Robin Burden answered
Whether television does more harm than good is a debate that has been raging since the invention of television itself.
In my opinion, television is simply a tool - whether it then becomes a good tool or a bad tool is down to the user/viewer.
Is television good?
Television has some pretty obvious advantages. It's a very powerful communication tool, and keeps the entire world connected and informed.
Television also breaks down the boundaries of geography and culture.
Someone sitting in their home in the mountains of Nepal can enjoy a sit-com filmed in a New York studio through the magic of television, and a family browsing cable channels in El Paso can watch explorers traveling through the Arctic in the comfort of their living room.
Television allows us to experience and learn things that we normally wouldn't have any exposure to. It also allows people to share their opinions and views with the entire world.
Is television bad?
With the growing importance of television, a host of negative traits also appear.
As we become more reliant on TV, we become less inclined to occupy our time in other ways, which means a lot of us miss out on exercise and meaningful activity because we are so transfixed by our screens.
Also, TV can be a bit of a deceptive medium.
Our natural reaction to hearing information on a well-presented, glossy TV program is to accept it as truth. This opens us up to the dangers of misinformation and propaganda.
Finally, watching and sharing information that is 'destructive' in nature can have an impact on our collective psyche.
When you consider how common sex and violence has become on our TV screens, it's easy to see a link between this phenomenon and the increased violence and sexuality in society at large.
In my opinion, television is simply a tool - whether it then becomes a good tool or a bad tool is down to the user/viewer.
Is television good?
Television has some pretty obvious advantages. It's a very powerful communication tool, and keeps the entire world connected and informed.
Television also breaks down the boundaries of geography and culture.
Someone sitting in their home in the mountains of Nepal can enjoy a sit-com filmed in a New York studio through the magic of television, and a family browsing cable channels in El Paso can watch explorers traveling through the Arctic in the comfort of their living room.
Television allows us to experience and learn things that we normally wouldn't have any exposure to. It also allows people to share their opinions and views with the entire world.
Is television bad?
With the growing importance of television, a host of negative traits also appear.
As we become more reliant on TV, we become less inclined to occupy our time in other ways, which means a lot of us miss out on exercise and meaningful activity because we are so transfixed by our screens.
Also, TV can be a bit of a deceptive medium.
Our natural reaction to hearing information on a well-presented, glossy TV program is to accept it as truth. This opens us up to the dangers of misinformation and propaganda.
Finally, watching and sharing information that is 'destructive' in nature can have an impact on our collective psyche.
When you consider how common sex and violence has become on our TV screens, it's easy to see a link between this phenomenon and the increased violence and sexuality in society at large.
