Now more than ever, TV is an increasingly relevant aspect in the lives of many youth. As a result of this there are negative and positive impacts that can be witnessed on both the personal and societal levels. In a world full of distractions TV plays a major role as the protagonist. Too many hours spent in front of the TV instead of focusing on more productive issues such as school work and getting excercise can lead to poor results and child obesity. However, since the invention of the Personal Video Recorder it is possible to record shows and watch them after tasks that fall higher on the list of priorities are completed. Also, there are some shows that teach young children the basics of everyday life; basics such as sharing and conflict resolution. I can attest to this fact after growing up watching shows like Franklin and Arthur. The societal impact on youth is not looking too good either as more youth spend their days on the couch in front of the TV instead of being active outside. With child obesity rates reaching never before seen levels one cannot argue that TV is a contributing factor. Again, society is spending more time than ever in front of the TV instead of using time efficiently in an effort to better themselves and the society in which they live. All in all, I don't believe that youth are benefiting from watching TV, but I also believe that there are much worse things that they could be doing than wasting their time in front of it.
In terms of the behaviour and values affected by youth, I believe that "reality" TV -and I put reality in quotations, because as we all know, it is the furthest thing from reality- is the worst transgressor of all genres on TV. MTV is currently doing a great job of destroying the values and behaviour of youth while at the same time creating an unseen level of stupidity amongst them. Teen Mom is a perfect example of a show that is encouraging bad behaviour and destroying values by glorifying teen pregnancy. In this case there is statistical evidence to show that teen pregnancy rates have spiked and many professionals believe it is a result of the glorification of teen pregnancy by MTV's trashy programming. Why anyone, especially a teenager, would want to become pregnant because of something they saw on TV is beyond me; but unfortunately it is happening. Values continue to be lost to other MTV programs like Jersey Shore which glorifies casual, drunken sex with absolute strangers. Also, the number of youth using tanning beds to achieve that "guido/guidette" look have risen to the point of professionals calling for an outright ban on tanning beds for those under the age of 18.
TV has created a number of social rituals due to the nature of some programming. Have you ever noticed the excited chatter in the halls of school after the finale of a big show or major sporting event? If there is one good thing that TV has done in terms of social rituals it has single-handedly managed to pull the world together on occassions. Every four years the whole world gathers around their TVs with friends and loved ones to cheer for their country as the worlds best atheletes meet to compete in sport. Ten years ago to this day the world stopped to watch as the most terrible event of terrorism directed at the United States of America occured. Across the world people's hearts went out to the ones lost and their loved ones in mourning as a result of that tragic, tragic event that shook the United States to it's core.
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