The Simpsons, Family Guy, Scooby Doo; all shows that many people consider ‘mindless’ entertainment. Scrubs, The Office, House; shows that people wait religiously for every week. My mother used to tell me that if I watched too much TV, my brain would leak out my ears. Could the television really detract from the thinking process? Doubtful. It could possible twist your ideas (or concept of reality), but not prevent you from learning while in school or in the real world.
It’s not hard to see why so many people believe that ‘Boob Tube’ has no educational value. Shows are full of aliens, talking animals, money, drugs, and violence- not to mention the other thousands of strange things you can stumble upon when channel surfing. It seems that mainly parents are the ones worrying about what is on TV. Probably because they want to keep their children from learning, or seeing "bad" things.But young minds are easily manipulated, so it is a pretty good idea that parents keep their young children away from shows that might harm their development. But can you say that these shows can truly detract from your minds ability to learn? Yeah right; though it may seem not the least bit helpful, the shows and movies we see teach us things. How to interact with people, how some decisions affect the ones who make them, perhaps even how to escape the jaws of a deadly crocodile
Educational television is a whole other realm from the one above. One those days when you’re sick and stuck at home from either work or school it is almost certain that you have seen what broadcasters and parents alike call educational television. One show is Dora the Explorer. It is about a young girl who goes on miscellaneous adventures while teaching you children random Spanish words; that’s about as educational as it gets. Older shows like Barney teach your children classic lessons like sharing and how to be kind to other people, while teaching them repetitive songs. These shows to have some education in them, but is it really better than any other television show- despite it being a less than G rating?
If television does not affect your learning abilities, can it affect your social skills? In some instances, yes. If a person (normally a younger person) takes a show too literally and lets it cloud their sense of reality; no matter how many shows there are, Star Trek is just that, a show. However in other instances a show can be a social boost too. If one person watches the same shows with their friends, then they can talk about it however they seem fit.
Though it is highly unlikely that television is a waste of brain space, there is no denying that it can make you a couch potato. So please, watch responsibly.
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