Thesis Case

Thesis

Every day our televisions are bombarded with information of every caliber. We witness violence, sadness, love and accomplishments. We even see poverty, distress, fun-filled adventures and the word of God. All this content ultimately has some type of effect on us as consumers' parents and children, because we are all viewers of this information. Some images even have an effect on how we think, what we consider is appropriate or normal and our perception of others. What entertains one person might not be appealing to another, or what one finds repulsive another may find beautiful. In relation to our existence in a world full of technology, television has always been a staple in the households of our great American culture. Moreover, it has become a huge avenue for advertising, many facets of entertainment and news information. Furthermore, since the 1950s, television has been the main vehicle in forming our opinions as a society. It is my opinion that television does bring about changes in behavior, health, intelligence, morality and other things in our lives. Some of these things can be negative, other can be inspiring. Going forward I am going to touch on some of the positive images that I have witnessed in my experience as a television watcher. I will also talk about some of the negative images I have witnessed. Negative and positive images grace our television screens daily. It is ultimately up to us as individuals, to choose what we watch and how we let the images shown effect our lives. We must monitor what our children are watching because of the effects of negative programming, we must open our eyes to what is real and what is entertainment, and we must not become consumed with the bittersweet images that television places before our eyes; for it is easy to get caught up in a world of images that is not your own.

Outline

Introduction: Thesis Statement

A. Negative Images on Television and their effects.

B. Positive Images on Television and their effects.

C. Monitoring what Children Watch

D. Conclusion

The Kaiser Family foundation recently conducted a media study citing that children ranging from the ages of 8-18 on an average spend four to five hours watching television each day, and that is why negative media image are so prevalent. (Erica Loop, 2013) I am in total agreement with this observation and there is a great deal of supporting information that supports their findings.

The negative images on television that I believe have an effect on children's behavior, health, intelligence and morality, are images violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and images of fornication. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Healthy Children website, "television violence can actually lead to real-world violent acts." The AAP also indicates, 'by the time most children reach their teen years, they will have viewed just about 8,000 murders while viewing different television programs." (Erica Loop, 2013) Though some teenagers have the intellectual ability to separate what is real and what is fantasy on television, younger children might fail to comprehend the images of violence that they see and viewing violent images may desensitize them to the point that, the images come across as fascinating and exciting. (Erica Loop, 2013)

Another negative image that can have an adverse effect behavior, health, intelligence and morality from television is the image of smoking. Smoking is a painstakingly unhealthy habit. I know this because I used to be a regular smoker however, now I call myself a social smoker which is no better. Unfortunately I started this disgusting habit at the age of 15 and I can thank television and peer pressure for their influence in this area. It's hard not to turn on the television without seeing the image of people who are youthful, popular and beautiful engaging in this unhealthy activity. So of course, this image is very impressionable for someone who is a teenager because they make it seem cool. The negative effect that smoking has had on me is that it causes my bronchitis to flare up, especially during the cold and flu season. I can tell you from experience that it is no fun coughing, feeling like your chest is going to explode. "The