Can TV and radio be educational?
By Phillippa McElroy
Many people believe that television and radio are a bad influence on young people and their behaviour in future life. They also believe that it has an effect on adults as well. They think that the actions and personalities of characters on screen can influence the way people behave and there views on what is right and wrong. I do not believe that this is true. I believe many radio shows and especially television programmes can be educational to young and old generations. I also believe that many of the shows offered to the viewers help them to understand and possibly relate to the problems which occur during everyday life.
Television programmes such as ‘Eastenders’, ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ with other ‘soaps’ teach their weekly audience about the unfortunate dilemmas that occur. These include teenage pregnancies, death of a loved one, or even eating disorders such as anorexia or obesity. Teenage pregnancies are a common topic covered by most soap operas. They deal with the traumatic times young girls or young couples go through including money worries the reaction of their parents and their own personal opinions on having the baby or aborting it. They cover the subject of abortion well, helping women to make their final decision on what they would like to do. They help the women to understand both pros and cons on this stressful and worrying time. At the end of most of the soaps, after a serious issue has been covered in the show, they give a help line for the viewers that are going through the same or a similar ordeal. Granted soaps do touch on subjects that might not be suitable for young viewers to watch but on the hole I think soap operas can be educational and are very popular to the majority of the population.
