Television has been around for decades and it never gets old unlike tape recorder or VCR recorder. This is because television programs are constantly changing to suit the society's need and want. The technology gets more hi-tech that attracts many audience into buying a new television. If I am not mistaken, everybody has at least one television or knows what a television is and it's function. Many people don't know much about television besides entertainment. Well, those people are wrong. Television is more than just entertainment, although that is a big part of what television shows are all about but it can also educate, inform and impact the society. When people watch TV for purely entertainment, they are missing out on the real message some programs are trying to deliver. I will state some examples of shows that either entertain or education but, most shows do both in order to attract the audience, there needs to be some sort of entertainment involved.
Discovery channel is an educational program that teaches both adult and children about nature, space and supernaturals. Then, there are reality shows like Degrassi, Gossip Girls that people don't see it as educational but it can be. Shows like this teaches us about life and culture, and it can also show a minor on what to expect in the future.
Besides those entertainment shows, there are CBC, CP24 and CTV news channels that inform us on the events happening surrounding us and can also inform us on the event happening on the other side of the world.
Media today has expanded dramatically that in minutes we can know what happened in China.
Many may say Radio can do this job as well. That is in fact true but according to John Berger, "Seeing comes before words". People understand better by seeing a video on the News about a Tsunami than hearing about it on the radio. People are more touched by the story once the tragedy is shown in motion pictures. "TV was able to deliver the bare bones of information at a much faster speed." (Klosterman 206) News travels fast with the high technologies humans have today. All we got to do is turn on the television to know what is happening in the world instead of feeling excluded from the outside.
On the other hand, there are shows like American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars that can be categorize as influential shows and entertainment at the same time. You may ask, Influential? My answer to you is Yes, because it has impacted me in the past. Competition shows can make one think that they have a chance of achieving their goal and succeeding in what they want either dancing or singing because everyone started by joining the competition and ended up being superstars. When I was growing up, I never wanted to be a dancer, I was more into sports but once I got into the show So You Think You Can Dance, I gave dancing a try and to this day, I still love dance and wants to pursued it in the future. Without television shows like this, I would never try dancing. Depending on how a person perceives it, all shows can be taken as negative or positive.
An obvious negative factor about television is "Nothing too much is good".
To end this off, I believe Television is the best technology a human has ever created as it serves many functions to the human population.
Work Cited
Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs*. New York: Avenue of Americans, 2003. Print.
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