Introduction
Television forms part and parcel of a family, and this has been the case for ages now. People tend to regard television and its related programs not only as agents of entertainment in the house but also as an integral part of the living rooms and sometimes bedrooms. In doing so, parents are always tempted to consider televisions part of their homes oblivious to the effects they have on both their kids and themselves. Quite a number of articles have been written in regard to this topic. It is important to note that keen scrutiny of these journals and scholarly works have more or less the same information. This paper will, however, focus on the influence of television on the family as discussed by two articles, an article by Shankar Vedantam that appeared in Washington Post and a scholarly journal.
The scholarly journal has an inherent audience. It particularly addresses researchers and discusses the importance of analyzing the specific effects television has on families and how they are produced. The authors of this article refer mostly to researchers and family specialists as his audience. They say that most researchers on the effects of television on families overlook the fact that televisions form an integral part of the family. They further note that this is perhaps the reason why parents value television in their houses as compared to many other things.
The sole purpose of this article was to educate researchers, parents, and family specialists on the various measurements that are viable for regulating the negative effects televisions have on the family. Additionally, the article was meant to illustrate the benefits of televisions to both parents and their children. The article further imparts the knowledge that television viewing should be considered a socializing influence in society more than a church, family, and school.
The authors of this article took into consideration quite a number of factors while writing the paper. For instance, the language and vocabularies used in the paper accommodate quite a number of audiences and, most especially, the key audience of the article, which was researches and family specialists. This is championed by the fact that most of the vocabulary used is simple and easy to comprehend. In addition to that, the style of writing is simple and lovable by many. This is so because the reading process is not thwarted by ambiguous words and incomprehensible sentences. Despite the fact that the article is long as compared to the other article, the story and all its explanations flow in a rhythm that is encouraging and not tiring (Richard, Fabes, and Scott, 1989).
In addition to the style, the tone of the article is welcoming too. Richard, Patricia, and Scott, the authors of this article, presented their work in a tone that appeals to all the intended audiences. For instance, the article does not give a negative impression or defaming phrases to its audiences. The tone is friendly and accommodates all the probable audiences and perhaps unintended readers who may merely come across the literature. It is important to note that the authors had in mind the effects of blaming the negative influences of television on certain audiences inconsiderate of whether they were the intended audiences or not. For this reason, quite a number of sentiments and complements in the article are general and do not directly attack and individual or audience (Richard, Fabes, and Scott, 1989).
The second article, on the other hand, focuses on a more general audience. Unlike in the previous article, the authors of this article do not direct their sentiments to a specific group or audience. The article attributes violence amongst young adults to televisions and their related programs. It purports that in as much as television is educative and entertaining, it inculcates certain negative behaviors that are associated with violent programs and movies. The article reveals that a good percentage of young adults adopt violent behaviors from violent movies and television programs (Dintrone, 1996). They then become perpetrators of violence even in their older ages, and all these are effects of televisions to the family.
Form the few statements on the article mentioned above, it can be noted that the article’s sole purpose was to highlight the filths and negative influences brought about by television viewing. The article gives an in-depth discussion of the violent behaviors of young adults as brought about by television viewing. It further implicates parents and family specialists in this matter. As noted in the article, parents and family specialists are blamed for these characteristics amongst young adults. The article further recommends that television viewing should be regulated by parents and guardians.
The article’s tone is not impressive. Additionally, the style, too, is not welcoming as compared to the previous article. This is perhaps due to the fact that it implicates its audience and blames it for the negative influences of television on young adults. It is, however, important to note that the tone may play a significant role in revolutionizing the purported negative influences on TVs (Dintrone, 1996).
Conclusion
In conclusion, therefore, television viewing in the family is productive in terms of enhancing interaction and socialization amongst family members. However, the positive bit of television viewing is only achieved when discrete moderation is applied during watching. Parents should educate their children on what to and what not to watch in TVs.
References
Dintrone, C. V. (1996). Television program master index: Access to critical and historical information on 1002 shows in 341 books. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Richard, A., Fabes, P. W., & Scott, C. F. (1989). Family Relations. National Council on Family Relations: New York.