How has television changed the American culture?

Answer 1

Entertainment has brought many benefits and challenges to American culture and has changed the way we communicate. Television has been in homes since the 1950s. For most people it has and is the primary source of entertainment. TV has helped to create our culture by making an impact on book's, newspaper's and magazine's design and content. Movies, sports from around the world, news, and live war coverage have all made an impact on our culture. People gather together to watch the Super Bowl in bars and at parties. On Tuesday night's families gather around to watch live TV, as American Idol introduces young talent to the screen. Whoever has the biggest TV gets to have movie night at their house. The list is endless for the amount of information transported into our homes every day, changing the way people live and react to life situations. Politicians use TV for campaigning, the President uses TV to broadcast current events from the White House. Due to the introduction of cable and satellite, people shop on TV, keep up-to-date with the Stock Market, get live news coverage from CNN, and even the NFL draft is broadcasted live on TV. We know when to buy and sell stock, what natural disasters are headed our way and what latest fashions to wear. TV has been one of the biggest influences on American families today. It is stated by the Department of Education that children/young adults watch as much as 4-5 hours of TV a day. Influencing their lives in not such a good way. They have less time to interact with others resulting in poor social skills. It also has introduced many different trains of thought into the houses of America, which can be a problem because some TV channels negatively influence the youth when drugs, sex, and violence are shown. The television media has changed the mind of many adults too. We are told what to wear, eat, drink, say. We are told where to go and what car to drive there in. We are taught how we are to treat others according to Hollywood. These new teachings are not always in line with what we were taught prior to Television. The morals in this country are changing with the thought "Everyone is doing it". Therefore, changing the way our culture is today.