How much TV do you watch in a day? An hour? Three hours? Five hours? As someone who is a sucker for trashy reality TV shows and Netflix limited series, I probably spend more time watching the tube than I should. It's so beyond easy to sit on the couch with a bowl of my favorite cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch -- anything else is wrong), and watch multiple episodes of whatever show I'm currently into at the moment. It's almost scary how easy it is to get sucked into that screen of moving images and pixels. I've been lost in the world of television on more than one occasion, and it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I get a lot of my knowledge and information through television. The average U.S. citizen (ages 15+) spends 2 hours and 46 minutes watching TV every day. This includes watching live events, streamed shows, and DVD movies. This also includes watching TV on TV sets, computers, and mobile devices.
Television has come a long way since it was invented. The history of television is extensive, and it goes all the way back to the 1920s. The word "television" itself is well thought out. The prefix "tele" translates to "far off" or "from a distance". There's debate over who owns the title of "the creator of television". Vladamir Zworkin and Philo Farnsworth are considered the founders of television technology, while John Logie Baird is credited with inventing the first television set. Farnsworth was 14 years old when he came up with the concept of "television". He had an idea, but he had no way to execute his plan. That's where Zworkin came in. Farnsworth and Zworkin put their noggins together to come up with the technology for television, although they squabbled over who was the true creator. A few years later, John Logie Baird came into play. Baird was from Scotland, but based out of London as an adult. In 1925, Baird created the first television set and presented it in London. Within a few years, TV was able to be broadcasted from London to New York.
The creation of television had two main purposes: faster communication and entertainment. More than likely, the word television likely leads you to the second one. Television is a HUGE source of entertainment for Americans, considering there are hundreds of thousands of options to choose to get entertainment from. When I think of old TV shows, my mind automatically goes to TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s. I can't help but think of programs such as Adam-12, CHiPs, Emergency!, or even Gilligan's Island. However, TV series were around long before any of those classics. In 1928, the first TV drama was released. The Queen's Messenger is a 40 minute TV drama that aired on September 11, 1928. The Queen's Messenger was a massive accomplishment for the world of TV, and it wasn't very long before more TV dramas, shows, and movies were pouring out into the entertainment universe. I Love Lucy was the first TV sitcom filmed in front of a live audience in 1951, and it ran for six seasons.
The technology of television changed the world in many different aspects. The ability to broadcast anything practically anywhere was a big deal, and we took advantage of being able to spread information quickly and to large populations. Broadcast news became a booming industry, because it was changing how quickly we were able to get our current news. It was more convenient for viewers, because they didn't even have to leave their homes to know what was going on in the world. Before TV news, citizens wouldn't be able to catch up on the news until the daily paper was published every day -- and sometimes it would take a few days before current events could make it to the paper. With TV, current events could be shared and reported on within no time. Politics were majorly changed and affected due to TV culture. In 1960, president elect John F. Kennedy credited part of his win to how television was able to broadcast him at the Nixon v. Kennedy presidential debate. After the debate, people who watched the debate on TV tended to favor Kennedy, while people who listened on the radio considered it more of a tie. What was the difference? The TV viewers were able to visibly witness Kennedy's calmness, confidence, and level-headedness as he spoke -- while radio listeners did not.
Television improved and changed society in many ways, and added lots of better features. However, every good thing has its downsides, and television is no exception. To bring medical expertise to the table, too much television can be damaging to your mental and physical health. Television is more convenient to users, which is more efficient. However, this allows less effort to be made. In short, television has made Americans lazy. TV is so easy that you can sit on the sofa and control the TV from where you're sitting without even having to hardly move. The content that viewers are taking in is crucial to mental health as well. Reality TV and drama series (as much as I love them) don't do very much to exercise the human mind. Television is extremely influential no matter what is being broadcasted, and this doesn't exclude fictional TV shows. Television shows like Euphoria that contain adult and graphic content are leaving negative impressions on younger audiences who are no doubt (but shouldn't be) watching.
The current news that we take in also plays a part in the downsides of TV. The ability to broadcast messages to a massive range is just as hurtful as it is helpful, especially when it comes to news broadcasting. Journalists and reporters are able to share their opinions and thoughts on topics to the world, which can influence the viewers. This applies to politics, entertainment, sports, and all kinds of topics covered on the news. This is why it's so important to draw news from multiple sources, and why it's important to understand an issue/story from all sides. Projecting biased views and opinions for the world to hear is dangerous, and is how misinformation is spread.
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