Effect of TV in Society
Television has become the predominate source of entertainment and news for all over the world. Much of what everybody either, knows, hears, or sees about the world around them is through the television. From OJ Simpson's murder trial to the terrorist act on September 11th. Our information on who to vote for on election day, comes from campaign speeches telecasted on TV. Education in forms of entertaining puppets and people dressed up in animal suits is how our children learn to count to three. Television has become an essential tool in how we exist. Or is it? Is the effect of television on society outweighing the reason to keep it around--information, entertainment, and education? Are two year olds around the world becoming more aggressive then the previous generation because of the violence seen on TV? Are teenagers engaging in sexual acts at a earlier age because they are mimicking what is seen during prime time? Are drugs playing a bigger role in society because of television? Many authors suggest that there is a direct correlation between what is seen on TV and what is happening in society. Is TV affecting our lives or is the media merely reflecting what is already present in society?
tor Stasburger and Edward Donnerstein in Children, Adolescents and the Media: Issues and Solutions, a typical teenager will witness 10,000 acts a violence a year and 61% of those violent acts are aimed at children's programs. "The consensus among most of the research community is that violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the programs", Stasburger and Donnerstein's research states. If violent TV is viewed at a young age, it largely contributes to the adult aggressive behavior or even criminal behavior that person will engage in. In The Man Who Counts the Killings, written by Scott Stossel, The National Council for Families & Television estimated that "ten percent of violence in the United States can be attributed to television." Although at particular study didn't make an effort to control other violent inducing-variables, other studies who have concluded the same thing. Are our children of tomorrow turning to TV for parental guidance and in turn learning how to be violent? Ellen Goodman suggests in Why They're Not Getting Fat in Fiji, that TV affects people's self image and creates insecurities. She gives an example of how TV affects society in the image sense. Her article begins with large, women in Fiji, smiling and greeting each other with positive comments on weight gain. Women in Fiji consider being thin a sign of a social problem and that "...big was beautiful and bigger was more beautiful..." Then all of the sudden television came to the island and within months the number of
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Approximate Word count = 1052
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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