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Television, that fascinating piece of machinery, has been an essential part of furniture since the day it first arrived in our living-rooms. A television set is usually the very first thing young people buy when they move away from home. I also belong to the TV-generation born with a remote control in my hand .
Television being part of popular culture creates trends. It provides us with images that we try to imitate consciously or unconsciously. Sun always shines on TV, people in commercials are slim, young and beautiful. TV-commercials affect us more or less whether we want it or not. Of course, some people are more "susceptible" to the commercials than others, but few of us can totally ignore them. What an ingenious businessman was the one who invented TV-shop! Just call the number given on the screen and the thing, whatever it is, is yours in no time, delivered to your home .
Television takes us to places we have never imagined. It brings us the sunny beaches of California and the exciting life of the big cities. We can watch thrillers, dramas, documents, music shows, soap-operas, the list goes on and on. We can forget our own problems while watching "the bold and the beautiful" whispering sweet nothings in soaps, we find their life is just as complicated as ours. We often talk about the characters as if they really existed and we knew them. The characters of the programme may be the only friends a lonely person has. The choice of what we want to see is ours. If the programme is boring let's go channel-surfing. Now that almost every family has satellite channels we can "surf" through a number of channels .
Practically everything is blamed on television nowadays. It is said that television is full of stereotypes, it moulds children's minds and gives them bad rolemodels. Increased violence is also TV's fault, they say. Well, to some extent I agree: Children shouldn't be allowed to watch some programmes unless one of the parents is there to explain the difference between the fact and the fiction. But it seems that even children's programmes are full of violence these days. However, if a person behaves violently or even criminally whatever the age is there has to be other reasons too. I have watched violent films even as a kid, but I regard myself as an extremely non - violent person. I refuse to believe somebody could be so brainwashed by television that can't see right from wrong .
No matter how "injurious" effect television has on us it has also brought a lot of good things in our lives We get information from all over the world quickly and easily. Developing technique has enabled such weird things as interactive programmes. Instead of staring at the screen passively we can actually participate in the programme. So, if television is the opium of the masses I gladly accept me being a drug addict .
