Television and its harmful effects
...and emphasizing the negative qualities. Society sees being thin as the source for happiness instead of allowing people to find happiness within themselves. The result of media’s constant reinforcement of this standard is a nation obsessed with dieting and weight loss destroying any chance of us learning to be happy just the way we are. Television is quickly taking the place of books and decreasing an individual’s ability to think for themselves. It takes little mental effort to follow a television show because our information is being spoon-fed to us. Studies shows that television slows the development of thinking skills, speaking skills, and imagination. Studies also show that brain waves move much slowly when watching television and in turn “makes people’s minds into passive recipients.” Television teaches people to be amused by images they see instead of reading, which encourages people to make up their own images. Television is so realistic at times that people take what they see and hear as the truth. Our values are deteriorating because of the need for power and success to be happy. Violence and sex are often the means for achieving this and because of this, television is turning us into materialists who do not truly see things for ourselves and we are thus, becoming more ignorant. There is so much violence in television that it is causing people to act more violently and to become more desensitized. Studies show that exclusive viewing of television causes greater aggressive behavior. Today, violence, sex and bad language are being shown at earlier and earlier ages causing children to mature faster. Television seems so realistic that people will often imitate it thinking that life is like that and thus, causing violence. Violence is now seen so much that it is becoming a more acceptable way to deal with things. Television often does not show the consequences of violence or people do not understand these consequences and this causes violence to be put in positive light. Television is causing people to become more desensitized because of the excessive violence shown. People may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others as well. Individuals are becoming more cynical of the world and are viewing the world with fearful eyes instead of noticing the good things the world has to offer. Television may not be the cause of all the viol...