Television: The Plug In Drug

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Television: The plugin drug

Is television affecting your family? Television is one of the favorite sources of entertainment for families. Before the internet and medium like social media, Youtube, and Netflix, people had only television to watch with friends and family. After the invention of the television commentators and writers were providing sufficient perspective to the audience. The content was based on the reality and purpose of providing knowledge to the people. However, today the impact of television is changed. However, the main purpose of television changed with time. Television is serving as a plug-in drug, especially for children and youth. The main purpose of the essay is to understand the impact of television on the perception and behavior of the people. It is crucial because television remained most of the influential source of learning and acquiring information.

Use of anything in limit can give benefit but excessive use can bring harmful impact. Just like drug addiction, television addiction is a big issue in American families. Teachers, parents, and advocates argue that television affects the educational achievement, family life, and overall behavior of the children. Children spend most of the time in front of the television which affects their communication with the parents which has great impacts on their psychological development. However, there is the mistake of parents too. Researches indicate that parents bribe their kids with television. They show them television in the hope that children will eat their food. In addition, they make a deal with children that they will let them watch the television if they will study for an hour. This kind of bribing brings the attraction for the television and children become more addicted to it. They feel television as a special reward that they can get by accepting the demand of their parents.

However, this addiction to television is moving towards the internet. After the invention of the computer and supply of high-speed internet, people are getting more sources of entertainment on it. They spend most of their time searching for stuff on smartphones, tablets, and desktop. The medium for nonverbal communication like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is the new attraction for the children. They share their personal pictures, activities, and feelings with the friends online and make friends from all around the world. In addition, online gaming is destroying the concept of outdoor games and fun activities. Children spend their day sitting on the sofa or bed with having mobile in their hands for games like Pub G. social media and video games are, therefore, replacing television rapidly.

The plug-in drug (television) changed the pattern of American society. Outdoor gaming and hangout are replaced by video games. People who arranged parties and trips are now more connected on social media and avoid face to face communication. They prefer watching a movie on Netflix rather than going to the cinema. Family time is also reduced as everyone wants to watch their own favorite stuff and therefore, family time that was one of the objectives of the early television cannot be seen today. The source of providing information is now becoming a source of revenue. Producers and directors are more concerned about their profit rather than the impact of their content on the psychological behavior of the people ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"QQDwVrTt","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}ThePlug.Pdf})","plainCitation":"(ThePlug.Pdf)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1719,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/PTA59BVQ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/PTA59BVQ"],"itemData":{"id":1719,"type":"article","title":"ThePlug.pdf","URL":"https://www.isi.edu/~lerman/etc/ThePlug.pdf","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,19]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (ThePlug.Pdf).

The bottom line is that the television was invented to entertain family and to provide some good and meaningful content to the people. However, with time the main concept of the television changed and it starts showing a negative impact on people especially on the children. Family communication and educational achievement are highly affected by the source. However, smartphones and the internet are replacing television and people are now interested in social media and online gaming than television and outdoor activities. All these changes have a deep influence on the society of America.

Work Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY ThePlug.Pdf. https://www.isi.edu/~lerman/etc/ThePlug.pdf. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.