Positive Influences of Television

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Recommended: The strength and weakness of TV on children

“Adults should trust teens to be responsible for their media choices and listen to them about why the stories they like are important, instead of fixating on their choices only as an opportunity to lecture on ‘having better things to do’ and ‘all the crap that’s on television’ (Campbell). Though not all television is good for teenagers, there is still a great deal of television aimed at teenagers that understand them without wrongly influencing them. The main concern should be whether, in the long run, television is beneficial or damaging to the overall person. Television comes with its negatives, bad influences from some shows and just outright stupidity from others. It also has some more positive intentions like molding the younger generations’ minds and promoting good morals for younger and older generations. Despite the negative connotation of watching a lot of television, it still can be beneficial to helping one’s mind grow.

Despite many useless forms of mindless entertainment that is in the media, there are a lot of television shows that are good for all ages to be raised on. Some shows promote educational values to feed the younger minds. Sesame Street is a show geared to preschool age children and “Independent research found that children who regularly watch Sesame Street gained more than nonviewers on tests of letter recognition, vocabulary and early math skills” (Guernsey). It is not just Sesame Street, but many shows such as Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues, though directed at much younger generations, provide an early example for kids to learn various skills with the intention of giving them an early start long before their schooling even begins. With a wide variety of learning shows that promote the ...

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...shion. Families can become united by viewing shows together and using them as an opportunity to have discussions about anything and everything.

Works Cited

Campbell, Richard and Campbell, Caitlyn, Lavery, David and Wilcox, Rhonda V. eds. “Demons, Aliens, Teens and Television.” Slayage. 2 Mar. 2001. Web. 15 Nov. 2009

“The Good Things About Television.” Media Awareness Network. n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2009.

Guernsey, Lisa. “The Show That Counts.” Newsweek 22.153 (2009): 53-57. EBSCO. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

Poniewozik, James. “The Breedy Bunch.” Time 19-173 (2009): 18-18. EBSCO. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

Star Wars: Episode II— Attack of the Clones. By George Lucas. Dir. George Lucas. LucasArts, 2002. Film.

“Television’s Impacts on Kids.” Media Awareness Network. n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2009.

Weider, Joe. “Watch and Grow.” Muscle & Fitness Aug. 2009. EBSO. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

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