Uses and Abuses of Television

Television is one of the most striking wonders. The history of human civilization

tells the advancement and achievement of science. Modern science has presented us

with various wonderful and interesting things. After the invention of radio, man’s

hunger for having auditory and visual experience at the same time grew up. So, in

order to satisfy this eternal human thirst to know the unknown and to see the unseen,

man invented this wonderful magic box which has brought the world closer.

A German scientist Paul Nepkow had been thinking about inventing a device by

which one could hear as well as see things. Basing on this hypothesis the scientists

of later period went on trying to invent the desired device. The credit of inventing

the ultimate version of this device goes to Jhon Bayard, an American scientist. Two

basic principles together constitute this device-transmission of sound and

transmission of picture or image.

The merits of television are so varied and wide

that it is hardly possible to describe the uses of television in short. In the field of

communication television has brought about revolutionary changes. We can watch

latest news and views on T.V. The most important service television gives us is that

it caters to needs. We can watch movies, plays, games and sports on T.V. in order to
avoid the monotony of daily life. We can watch different programs on T.V. which

has educative and moral value for us. So, by imparting education to the huge masses,

television can play a pivotal role in increasing social awareness against dowry,

torturing women and communalism. If democracy means people’s right to know as

well as decide everything for themselves television is the most effective medium in

establishing this popular right.

We give up our sleep to watch our favorite shows. It wastes a lot of time. Watching

television for a long time affects our eyes and make us feel tired. Teenagers and

children sometimes start following negative and bad activities of famous

personalities. Because of repetitive advertisement of a product, we want to buy that

product unnecessarily. Watching T.V. distracts us from doing our work. We waste

extra time thinking or discussing about the episodes or movies. On T.V. we see ads

of many products. When we can’t buy them all, we may feel emotionally bad. Many

shows are not good for children and teenagers. During holidays instead of going out,

people spend hours in front of T.V. Because of T.V. students get distracted from

their studies. Fictional shows may develop wrong concepts among people.

There are many drawbacks of watching television, but the uses of television

outweighs the drawbacks. It is a very good and cheap way of entertainment and

getting relaxed after a hectic day. Parents should take care how much and what
shows their children are watching on T.V. Watching T.V. for a small time is good.

But one must not get addicted to it. It can affect his or her personal life in many ways

like distracting people from work, making them less socialize, wastage of precious

time, getting discouraged, etc. Overall, television is a necessity in everyone’s life to

come out of frustration and responsibilities for some time and get relaxed.