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Television : Television And The Future Of Television

Decent Essays

When you think of television, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it a television show, movies, or video games? In 1939, the capability of the television was proven when RCA broadcasted the opening to the New York World’s fair. On that day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to ever appear on television (Stevens). As you can imagine, by this time, television was new and exciting. It provided a new source of entertainment and by the 1950’s legitimate T.V shows and news broadcasts began to gain popularity. In the 1980’s, when videocassette recorders became available, a whole new world opened up for sources of entertainment. Viewers could watch their favorite films as often as they’d like, or record a television show they didn’t want to miss (Stevens). Currently, televisions are used for many different things, such as television programs, news and media broadcasts, watching movies, and playing video games. Americans are beginning to spend more time in front of their televisions either watching a show, or playing a video game. According to the 2015 American Time Use Survey, the average American spent 2.8 hours a day watching television, 41 minutes a day socializing, and only 18 minutes a day on sports or exercise (American Time Use Survey). Given these statistics, it is clear that although it was created for entertainment, television has become a necessity in homes leading to issues with health, intelligence, and providing an easy distraction to life. Television abuse can be thrown into the same category as substance abuse. Although television itself is just a piece of equipment, the technology it uses and the shows it can provide have become an easy distraction from reality.
“Television is simply automated daydreaming” – Lee Loevinger
Americans find an escape from reality in a television show, or a video game. Television isn’t a bad thing but, like alcohol it must be used in moderation. Think about it; there are 24 hours in a day, on an average week day Americans spend around 7.6 hours working in their professions (American Time Use Survey), 6-8 hours sleeping, which leaves around 8 hours of spare time for Americans to eat, exercise, study and take care of household

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