Do you think television reflects society or influences IT

It’s necessary to mention that nowadays television is the most significant form of broadcasting, it permeates all spheres of our life. In Britain Independent television prevails for example, it consists of a number of privately owned companies, each of which is responsible for programming in different parts of the country on the single channel given to it.

As a result, it is common for exactly the same program to be shown on the ITV channel throughout the country. And here it is important to stress how this private, commercial television influences on people and to what extent.

It seems to me that much depends on the kind of information that is broadcasted.

ITV news programs are not made by individual companies, they’re owned jointly by all of them. For this and other reasons, it has always been protected from commercial influence. There is no significant difference between the style and content of the news on ITV and on the BBC. Ever since then, there has been little significant difference in what is shown on the BBC and commercial television. They are in constant competition with each other to attract the largest audience. (This is known as the ratings war).

As regards what is shown on TV, like soap operas for example, here I would like to say that TV reflects society and influences it to some extent. On the one hand, soap operas of cuz don’t paint an idealized picture of life. Nor they are very sensational or dramatic. They depict relatively ordinary lives in relatively ordinary circumstances. But if they are so popular it means they influence the viewers. The viewers can see themselves and other people they know in the characters and in the things that happen to these characters. The British, for example, prefer the kind of pseudo realism sjudo in their soaps. I think there are such people in our country who share this point of view. It’s a pity that nowadays soap operas and entertainment shows prevail over the programs that used to live up to the original educational aims of television. Nevertheless, in Britain there are two channels (BBC2 and Channel 4) which act as the main promoters of learning and “culture”. Both have been successful in presenting programs on serious and weighty topics. But broadcasting educational programs, for example, television influences people and especially children positively. Educational broadcasts are arranged in series and aim to give the viewer a progressive mastery of some skill or field of learning, vocational training and recreation. Many of the programs are supported by textbooks and pamphlets.

As for the negative aspect, watching television over a long span seriously damages children’s ability to think clearly; moreover it robs youngsters of childhood. Television appears to be shortening the attention span of the young as well as eroding their linguistic powers and their ability to handle mathematical symbolism. To some extent television is opening up all the society’s secrets and taboos, thus erasing and dividing line between childhood and adulthood. Television is essentially a visual medium. It shows pictures moving very rapidly and in a very dynamic order. For the reason, I think it’s fair to say that TV moulds the intelligence and character of the youth far more than formal schooling.

I can’t deny such negative fact like violence shown on TV. Some videos are too frightening or violent for a particular age. Here TV reflects our society unfortunately. Every day there is escalating violence and selfishness, decadence unconnected to TV.

Used sensibly, TV can expend knowledge and understanding of the world around us: it can provide great enjoyment as well.

Some people are skeptical about TV and its detrimental effect that it exercises, TV has undermined society’s traditional values and standards.

Some researchers say that TV has stripped away our gregarious nature and common interests.

TV’s become the drug of choice for an increasingly fast and self-occupied world, traditional family activities have disappeared, participation in local affairs and community life has collapsed and a damaging cult of “ get-out-of-my-face” isolationism has taken hold.

TV doesn’t only influence people but also follows public opinion

To my mind TV plays a very important role in our lives and it permeates all spheres of it. First and foremost it is the main source of information today, when people are too busy to devote a lot of their time to reading books and newspapers and sometimes are not rich to have a PC. But some people are skeptical about TV and the detrimental effect that it exercises. They affirm that TV has undermined society’s traditional values and standards, TV is a real drug for some of us. TV world occupies a lot of our spare time, we forget about family activities, about participation in the local and community affairs, emerged in soap-operas or entertaining programmes.

Some researchers say that TV has stripped away our gregarious nature and common interests.

Cocooned in TV-shows world, people no longer know their neighbours, friends and even families. They don’t socialize, don’t think and most of them don’t care. An ominous picture of a society so helplessly glued to TV-screen is painted. The influence of TV is shown by the fact that people buy fewer books, they prefer moronic films like “Dumb and Dumber” to spending time with their families.

Emerging in the US is remarkable new evidence of how television has profoundly undermined society’s traditional values and standards. Carried out by Harvard University, the research shows that as TV has become the drug of choice for an increasingly fast and self-occupied world, traditional family activities have disappeared, participation in local affairs and community life has collapsed and a damaging cult of “get-out-of-my-face” isolationism has taken hold.

Most of all TV gives people a biased view of political, social events taking place, which are rendered through the eyes of TV hosts, film maker, who obligatory have to express that or this point of view and support a certain political party and programme. Very often news coverage and evaluation of the events depend on the sponsors of the channel and authorities, who stand behind it.

As for aesthetic upbringing, unfortunately there are too few programmes to be called art works, promoting beauty, moral values and high standards of those with educational purposes.

The primary thought concerning TV (how it exerts influence on people) – its detrimental effect, increase of antisocial behaviour among children who are exposed to TV explicit scenes in westernized communities.

I would say that TV doesn’t only influence people but also follows public opinion. It’s a common fact that people’s interest is a major factor for creating TV programmes. A lot can be said about sex and violence scenes; it’s like transference: people transfer their subconscious decrees and motifs on TV shows and some people even enjoy watching action films with a lot of fights and evidence in this way splashing out their negative emotions and feelings. The same with news programmes with the information replayed to the particular sort of people who feel “comfortable” namely with such coverage of news.

I believe that TV does not only influence people, (panders to and caters for their interests), having not only a negative but also a positive influence. Besides being the primary source of information in our rapidly changing world, TV serves to some extent to the development of a child (it develops visual memory, forms some basic notions and feelings such as dignity, kindness, co-operation and friendship), it provides people with useful knowledge about remote countries, making our world smaller and cosy.

It's necessary to mention that nowadays television is the most significant form of broadcasting. In Britain Independent television prevails for example; it consists of a number of privately owned companies, each of which is responsible for programming in different parts of the country on the single channel given to it. As a result, it is common for exactly the same program to be shown on the ITV channel throughout the country. And here it is important to stress how this private, commercial television influences on people and to what extent. It seems to me that it much depends on the kind of information that is broadcast. ITV news programs are not made by individual companies, they're owned jointly by all of them. For this and other reasons, it has always been protected from commercial influence. There is no significant difference between the style and content of the news on ITV and on the BBC. Ever since then, there has been little significant difference in what is shown on the BBC and commercial television. They are in constant competition with each other to attract the largest audience (this is known as the ratings war).

As regards what is shown on TV, like soap operas for example, here I would like to say that TV reflects society and influences it to some extent. On the one hand, soap operas of cuz don't paint an idealized picture of life. Nor they are very sensational or dramatic. They depict relatively ordinary lives in relatively ordinary circumstances. But if they are so popular it means they influence the viewers. The viewers can see themselves and other people they know in the characters and in the things that happen to these characters. The British, for example, prefer the kind of pseudo realism in their soaps. I think there are such people in our country who share this point of view. It's a pity that nowadays soap operas and entertainment shows prevail over the programs that used to live up to the original educational aims of television. Nevertheless, in Britain there are two channels (BBC2 and Channel 4) which act as the main promoters of learning and "culture". Both have been successful in presenting programs on serious and weighty topics. But broadcasting educational programs, for example, television influences people and especially children positively. Educational broadcasts are arranged in series and aim to give the viewer a progressive mastery of some skill or field of learning, vocational training and recreation. Many of the programs are supported by textbooks and pamphlets.

As for the negative aspect, watching televi sion o ver a long span seriously damages children's ability to think clearly, moreover it robs youngsters of childhood. Television appears to be shortening the attention span of the young as well as eroding their linguistic pow ers and their ability to handle m athem atical symbolism. To some extent televis ion is opening up all the society's secrets and taboos, thus erasing and dividing line between childhood and adulthood.

Television is essentially a visual medium. It shows pictures moving very rapidly and in a very dynamic order. For the reason, I think it's fair to say that TV moulds the intelligence and character of the youth far more than formal schooling.

I can't deny such negative fact like violence shown on TV. Some videos are too frightening or violent for a particular age. Here TV reflects our society unfortunately. Every day there is escalating violence and selfishness, decadence unconnected to TV.

Used sensibly, TV can expend knowledge and understanding of the world around us: it can provide great enjoyment as well.