Is Today's Television A Source Of Entertainment Or A Source Of Information?
The percentage of people who own a television is very high, atleast in developed countries and it is a big part of our lives. It is not unheard of that a person comes home after work or school and turns on the television and watches it until going to sleep. Since there are a lot of commercials, movies, the news and talk-shows, which can interpet a subject like it wants, it definitely affects the way we think. Even if someone watches television only for an hour or two per day, it has an effect on a person. But is the amount of valid information enough for television to be labeled as a source of information rather than a source of entertainment?
Firstly, the biggest reason why television should be thought of as a source of entertainment is that when watching TV-shows and films, it is not likely to acquire a lot of useful information. There may be some real life facts from the time when the movie was made, but surely only watching films will not keep you up to date with what is going on in the world. As for the talk-shows, usually these kind of shows do not cover so called ''serious'' news and talk about gossip, cultural subjects or an interesting persona. Althought it might be good if adequate people would talk about what is going on around the world, it probably would not get as many viewers as gossip about celebrities. And since television is all about ratings then a serious talk-show just would not survive.
Secondly, when people come home after a hard day at work or anywhere else they want to relax. If all that was showed on television were news then they would have to keep thinking and worrying. For example when a stockbroker comes home, turns on the TV and sees that the stockrates, which he was working with had gone down he would not be able to sleep all night. That is why it is much easier to just switch off the real world and watch television. Many people do not even turn on the TV to watch news anymore, because internet has taken over and you can get information online much faster, whenever you want and in bigger amounts. So television's main purpose is to entertain.
On the other hand it can be said that television is a source of information, but only if left out that not for useful or thought-provoking information. A quarter of an hour on TV is filled with commercials about different things that people actually do not need, but they will make you want it, because they show these advertisments so often. Althought it is still information as it is a new thing and let's you know what people have come up with, it does not actually help you in life and probably makes your mind numb, while you watch it.
In conclusion I think that television is a source of entertainment rather than a source of information. There are other ways to get sophisticated knowledge and the news than the television. The internet and thematic magazines, for example. And the amount of news on TV definitely succumbs to the amount of mindless information, which is fed to people and that is why television is far from being a source of information.
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