Just The Good This Time

TV has a bad reputation for causing obesity in children and filling their minds with thoughts and ideas that should otherwise not be broadcast. On the other hand, there are good things about TV that people often over look. Primarily, it helps us clarify our values and beliefs with several effective strategies. 


One strategy is that at TV show will present a situation or problem where the main character is shown acting on a particular choice and it's consequences. The viewer tends to think about the alternative choice and the consequences it would present. Examining the consequences helps the viewer decide what further actions need to be taken by making that choice. This helps the basic process of clarifying our values. I find myself doing this when I watch a show where a character has to choose between two paths, and I always try to think of the consequences of the other choice. Doing so helps me see both paths clearly and helps me decide what my values are by the choice I would make in the same situation. 

Another strategy is to help us deal with the emotions that come out when we watch a program. TV is a window to our current culture influencing and shaping our values in this society. 


The programs give us model behaviors, examples of good and evil, and illustrates masculinity and femininity. The things that are important and people are concerned about always end up on TV in some form. It not only appears on the evening news or documentaries, but in series and movies. It brings these issues, conflicts, ideas,  and pressures home. We encounter these things everyday of our lives, and TV can be a place where we exercise our values and beliefs. It can also teach us to stick up for our beliefs. There is no need to change what someone believes in because a character on a show believes otherwise. Those beliefs make up who we are, and TV shouldn't change who we are from what we see others do. 


It's important to be a selective viewer because certain shows will lean towards the evil side than the good and other shows just show the good. Even too much good is a bad thing. Sometimes you need the evil side to see what good really is. 


People have started to see that TV is not entirely a bad thing. It has benefits that people have overlooked. The Center for Media Literacy explains, "many people now realize the importance of identifying positive television programming... those shows which expand awareness, broaden understanding, deepen perception." It stimulates are mind and exercises are brain on a daily basis. Without TV we would not be aware of important problems around the world or be able to listen to other perspectives on an issue. 


TV is a catalyst to discussions by presenting facts and opinions about our culture and raising important questions. When my family and I watch the news or a program where an important event is being portrayed, we always discuss each other's opinions and alternate decisions that could have been made. I love doing this because it helps me develop my values and beliefs. Additionally, it brings my family closer to each other because we are all relating to a similar subject. Instead of being a passive observer, people can actually immerse themselves in TV and have repeated discussions to exercise their values and beliefs. 


So is it possible that we should watch more TV because it will help us understand what we believe in? Maybe, but at the same time we have to remember to be selective viewers and try and keep the balance between good and evil. 


Source: 
Center for Media Literacy:
http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/stay-tunedtv-can-be-good-you

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

In the Beginning

For as long as I can remember, television has been part of my daily schedule. When I needed to relax or waste time during my summer days, I would always turn to TV. Coming home after an eight hour day at school, TV was a pleasant way to relax and forget my troubles for the day. It was a window to the outside world, a way for me to see the troubles that other people were having and relate to them. It provided me with programs to learn everything that a normal classroom could not, such as friendship, decision making, and patience. To me it was a bridge between what school was able to teach me and what it left out of its curriculum.


But that was for only four hours out my day. TV was part of my daily schedule, but not a major part because I was told to do activities that were more productive, such as painting, drawing, and playing sports. During those four hours though, TV has taught me some important lessons. For example, one of my favorite shows as a child (and still is), was "Arthur." In each episode, Arthur went through an experience that taught him an important lesson. One episode was about how hitting people is wrong no matter what they have done to upset you. Having an older brother taught me the same thing, but TV enforced it. TV strengthened the morals that I already knew were right and showed me the ones that were wrong. 

Even though TV has helped me learn important life lessons, it has impeded the growth of other important life skills, such as social skills. As an impressionable child, I was easily influenced by what my heroes were doing. It prevented me from performing more physical activities that could make my body healthier. I was exposed to materials and topics that were really meant for adults, such as violence and other risky behaviors. TV augmented my procrastination to do my homework or chores. In high school, had I not watched TV for as long as four hours, I could have had my homework done by 9:00 p.m. everyday. However, it was my choice to watch TV instead of improving myself, and it is partly my fault for my weaknesses. 


Maybe the key to TV is balance. Watching TV in moderation is a good thing, but excessive TV can be harmful. Children will be able to obtain their important life lessons and leave the other harmful behind. In this way they can have physical activity, be more productive and stay healthy. Of course, as children get older they will develop a different taste in TV shows, and some will be hard not to watch. I myself have the same issue. I have some TV shows that I need to watch, and I only watch the shows that I want to. I don't really turn on the TV just because I am bored. I tend to paint, draw or listen to music when I am bored. I can not eliminate TV from life because it's part of my daily schedule for so long, but I can limit what and how much I watch. 


Parents are the key to this balance. Without parents, children will not learn their limits for TV and watch whatever show seems interesting. Most of the time these shows are about violence, sex, and risky behavior. These topics are for adults, not for children who are still developing. Parents can teach their children and teenagers which shows will be helpful to them and which are harmful. Doing so, will allow their children to grow up to be healthy in every aspect of their lives.