Argumentative Essay on Watching Television Text

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Published by mdmuazzam under on pm watching television is one of the famous and common daily routines of all time. Statistics have shown that the time spent on selected free time activities of full time workers in year 20 to 201 are mostly on television viewing uk time use survey 20. There are few effects of television viewing and the effects can be either advantages of disadvantages to the viewer. Considering the effects of the television viewing, i strongly believe that it brings more negative effects than positive effects as it affects the development of thinking process, a time wasting activity and leads to unhealthy lifestyle.

First and foremost, the side effect of television viewing is that it affects the development of thinking process especially to children sharif 19. This is because, the viewing of unsuitable programs for long periods can influence their idea of life and behavior as pictured by the television programs. This is a bad thing as they are at a stage where their attitudes, beliefs and ideas about the world are in progress sharif 19. Furthermore, children may also become desensitized to violence depicted on television and imitating some poor behavior shown by characters in television show sharif 19. As a result, these passive activities of television viewing could also restrict the development of imaginative skills which are important in developing problem solving and organizational ability leigh 2001. Besides that, another negative effect of television viewing is that it makes us difficult to concentrate on other activities such as homework or exercise leigh 2001. This time wasting activity eats up the period that we have reserved for useful activities rutherford 2002.

Based on an annual averages survey conducted in year 2003 of average hours per day spent in leisure and sports activities for the total population by selected characteristics, it is shown that most of the hours per day are wasted on television american time use survey 2003. In addition, it is also said that students who are heavy viewers are among the lowest achievers in academic leigh 2001. For instance, children are not physically active when they only spend prolonged period in front of the television sharif 19. The situation become even worse when the sedentary activity indulged in with snacks which can cause obesity and related diseases rutherford 2002. Moreover, communication among family members will also be difficult when some families eat their meals while watching television rutherford 2002. As a conclusion, watching television has many side effects and has to be avoided.

These side effects affect the development of thinking process, a time wasting activity and leads to unhealthy lifestyle. The blame is frequently directed to television and should be avoided so that we can have a healthier lifestyle without wasting our time. Therefore, i firmly believe that television viewing brings more negative effects than positive effects to us. Today, people of different races and generations become victims of tv addiction. Some people watch television because they want to be updated about what is happening in the world.

They want to be aware and get connected with different people all around the globe. Nowadays, not only adults and teenagers, but also children, get hooked on television. Because of the busy world people are living in today, parents do not have time to take care and look after their children at all times anymore. Therefore, children have more freedom to do whatever they want, and in this case, watch whatever tv show they want be it classified as gp, pg 13, or even r 18. It can not be avoided that children will see violent scenes shown on tv since according to k.d. Browne, an average of 20 25 violent acts are shown in childrens television programs each hour. Since, exposure to violence causes aggressiveness, trauma, and desensitization, watching tv is bad for children.

Researchers have found that children are more aggressive after watching violent tv shows. This is because childrens minds are not yet that completely developed, that is why they are not fully capable of distinguishing right from wrong. Especially when they see the celebrity they idolize do violent acts, children will most probably imitate him or her. Ross have consistently shown that exposures to violence leads to increased heartbeat, blood pressure, and respiration rate, which motivates the child to act violently and aggressively. Based from the television violence monitoring project, 96% of tv shows contain violence which can also mean that out of 20 times of watching tv, there is only 1% chance of watching a show that has no violence in it. Media violence stimulates fear in some children and makes them believe that the world is more violent than it really is. It may lead children to be anti social and not want to be out in the real world anymore.

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Children will think that what victims on tv have experienced will also happen to them. Most children also have a hard time distinguishing fantasy from reality that is why watching tv causes trauma on children. According to cline, croft, and courrier in their 1973 study, people, especially children who are exposed to media violence, tend to be less disturbed when they witness real world violence, and have less sympathy for its victims.

Media violence will cause the children to overestimate their risk of being victimized by crime, believe their community is unsafe, and assume that the crime rate is increasing even when it is not. On the other hand, there are also studies by andre gosselin, jacques de guise and guy paquette in 1997 that show that watching television does not cause viewers to be fearful, but even cause them to be happier and more optimistic about life. That may be true for some, but researches of professors singer, slovak, frierson, and york in 1998 report that the incidences of psychological trauma, anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress increased in proportion to the increasing number of hours of television watched each day.

People also say that television can make children be aware and exposed of the real world. There, they can encounter different cultures and ideas that are not available in their own community. However, kids are likely to learn things from tv that parents do not want them to learn. Television and children, 2009 it is true that children need to be aware of the reality, but during their growth years is not the right time. The right time is when they are already capable of deciding what is good and right for them.

There are also many other alternatives to television as a source of awareness and knowledge for children. Also, books and other reading materials are more effective sources for childrens development. In the world today, it can be said that watching tv is also like watching violence.

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Violence already cannot be prevented on television programs that is why watching television is bad for children because it causes aggressiveness, trauma, and desensitization. Television can have positive effects on children but a bigger chance of having negative effects. Television can negatively affect childrens performance in school, lifestyle, career, family, and even their future. The national youth violence prevention resource center february 26, 2008 media violence facts and statistics. retrieved april 5, 2010, boyse, k. November 2009 television and children. retrieved april 5, 2010, television has brought more harm than good this is one of the argumentative essays on influence of television especially to the growing and young generation.

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Young people will spend valuable hours which could have been used elsewhere in watching television instead of concentrating on productive activities. Although television is known for its benefits of informing people of the current news, it is also associated with bad and evil things that gradually corrupts minds and leads to moral decay within the society. This is why some argumentative essay on influence of television portrays it as a necessary evil, meaning we cannot do without the television while at the same time, it is greatly affecting us morally, education wise and in terms of time lost watching it. Scholars have tried to gather views on most of their writings about argumentative essay on influence of television and have come up with conclusions that, the television is very addictive and unless it is regulated, it can end up slowing economic growth as people spend their valuable time seated watching television instead of concentrating on economic development. It is evident that the most affected group is the youth, according to most argumentative essay on influence of television this is because they are the ones who have plenty of time and energy to keep watching the television and their favorite programs.