TV Has Two Sides

The American Academy of Pediatrics explains, "The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of 
exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and 
healthy social development." As a child, I always watched TV instead of interacting with my family or friends. It was easier for me to just listen to someone on TV and have the advantage of not responding to the questions they ask or stories they tell. 


Without developing these skills, it was difficult for me to interact with my peers at school and social events. I found it hard to respond to their comments, stories, or questions because I never had that experience as a young child. Thinking back, as I sat their watching TV, I sat their silently taking in everything people said, but I was never able to respond. Of course, there were times when I thought something was definitely wrong or something was interesting and new. However, I wasn't able to give my opinion to the characters and I was forced to keep it to myself. From this, I developed the habit of keeping my thoughts and opinions to myself, which was detrimental to me when it came time to socialize. At school it was hard for me to give my opinion to people because I was never able to share it. By not sharing it, I was unable to obtain people's responses to my thoughts. I was always nervous talking to people because I was scared of hearing their responses to my opinions. This fear is still with me today and it continually impedes my ability to make new friends and socialize with others. 


Though TV has created a fear of socializing for me, I have learned how to socialize with people. I have learned that gossiping is wrong since it hurts people and that it only leads to trouble later. Also, that there are limits to what you can tell someone about themselves. For an example, on an episode of Parks and Recreation Leslie, the main character, tries to tell her best friend, Anne, how to live her life with her boyfriend. Anne did not want to be told how to live her life and Leslie was not able to understand her signals. She continually gave advice and only realized it after Anne had gotten upset at her. Sometimes you have to keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself and you have to chose your words carefully so the other person does not get upset. 


TV has helped and harmed me at the same time. It prevented the growth of my social skills, but at the same time it taught me how to interact with people. Even though I wasn't physically able to talk to someone because I was afraid of their response, I was able to realize what I should and shouldn't say to people. It taught me social faux pas that I try to avoid everyday and how to make friends. If I hadn't watched so much TV as a child, I would have the confidence to socialize with my peers. There was a balancing act that occurred. Though TV scared me out of socializing, I knew how to socialize from the shows it provided for me. 


Maybe that it is was TV does for us. It provides us with the evil side in order to see the good. Every show we watch will give us both sides of the situation and we have to decide which side we want to learn from. TV can provide us with a good balance of evil and good if we chose the shows we watch wisely. Could it be that the reason TV seems so harmful is because of the decisions we make with it? Maybe if TV contained educational documentaries and programs, parents and doctors would not be so inclined to limit the time children watch TV. The two sides of TV will always be a debate and possibly we can come to a reasonable balance. 


Source: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html