seems to say that either there is not a strong correlation, or maybe some people are more affected by television than others.... ... middle of paper ...
In a Class Dismissed when the narrator says,” because we have seen television as just entertainment, we readily disregard its impact on our thinking”. When I heard that statement, I thought to myself that our perceptions of things are based upon what we see on TV, although I do view TV as entertainment as well. However, I never paid attention to how TV impacted my thoughts until viewing and reading in the material in this class. Because of some of the things that we studied and the familiar shows that we talked about I understand and noticed small things in TV shows and ad
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.
Television has come a long way since it was first introduced. Originally, it was thought that the masses that watch television enjoyed the more simple shows that would tell you exactly what was going on from start to finish. In Steven Johnson’s article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, Johnson argues that this is actually not the case. In fact, Johnson argues that much more people enjoy shows that involve multi threading, or multiple plots that are all connected.
Whether consciously aware of what is being displayed or not, media plays a substantial role in influencing consumption patterns and lifestyle. Researchers noted television's power to influence even people who are illiterate. Smith-Speck and Roy (2008) explained that even individua...
Our time is dominated by graphic entertainments such as television, video games, the internet, and more. Many people today are disgusted by today’s popular culture and generally have a negative attitude about it. People today believe it is making us much dumber. They discredit it for what it is actually does according to Steven Johnson in his book Everything Bad Is Good For You. He proposes a total opposite point of view and that we underrate modern pictoric entertainment and media. The main premise of the book Everything Bad Is Good For You is that today’s pop culture is actually making us smarter and has grown more complex and intellectually challenging over the past few years. Steve Johnson proves this argument by discussing how video games aren’t as bad as they seem, television is much more complex than you think and making us smarter, and he tells how the internet helps us interpret our current world and that these three sources of media are increasing our average IQ.