When talking about technology and daily lives, the television is one thing that must be mentioned. TV’s have become a major part of most all Americans lives. In one study it was stated that on average Americans watch three hours and forty-six minutes of TV a day. This means that by the age of 65 and average American will have watch nearly nine years of television. The TV is clearly a substantial part of most people’s daily lives, effecting many aspects of daily life such as communication, entertainment, and even day-to-day tasks. The TV has had a major impact on the communication aspect of daily life. News is a great example of this. TV stations reporting local, national, and even global news inform people of events that they may have otherwise never heard about. Another aspect of communication that the television has changed is what people talk about. Be it the sports game, news, or a favorite show, the television and its showings are often a very common subject of conversations these days.
The most obvious aspect that the TV has affected in our daily lives would be entertainment. The TV provides limitless options that can appeal to almost any person out there. As technology advances, improvements in TV appliances like TiVo and On-demand make it easier than ever for TV to be a major form of entertainment. Not only is the television entertaining, but it can also be very informative and possibly even educational. Shows like Discovery, National Geographic, and the Travel channel inform and educate viewers, while keeping them entertained at the same time.
The TV has also impacted the way we go about day-to-day tasks. People today flip the TV on in the morning and listen to the weather and traffic report and don’t think twice about it. We also can access shows that show us how to fix things around the house, prepare a healthy quick meal, and even get a quick workout in. The TV provides countless shows that affect our daily tasks and lives in more ways then we know.
The TV has many positive aspects, but it also has its fair share of negative ones as well. With so much on TV, people sometimes become addicted to watching. In a survey, 49 percent of people believed that they personally watch too much TV. Adults and children alike begin to trade in other activities that they us to enjoy to watch TV. This can lead to a sedimentary lifestyle which has many negative side effects. Another commonly sees downside is that amount of violence and sexual content that is on TV these days. With children becoming more and more accustomed to the TV, the amount of inappropriate content they have access to increases as well. Thousands of studies have been done on the relationship of TV violence and sexuality having negative effects on children real lives.
Some stats and facts about TVs and TV usage:
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/tvturnoff.asp
I enjoyed reading this post very much! In the last couple months I've started watching Netflix as an alternative to regular television programming. I like it because I can watch t.v. shows from start to finish without commercial interruptions, and it's saving me about 20 minutes per episode. However, it has been a negative influence in my life because when I have a hard day all I want to do is veg out on the couch and lose myself in countless episodes of Bones, The IT Crowd, The Seeker, ect. I've watched all available seasons of those series in the past 3 months. That's quite a lot of t.v. for me. Up until I got Netflix I really didn't watch any. I think we do need to place importance on variety. I feel like sometimes people forget there are other things to do besides watch television (self included).
ReplyDeleteRebecca Morse
http://morse-online.com/rlm
I know exactly what you mean. I watch the entire 5 or 6 seasons of entourage in less then a month, thanks to television sites like Hulu and Netflix. These site make watching your favorite TV shows so convenient that its hard not to sit down and watch episodes all day.
ReplyDeleteWow, it's crazy to think that the average person watches 9 years of TV in their lives. And I know what you mean- I too watched the seasons 1-5 of Entourage last summer in a few weeks time. And now I've decided to re-watch the entire Lost series on Hulu & Netflix, and I watched the first (and longest) season in 3 days. It's something we just have to accept though. While we could be out doing something more productive, I take comfort in the fact that other people are doing the same as I am lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love lost as well. I try and look at the bright side to the situation... by using programs like Netflix and Hulu, we reduce the amount of time watching commercials and in-between show ads, and get more of what we are actually trying to watch,
ReplyDelete9 years! thats insane. And yet I completely understand it. Its funny because I go through phases with tv. Sometimes I can sit down and watch an entire season of a show in one sitting and other times I just can't be bothered to sit around watching tv. But theres some enrichment that comes from watching tv right? Its kind of a social activity and it keeps you company when you're by yourself lol
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