Role of television in modern society
The small screen has had a serious impact on nowadays´ society, I think that it has been mostly negative. One of the biggest effects has been the influence that TV can have on people, especially on the youngsters, who while enjoying their favorite television shows are influenced by the political, social and even economic messages that are shown on the program. One of the problems is that you can’t control what you or even your children watch on TV, you might see some violent acts or sexual images. Some scientists think that maybe some kids are becoming more aggressive because of the violence that they see on television, or that drugs are playing a bigger role on society because some kids are mimicking what they see on TV. I definitely believe that television shows a small, distorted view of reality, which can damage people’s views of the real world, and this can influence how people think and behave. For example, most Colombian productions for TV are soaps that are transmitted in other countries. They are normally inspired in the past of our country, like drug traffic. It is filled with violence that little children might be persuaded to. The influence is not the only factor that is affecting the society, but also the image that is being transmitted to the world from the Colombians.
Television is not simply about seeing new and different things. It is primarily about selling. The task of those who program television is to capture the public’s attention and to hold it to advertise a product. The consumerism has increased a lot because of the media, every time you turn on a TV or a radio, you’ll constantly see different advertisements. You might even find some commercials in the shows you like, for example, every time that you see some character drinking something and you see the label on it, that is kind of sublime commercial, with the intention of sticking that image into your head so you’ll buy it.
The average person spends about four hours a day sitting in front of the TV set, which is almost half of the leisure time. But there are some people that get addicted to it and might spend about eight hours a day. That obsession can cause, in some people, a lack of motivation, depression and even anger (In some cases the people isolate from the other people, such as friends and family, because of the TV addiction). The people are not only emotionally affected, but you might also have some health diseases, such as severe overweight or sight problems.
In conclusion, I would like to say that people should be more careful with the time that they spend on TV and I hope that my comments lead the people to reconsider their priorities.
María del Mar Arango
Klasse 12 A