Television is a great way to inform people; leading to my second argument in support of television. There are countless programs informing people of world issues, regional news, weather updates etc. Advertisements inform people of new products that are being sold either to help us with everyday life or to help us fit in with the latest craze. However, advertisements are usually advertising products that are too expensive for a normal family to buy or food products that aren’t healthy for us (Particularly children’s products.). Television is also cluttered with programs on how to improve your body image and glamorising going ‘under the knife’ to look like airbrushed celebrities. These types of programs could be what are leading to the rising amount of cosmetic surgery in the U.K. They are also bad for young people to watch, as the children who watch the shows may see it as normal behaviour to change something you don’t like about yourself by getting risky operations.
My thirdly is that role models play a big part in children’s lives and on the television presenters on shows such as “Blue Peter” encourage children to keep active, they inform children about the world and show them ways to help other members in the community. Although not all presenters are like this, an example would be Russell Brand, who swears and insults people with every second sentence he says. Clearly this is not what children should be watching.
My fourth point for television is that it keeps children occupied. When most children come home from school they are still a little over whelmed or hyper. If they sit down and watch television it usually calms them down and means that their parents can prepare dinner or clean etc. without their child being bored. This also has bad effects on the child as instead of communicating to the parent and building a bond with them, they are sat in front of the television. In later years this could cause conflict with the children and parents.
My final argument for television is that it can be very educational. There are countless programs on history and many channels on it too. Young children’s shows such as “Balamory” teach children colours other educational shows for children such as “Barney” teaches children colours, numbers and how to be a friend! Other television dramas that originated from books can make people more interested in the book and therefore encourage reading. Sadly, to be perfectly honest not many people switch on the television and think, “oh, I must learn! I must switch on the ‘history channel’”? Although, of course there will be some exceptions. Some people who find history very interesting may watch it to learn.
My conclusion is that television consumed in small doses can be a great way of relaxing and unwinding. It can be educational, for the whole family. I find that if you watch too much of it, it may cause conflict between your family and could make you anti-social. So over-all like most good things in live we should use it in small doses to get the best out of it.
