Brooke's Article

Television Consumption
By: Brooke Luker

I have seen television take over people’s lives as well as television just being something fun that you watch every once in a while. I myself watch television when my favorite shows are on, but it doesn’t consume my life. This semester has been a very different situation for me. My roommates watch television day and night and it really takes over their lives. They have the television on when they are doing homework and I can’t understand how they can really concentrate.

The television can really draw you in but you really have to keep it to a minimum amount. The media has grown in all of our lives. Our blog is called televisiphonernetting, meaning someone who is watching television while on the phone and the internet. The fact that this word even exists explains a lot. Television is such a distraction. Sometimes when my roommates are watching the television I want to watch with them and it can really distract me from my homework.

If our homework is becoming a second priority to television then it’s really just sad. There are so many distractions in the media world today from television to internet to ipods, etc. “Television (TV) has its good side. It can be entertaining and educational, and can open up new worlds for kids, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures, and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. Shows with a prosocial message can have a positive effect on kids' behavior; programs with positive role models can influence viewers to make positive lifestyle changes. However, the reverse can also be true: Kids are likely to learn things from TV that parents don't want them to learn. TV can affect kids' health, behavior and family life in negative ways.”

Television can really affect you and how your day-to-day activities go. It can really distract you from things that you need to accomplish. You can watch television, but keep it to a minimum so that it doesn’t control your life.