Roses are Pink - "Pros and Cons of Tv viewing"

Thursday, September 27, 2007

"Pros and Cons of Tv viewing"

This is a writing project that I must do for school, but I have wanted to do a post on this subject for quite sometime. My Mother gave me permission to post it on my blog, since I must write it anyway and it is much more fun to write something for a real audience. The following will be two slightly altered versions on the same subject. The first rendering will be for an audience of sixth graders, the second, for adults with little or no previous knowledge of the subject. (My text book selected the ages)"Pros and Cons of Tv viewing"

For Sixth Graders;

An average American family usually watches a large amount of TV in a week. This isn't really a bad thing, but television does have its pros and cons. Everybody knows that to much TV isn't good for you, it is a fact that most children who watch a lot of TV are overweight, lazy, and don't have much of an imagination, but this isn't always the case. I have known several people that watching television, or movies, has inspired them to do things, and not acting or singing. That is unoriginal, and not something worth aspiring too, but that is for another essay.

Frankly, I would be fine without our satellite, but to please the rest of the family, we must keep it. I do much prefer movies. =)

Pros:

1. It is fun to watch TV every now and then, considering it more as something fun to do, rather than as something that you deserve. I like to watch TV mostly when I am sick, or it is cold and wet outside. It makes it seem like you are not wasting your time, and it is special.

2. Some channels are more worth while than others, for example, "The History Channel" ,or "Animal Planet" are more educational than watching hours of reruns on the "Disney Channel"., also I know several boys who love watching "Man vs. Wild" on the "Discovery Channel" and they seem to have learned a lot from it.

3. It can help us aspire to something, or give us ideas. For instance, I know a boy who watched a lot of TV when he was little, mainly "Animal planet" and "Discovery Channel". For most of his young life, he wanted to be a zoologist, and now, with a little help from his family, he has a sheep, a rabbit, and does 4-H. If he had not watched so many shows on the topic of animals and their habits he most likely would never have wanted to be involved with animals.

Cons:

1. You are what you watch. Everyone has role models, or people they try to be like, even if it is not consciously done. Everybody knows that it is important to have good friends, because if we start "hanging with the 'wrong crowd'" we will probably start acting like them. Same with watching TV. We are influenced by what we see our role models do, and if your role model is an actor or TV star you are most likely going to act like them. (which is usually a bad thing, considering sense of right and wrong most famous people have (or don't). When we watch people we value (even if they are just actors) doing things we will try to emulate them, even if it is subconcious. Commercials, for example, tell us we want, need, deserve ,whatever they are trying to sell. After seeing the commerical over and over and over again, it finally starts to sink in..."I really do want that red-polka-dot Ipod!".....How original!

2. Obssessing ,or being dedicated to watching tv, can take time away from more important things. A couple years ago, I used to watch American Idol every Tuesday and Wednesday night. I would hurry home from wherever I was to make sure I didn't miss them singing, or I would be sure not to have anything scheduled on Wednesday at 8:30 because I might miss ---- getting voted off! My brother cousin and I would play in my grandma's woods every Wednesday night, but we had to make sure to be inside intime so as not to miss it! Think of everything I could have done, if I hadn't wasted my time worrying about missing a corny talent show!

In 7th grade, I went to a large youth group. Each grade was split up into small groups, in our seventh grade girls small group we started out with about 15 teen girls. Later that year, we had maybe 8 girls. Why? About half of the girls missing didn't want to miss their favorite tv show! The sad thing is that their parents let them stay home from church (even if it was youth group) to watch tv! Really, television isn't worth it.

3. Earlier I mentioned that most children who watch a lot of TV have no, or a very small, imagination. This is true. While watching tv, everything is given to you on a silver platter. You don't have to think, contemplate, or anyalize anthing. It is all explained in a convinient 1-hour program.

We didn't get sattelite until I was about 7 or 8 years old, so the only sort of television we had was movies, or PBS shows my grandma taped for us. We played outside all the time. My friend, Niki and I would play Little house on the Praire (I was Mary, she was Laura) everytime we got together, I'm still amazed we never got bored of it.

We (Niki and I) have been friends for nearly 10 years and up until the past 3 or 4 years we had never watched a movie together. Not that our families didn't like the same type of movies, on the contrary, we just preferred reenacting them instead of watching them. All that just to say, you don't get creativity from watching tv.

For Adults:

A typical American household customarily watches a substantial amount of TV in a week. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but television does have its pros and cons. Everyone realizes that to much TV is not healthy for you, it is a fact that the majority of children who watch a lot of TV are overweight, lethargic, and do not have very much ingenuity, but this isn't always the truth. I have known several people that after watching television, or movies, have been inspired to do things,

Pros:

1. It is enjoyable to watch TV from time to time, considering it more as something fun to do, rather than as something that you deserve. You should not have to justify yourself while watching tv.

2. Some channels are more valuable than others, for instance, "The History Channel" ,or "Animal Planet" are more scholastic than watching hours of reruns on the "Disney Channel", also I know several boys who love watching "Man vs. Wild" on the "Discovery Channel" and it appears that they have learned a lot from it.

3. It can help us aspire to something, or give us ideas. For instance, I know a boy who watched a lot of TV when he was small, particualary "Animal planet" and "Discovery Channel". For the better part of his young life, he desired to be a zoologist, and now, with a little help from his family, he has a sheep, a rabbit, and does 4-H. If he had not watched so many shows on the of animals he most likely would never have achieved this much involvement.

Cons:

1. You are what you watch. Everyone has role models, or someone we strive to emulate, even if it is not consciously done. Everybody knows that it is essential to have good friends, because if we are constantly surrounded by negative examples we will start to pattern ourselves after them. Same with watching TV. We are guided by what we observe our role models doing, and if your hero is an actor or TV star you are prone to act like them. When we watch people we value (even if they are only actors) doing things we will try to emulate them, even if it is subliminil. Commercials, for example, tell us we want, need, deserve ,whatever they are trying to promote. Subsequently seeing the commerical repeatedly, it irrevocably permeates our thoughts and we suddenly realize that they were right all along! I can't live without that new dishwasher!

2. Obssessing ,or being dedicated to watching tv, can take time away from more imperative things. A couple years ago, I used to watch American Idol every Tuesday and Wednesday night. I would hurry home from wherever I was to make sure I didn't miss them singing, or I would be sure not to have anything arranged for Wednesdays at 8:30 because I might miss ---- getting voted off! Think of everything I could have done, if I hadn't wasted my time worrying about missing a talent show!

In 7th grade, I went to a large youth group. Each grade was split up into small groups, in our seventh grade girls small group we started out with about fifteen girls. Later that year, we had maybe eight girls. About half of the unacounted for young ladies did not want to miss their favorite Television show! The sad thing is that their parents let them stay home from church to watch tv! Really, television is not worth it.

I've said most everything I can on the subject. I would appreciate it if you could tell me which version you found most interesting, and informative. I apologize if there isn't a extreme amount of difference between them.

Love to hear from you,

Rose

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Comments

Friday, September 28, 2007 - Well...

Posted by Jocelyndixon

I can tell this is definitely is a wonderful post! I don't have time to read it right now, but I will! And then give you my full opinoin.

We were just talking about watching tv shows.... we don't watch tv but Superangel does love smallville ad it's not the savvyest of shows...

Love
Jocelyn