Effects of Television Viewing on Young People

張貼日期：Nov 20, 2011 1:14:45 PM

Cindy Chen

Because of the development of technology, more and more people have television. In the past, not everyone was able to possess television. Nowadays, television affects not only adults but also children. There are more and more channels we can choose. And many TV shows are created to attract audience. I think the group which has been deeply affected is teenagers. There are many kinds of programs, such as music channels, cartoon channels, idol dramas, etc. These programs appeal to teenagers. But they also cause them some problems.

The first harmful effect is on the health of young people. They stay up late because some movies and sport competitions are played at midnight. Day after day, their body may not be able to support this kind of overwork. In addition to fatigue, seeing too much TV hurt their eyes. Especially some people may have myopia and astigmatism. In these years, the number of young people with shortsightedness increase sharply. The average age for having myopia is around 10 years old.

The second bad effect of TV on young people is their negligence of schoolwork. Every person has to take his or her responsibility. For example, a person’s job is to earn money for his or her family. Office workers have to finish their office work. Young people’s job is the easiest one. They only need to do well on school work. However, young people always forget their responsibility. The time to watch TV is always more than the time to study. What’s worse, some young people watch so much TV that they cannot do well on school work. TV makes kids and teenagers neglect their learning.

The final negative effect is on the behavior of young people. There are many talk shows created. Every word and action on TV would affect audiences. For example, politicians fight in a meeting place or some famous persons’ actions are wrong or insane. Young people’s copying ability is strong. Criminal activities shown on TV may lead to similar behaviors by young people.

Television is very important to young people, so TV programs should deliver positive things. I think that TV companies should be more restrained in showing some types of programs like violent and bloody scenes. They should attract young people with good contents. In this way they can bring positive effects to young people.