Television and Society

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Television and Society

In Marie Winn’s Essay “Television: The Plug In Drug,” she states, “Television’s contribution to family life has been an equivocal one.” Winn focuses on the issue of television's influence in the lives of American families. Her emphasis is on the medium's influence on children. Although she makes a strong case for the negative influence of television, she fails to consider all of the benefits television has brought to American families. On its own, the television is neither bad nor good. It offers many benefits: awareness, entertainment, and relaxation. Depending how the television is used, it can have a positive, or negative, effect on the family.

In many cases it can lead to less quality time for the family, a minimized educational value for children, and the promotion of sex and violence, which has become more prominent in today’s programs. The television has greatly impacted and altered: former means of communication within the family, leisure time activities, and child development.

When television first arrived in the mid-fifties, the T.V. was viewed as an “asset” to every home. Over the years, as television watching increased, it has shown its effects on family life. As parents began to be concerned about their children watching too much television, it grew to be one of the biggest influences in their life. This began to affect the family socially.

Television has become practically a way of life for many families. Parents need to take...

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