UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION
Technology has profoundly affected the lives of humans today. Everything from the automobile to the micro-chip has altered our behavior and daily activities. However, while science has impacted society in many ways, one of the most powerful technological influences on humans has been television. Since its introduction in the late nineteen twenties, TV has influenced the clothes we wear, the products we buy, and the foods we eat. Television has helped elect presidents and create huge corporations out of simple mom and pop stores in small town America. Clearly, television has impacted our lives in both positive and negative ways. While television educates and entertains, it also promotes laziness, violence and poor social skills. Television has tremendous power, an unlimited potential to educate and inform. The bright colors, quick movements, and sudden flashes capture the public's attention in a way like no other medium. TV programming has helped many viewers confront major social issues, such as domestic violence, homosexuality, and drug abuse. Since the 1950's, the American public has embraced the visual aspect of TV and shown an interest in world events like never before. Television has given the common man the pow
er to see and learn about other cultures thousands of miles away. Through the power of TV broadcasting, images and ideas can be viewed from around the world. In the fifties and sixties America was gripped with fear over the spread of communism. This fear stemmed from an overall ignorance of the Soviet Union and their allies. It was through television news stories that the majority of the American population began to understand and accept the differences between the two nations. Because of its strong visual impact and ability to disseminate information almost instantaneously, television has brought global events closer to home and informed the public in a way no other medium could achieve. Many also argue that exposure to television violence encourages negative behavior, including aggression in children and increased crime. By portraying crime as an everyday event, television programs normalize violence, thereby suggesting that criminal behavior is connon and acceptable. Televison violence particularly affects children, who are much more vulnerable and often unable to distinguish electronic images from reality. Views of television stimulating aggression among children are not new. Throughout television's history kids have enjoyed many violent programs: Gunsmoke in the fifties, Batman in the sixites, Starsky and Hutch in the seventies, The A-Team in the eighites, and the Mighty Morphen Power Rangers in the nineties. Unfortunately such violent TV shows desensitize children to the harsh reality of violence. Telvision is a firmly established element of American life. As hun
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Approximate Word count = 1077
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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