Television is perhaps the most common and comparatively cheaper source of entertainment. There are a lot of channels that are easily available and you can choose them as per your needs or your budget. You will never find a house that does not have a television. It has become more of a necessity over the years.
There has always been an ongoing debate regarding, whether or not having a television at your home is that necessary. In the modern age, Smart Televisions are becoming much more popular and widely used as they come with a range of features that we could not have otherwise found in ordinary televisions.
But there are a set of advantages as well as disadvantages of Television. In this article, we will be discussing the benefits as well as the negative impacts of a Television.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Television
1. Entertainment
Among the list of advantages of a Television, the first and foremost benefit is that it is one of the most popular and biggest entertainment sources. We are given a lot of options and channels to choose from.
There are a lot of movie channels, sports channels, travel, knowledge channels, etc. There are channels or series, which are suitable for both adults as well as children.
2. Current events and news
You can get the news and current events of the world through various news channels that you can watch on the Television. These channels offer news about the economic conditions of the country you live in and the world, the current political situation, sports news, industry, etc.
You can also get the live updates of the situation or the condition of an accident or a serious issue that might be happening in your place or any other location.
3. Source of Knowledge
There are certain channels provided that are solely created for the purpose of imparting knowledge as well as education. Children can hugely benefit from these channels. There are so many science shows or quiz shows that help to spark an educational interest in the minds of children.
The Discovery Channel or the Animal Planet channel are channels that can be knowledgeable for both kids as well as the adult population. These channels can easily become a part of the day to day learning of your child.
4. Employment opportunities
We are well aware of how the Television industry can deeply contribute to the economy of a country. In this way, it also creates a lot of employment opportunities for people in the transportation, retail, and manufacturing sectors of the television industry and business.
Apart from this, there are many people, who train to become professionals in the Television industry such as cameramen, editors, news anchors as well as journalists. The Music Industry and Film Industry are also connected to the Television industry as well.
5. Cultural Awareness
As human beings, we are always curious about the world and what are the ways, in which people live in different parts of the world. There are various kinds of cultures, customs as well as rituals that are followed by people from different countries.
Television helps us in gaining insight as well as knowledge about the world and makes us aware of these different cultures and customs. Several channels on the television nowadays also broadcast the cultural, religious, and ritualistic practices of different regions of the world.
6. Personality Development
Television is a wonderful tool for expanding the human mind, but it all depends upon the nature of the usage. If you watch the television with the intent of learning something, you will be able to find a lot of things that you can educate yourself with.
People who watch informational shows or channels will have more factual ideas and concepts about various things than people who do not watch such shows or watch television just for entertainment and to pass their leisure time.
7. Social Surrogacy
It has been scientifically proven that Television acts as a Social Surrogate. People who stay away from their loved ones and their family often become quite attached to the characters of a favourite television show and start relating to these shows.
This is how they cope up with the absence of their family members or their loved ones. This sort of a relationship between people and the fictional characters in television is termed as “Parasocial Relationships”.
These people can ward off their feelings of isolation and loneliness by watching the lives led by these fictional characters.
8. Brings members of the family closer
Watching television with your family leads to the creation of a unique bond with each of the family members. Sometimes families sit and watch a single show together and this helps bring them closer to one another.
Often family members discuss the shows that they see and some members encourage other members to watch something that they have found interesting. Watching the television together is one of the few things that families do together even in this fast-paced world.
Disadvantages of Television
1. Violent and illicit content
This is the most common and dangerous effect of Television. There might be a lot of vulgar content on the television that might cause potential harm to the minds of young children. Violence in the form of bloody fights between characters in a show or a movie can affect the psychological setup of a child’s mind.
The minds of young kids can be easily influenced as they have the ability to learn something very quickly and that is why we have often seen children use foul language unintentionally because they might have watched TV characters use such disgraceful language.
2. Health problems
There are numerous health issues, which have emerged out of watching too much television. These issues consist of eye irritation or pain, backaches, or body aches. Children are the most affected by these problems as they are prone to watching excessive television.
They often sit very near to the TV screen and this has a negative effect on their eyesight. We have often seen children who have to use glasses at a very young age. Physical inactivity also causes a lot of health problems.
3. Relationships might get negatively affected
Watching too much TV can become an addiction. There are many people, who become so glued to the TV screen that they are unable to live at ease for even a day if they do not get to watch their favourite shows. They almost become social outcasts and have trouble relating to real people.
So much of what is portrayed on the screen is fictional, but people who become addicted to television will have false ideas of relationships and people. They would want their life to be as glamorous and lovely as the lives led by the people on the screen. It might cause a negative impact, on their relationships.
4. Negative effects of false advertisement
There are many products and brands that use aggressive forms of advertisements on the television to influence the mind of people and young children. People who are influenced by these ads build their whole lives around fake consumerism and fail to see the reality behind these advertisements.
5. The wrong depiction of several communities
We have noticed on many occasions that there are certain communities in the world, which are often stereotyped. These stereotypical depictions can often cause people to have the wrong idea about these communities. As we have said earlier; one of the basic advantages of television is that it has the capability to influence the human mind very easily.
Television can positively influence the mind of humans and, it can negatively influence the human mind too. Some communities are portrayed as being always angry and involved in illegal crimes or drug gangs. Some communities are always portrayed as terrorists. Such depictions will not only affect the human mind but can also plague the innocent minds of young children.
Conclusion
These are some advantages as well as disadvantages of Television. The advantages are something that we can benefit from in our day to day lives, but the disadvantages can be avoided if we follow certain things. Children should never be allowed to watch channels, which are not suitable for them.
Parents can use the Child lock features in TVs to maintain this. Adults need to know and understand that some content on Television is not right and is just a fictional portrayal of things that are not real. If you use the TV for harmless entertainment as well as infotainment, these disadvantages should not be a matter of extreme concern.
