The television set is one of the most common products of technology in most homes. It is very hard to envision how life would be in the contemporary society without a television set, because although better media gadgets have been invented, for example, computers and smart phones, non of these gadgets receives wide acceptance like the TV.
One thing that has made TVs to be the most common electronic gadget is that, unlike in the past when TVs were only viewed as a source of updated information, presently TVs are also watched for recreational purposes, because of their numerous entertainment programs. Therefore, because TVs are watched by people of all classes, races, and ages, they have become one of the most effective means of communication in present societies.
On the other hand, although most TV programs are very relaxing and informative, some programs have bad influences and can act as an obstacle to development of good behaviour and certain skills more so in children, for example, language, motor and, social skills.
However, although such negative influences exist, if the watching is done in a responsible and controlled manner, watching television is one of the most beneficial activities that individuals can engage themselves in.
TVs are one of the primary sources of relaxing entertainment, because of their numerous entertainment programs with different story lines and features. For example, TVs have different comedy and music programs, which are very entertaining and can sometimes act as stress relievers.
Watching the TV is one of the most relaxing activities, because in most cases, as one is watching the television there is a tendency of the human mind to switch off from thinking about stressing activities and concentrating on the television program. In addition, most individuals usually prefer watching the TV as one of their primary recreation activities, because they can do other simple activities for example, dancing as they enjoy their favourite TV programs more so music programs.
Generally, although most individuals rarely appreciate that watching the television is one of the relaxing recreational activities, as they believe that watching the television is a waste of time, every minute spent on watching the TV responsibly is beneficial to the mental health of every person, as it takes away the human mind from the daily worries for a moment.
In addition to having numerous relaxing programs, the TV is a source of updated news of any form of developments and occurrences in the world. TV stations usually have their reporters in different parts of the world; hence, from time to time, through news programs, television programs are able to inform people and pass important messages that are necessary for improving the quality of life.
For example, without media such as the TV, it is very hard to know how the weather will be; hence, prepare in advance to avoid being caught in a mess. TVs usually have live programs, such as sports and numerous live events; hence, in addition to being entertainment gadgets, TVs are great source of information. Therefore, it will be purely wrong to argue that, a certain television program is a waste of time, because of the numerous benefits that are associated with watching of television programs.
Although the TV has numerous benefits, in uncontrolled TV watching scenarios, some TV programs encourage the development of bad habits and behaviour and can hamper development of important life skills. Watching TV programs is one of the most addictive activities. It is not unique to find an individuals switching of an educative program and switching to a non-educative program. For example, most young people have a tendency of liking program with explicit sexual content or numerous scenes of violence.
Majority of these programs are very misleading, and because some individuals more so the youth have a tendency of copying anything they see on television. Although its fun watching such programs, most individuals fail to differentiate reality from fiction; hence, such program can greatly corrupt and colonise people’s minds negatively.
On the other hand, because of the addictive nature of TV watching, the TV watching preoccupies most people’s times, something which can greatly hamper the development of important survival skills and abilities, such as social skills, language, and motor skills. Such is the case because TV watching is a passive activity; hence, in most cases it is an obstacle to exercising of initiative and application of critical and creative thinking. TVs are also full of commercial advertisements that portray dangerous goods to be good.
For example, Tobacco and junk food companies normally spend million of dollars to advertise their products, most of which are very harmful to the human healthy. Therefore, because of the curiosity to try out some things, some people will find themselves consuming some products against their will; products, which in most cases are very harmful to people’s health.
In conclusion, although some negative effects associated with watching of the television exist, in controlled cases, these are disadvantages that can be minimized and even be avoided. Therefore, watching television is very beneficial, a there exist numerous programs that are informative, educative, and very relaxing.