The Effects Of Television

The television has been commercially available in America since the 1930’s. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. In a sixty-five year lifespan, that person will have spent nine years glued to the tube. This constant attention to programming can cause positive and negative effects. The negative effects on an average American family can be explained psychologically, emotionally, and physically.

Television affects the psyche of children and adults differently. A child has a limited view of the world and is dependent on his/her parents for instruction, explanation, and knowledge. If the child does not have instruction, explanation, and knowledge from the parent on what to watch, then he/she is forced to process what is seen on television as either good or bad. This can lead to a skewed world view and an unnecessary exposure to social aspects beyond the child’s comprehension. Generally, adults have a more comprehensive understanding of the world and can discern, based on the morals they hold to be true, what is good or bad. Millions of dollars are spent yearly on American television advertising and the psychology of marketing consumes the purpose of most programming. The marketing psychology affects what Americans think, how they spend their time, and how they spend their money.

Drama has been a style of expression since the ancient Dionysian festivals in Athens, Greece. These festivals evolved into medieval plays, where players would perform before audiences in cathedrals. When television became readily available in America in the 1930’s the viewers found them selves experiencing drama artificially, in the privacy of their own homes. This detachment from co...

... middle of paper ...

...Sleep deprivation, or insomnia as it is sometimes diagnosed, is a common condition associated with excessive television viewing. It can be mild to acute in severity and can last for many years.

The negative psychological, emotional, and physical effects of television can be easily dismissed as trivial, but a closer look shows validity to the contrary. Children growing up in America are obsessed with television and spend more time in front of a screen than in front of their parents. Parents owe it to their children to engage and teach them the truths of life, not depend on advertising media to shape their hungry minds. Americans can engage emotionally in relationships and break away from false intimacy with an artificial machine. Viewers can lower heart disease and diabetes by cutting the roots of complacency from their couches and live in a healthier America.