Television has become a necessity to households nowadays. In developed countries, it is estimated that more than ninety per cent of households have at least a television set (Sharif 1999). Television has enamored its viewer, regardless their age (Leigh 2001). According to the American Time Use Survey (2003), American spends most of their leisure time watching television. They are glued to their favourite program all day and night. Hence, television is being blamed for causing viewers to have poor academic achievement, antisocial behavior problem and to be physically inactive. However, I strongly believe that television brings more good than harm as it provides an additional medium for learning, acts as an entertainment to relieve stress and encourages critical thinking.
Firstly, television acts as an extra dimension for learning. Auto-visual medium allows those boring subjects such as history and geography to be presented in a unique and interesting way. It catches the concentration of viewers and allows them to gain more information than those being merely read. Rutherford (2002) claims that by watching scientific program, children can work through the most complicated steps of scientific equation in an enjoyable manner. Television shows also allow young people to experience “eye-travelling”. They can watch the culture and beauty of other part of world and the natural scene of animal kingdom. It helps them to understand cultures of other countries and develop curiosity towards the world. Moreover, kids programs like ‘Sesame Street’ which use animation and puppets to make learning fun attract pre-schoolers. They recognize colours, numbers and alphabets before they begin school. Leigh (2002) states that these children also tend to have a larger vocabulary. In brief, television provides a wealth of information.
Also, television is an essential entertainment for the population as it can relieve stress. After a hard day at work or school, watching television is the best choice for relaxing. By being engrossed in a television show, adolescence can relieve their frustration which is caused by higher expectations that are placed on them. Young people need to forget about their stress for a short while to regroup and gain a more balanced view of problems (Rutherford 2002). It also enables the audience to refresh their mind and get themselves ready to focus on their studies and work. This claim is further proved by UK Time Use Survey (2000). It states that full-time workers choose to spend most of their leisure time on watching television rather than reading and playing games. Thus, television can certainly be solacing and assuasive.
Furthermore, television can help viewers to develop critical thinking. Critical thinking is an essential skill in both social settings and at school (Sharif 1999). Television acts as an engaging medium that encourage critical thinking about important issues on a wide range of human problems ranging from globalization to homelessness (Leigh 2001). For instance, by determining how conflicts are solved in television programs, families and friends can discuss whether or not better solutions are possible. This aids them to solve the complex situation in real life and won’t give up easily.
In a nutshell, television brings a lot of benefits such its role as a learning tool, a gadget to relax ourselves and promotes critical thinking. Somehow there are still having some people claim that television has the capacity to develop antisocial behavior and violence among the children. However, if the television is watched in moderation and suitable guidance is given, the advantages definitely overweight the disadvantages. Again, I would like to strengthen my stand that television brings more good than harm.
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