Is television a good or bad influence on society

Television is good company to the elderly. It gives them something to look forward to during the day, for instance their favourite soap at 7 o'clock. It gives elderly people a sense that someone is with them and makes them feel comfortable and not alone. It is very enjoyable to elderly people who without TV would have nothing else to do and no other form of entertainment, this could possibly lead to depression.

TV is also very educational to adults as well. It gives potential university students and idea of what life in university is like and the benefits that people receive from going to university. It caters for all hobbies and tastes and there is nearly always something on that will be of interest to the person watching it no matter what their tastes are. It opens and interactive world into many different genres and tastes, it teaches adults how to carry out certain tasks in the garden and many and possibly gives them the courage to carry out some D.I.Y. around the home. Television can teach people how to cook and prepare meals that they thought the would never be able to do.

Television is very effective at bringing families together. It provides entertainment for the whole family and may encourage families to sit down together and watch a programme. After the programme it then may start a conversation between the family on particular views that each family member had relating to the programme. TV also has many different films on at different times and they also may encourage families to sit down and watch a film together, and then afterwards have a discussion relating to the film.

TV has many different travel programmes that take people all around the world without them even leaving the comfort of their chair and may encourage them to take a break and go away on holiday. It can show people places that they would may never be able to afford to visit in reality.

There is an immense amount of sporting entertainment on TV. It provides endless hours of entertainment. It encourages people to come together in the local pub and watch a live sporting event. It caters for all sporting tastes and teaches people about the sport and how to play in encouraging them to give it ago.

TV has many different dramas, films and soaps on each night and can encourage people to watch them. From watching things like this people receive a lot of mental stimulation. It broadens their imagination and encourages them to talk about issues that may have happened in the programme. For instance in soaps they can put people in a bad situation and show the viewers what will happen to them, such as teenage pregnancy. This then teaches the viewers of the consequences of putting themselves into situations like this and puts them off the idea.

On the other hand people argue against the influence of television and say that TV displays too much violence and encourages people to commit crime and carry out violence. People become immune in seeing shootings and death through TV and may gain the imprecision that it is accepted in society and that it is not wrong if you have a reason. People would say that people who watch violence like this do not see the consequences of the crime they commit. They may then think that it is normal to deal with situations violently if people annoy you.

They would argue and say that TV has a dramatic effect on a young developing mind and brings up young people in a society where such violence they see on TV is accepted in society. For instance take into account the amount of killings and violent crimes that take place in the U.S. E.g. The Columbia Massacre. Many people would say that TV is to blame for bringing up society this way.

Many people would say that soaps have a large audience of young people and they often display an irresponsible attitude towards teenage sex. They would say that young people often try to mimic what their idols do and imitate their attitude towards life. People would then therefore argue and say that TV plays a dramatic part in unwanted teenage pregnancies.

People would say that TV illustrates that drinking and taking drugs are cool and that they are the "in" thing to be doing no matter what age you are. They would say that there is a wide misuse of drugs and alcohol throughout society and that TV has played a part in influencing the users.

The use of bad/vulgar/crude language would also be put down to TV in the eyes of some. They may believe that TV shows people using such language as if it is acceptable in the society in which we live in. They may also think that young people also fall victim to this and begin to such language is acceptable.

The main issue that people would have against TV is that they think it has destroyed the life within families. They may think that TV has killed conversation within families and members of the family hardly know each other as they never talk. They would also argue and say that TV has destroyed meal-times as people now have the tendency to eat their dinner at different times in front of their favourite show and they no longer sit as a family around the table, discussing the day's events.

People would say that relationships between people have diminished as people no longer communicate as they used to 50 years ago. For instance people used to play cards, games, musical instruments and have fun and laughs together but people would think that this is no longer the case and people would just rather sit in front of a TV and take everything in.

People may believe that TV has caused young people to lose their creativity and they are no longer able to think independently they rely on others to simulate things and entertain them. They may believe that TV has completely destroyed people's interest in reading books and has left a lot of people with problem when it comes to punctuation and spelling.

Another main argument between people would be they think TV has too much advertising. That it creates resentment and that people want what they see even though the can't afford and end up in great dept which they can't escape from. They would say that due to advertising Children put extreme pressure on parents to buy very expensive toys/clothes/trainers etc. that they can not afford.

In my opinion I would still strongly argue that TV is still a great resource for both learning and entertainment and I believe that when watched responsibly it can be of great benefit to us.

English Coursework

Shane McCudden 12D Page: 1