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It's really incredible if you think about the history of television. Fifty years ago it wasn't so common to have a television at home. Back then the radio was the only entertaining electronical apparatus you could find in a ordinary home. Since then the evolution has really made great progress. Nowadays you find at least one television in every house. There are coming more and more channels to choose between and some televisoncompanies broadcast twentyfour hours aday. There are different channels for news, sport and films. It would be interesting to know how many channels we have or what the televison looks like fifty years from now. The satellites have had a big part in the electronical evolution .
When I was younger I used to wonder what people did in the evenings before the television was invented. Did they listen to the radio all night or what did they do ? I guess they spent much more time talking to eachother and doing things together. In a way I really envy them because nowadays the television takes up too much of our time. I totally agree with the statement that television has become the opium of the masses. But there are also many benefits with the television. You can for instance be transfered to other parts of the world just by stearing at the "box". Live broadcasts gives us direct information about all kinds of things. Besides giving us a continous flow of information the television also has many other functions in the modern society. It's for instance very relaxing after a long day at work or in school to turn on the TV and watch a film or some other program that interests you .
There has been a great deal of discussion about what you can or can't show in the television. Violence and sex are usually the main subjects in theese kinds of discussions. What worries us most is what effect theese kind of programs have on the children. I think we'll get the answers to the questions in the following decade, because more and more violence is shown on the television today. Children are also spending more and more of their time in front of the television. This is what worries me most. This could have serious effects on our childrens health. Much is really up to the parents, they must not let their children look at the TV all the time even if it's the easiest way to get "rid" of them .
I think that the benefits of the television are many more than the drawbacks if it is used in a intelligent way. I couldn't even think about living without television. First thing in the morning I turn on the television to watch the news and every night I watch at least a couple of hours. Not so much here as at home though, because at home I have fourteen channels to choose between and here there are only three That's quite a difference but it's good because now I have the time to do my homework as well. The television is also good company if you live by yourself in a oneroom appartment. I have learned most of my english by watching Eurosport and MTV. If you don't forget to spend time with your friends and have other interests as well I don't think that television can have any bad effects on you. But in the future it could be like a drug because the directors and producers are getting more and more skilful and they know how to capture the audience. A good example of this is the bold and the beatiful. Especially in Finland there are lots of people who can't do anything else when the program is on. They can't speak with their friends on the phone and they can't plan anything else on that time. The bold and the beautiful has become a drug for a big part of the finish population. Immagine if there would be more than one program like this every evening. It makes me shiver just when I think about it .
