Friday, October 31, 2014

The Wonders And Woes Of Dish Network TV

By Roseann Hudson


It is not uncommon to find homes that showcase a television as the central piece of the living room. We have long dismissed the disadvantages of television like we shrug off the reputation of fast food. We know that it makes us fat and less intelligent, but there is a lot more going on than physical and mental aspects.

We know that televisions used to be black and white. Now that we have HD colored TVs with limitless choices of channels from Dish Network Las Vegas coupled with the injection of the Internet into our television sets, we think we are far from the nuisances of it. Dreaming and perceiving dreams in monochrome when you are person who have been regularly exposed to black and white TV compared to the technicolor dreams of non monochrome watchers might be something interesting but not particularly harmful.

The social impact of television has long been recorded but most of us have been blindsided and we have unwittingly been living with it day by day. TV is the chosen platform for propaganda, whether political or social or economical. We have been mirroring our ideal selves from what we see, often losing our cultural selves and creating a wider conflict between our real selves and what we deem ideal.

If you are aware how fashion magazine models have contributed to the rise of wannabe anorexics and purgers, the same is happening with television. When we are online, we must actively type something on that search bar in order for us to get what we want. Television, however, is the opposite. You still get to see things you do not want even if you are surfing between channels.

Take for example the concept of body odor. Before deodorant was invented, people never really bothered with perspiration, it is just something that naturally happens. But when someone invented the product and no one bought it, its advertiser launched a campaign stating that we should be ashamed with our natural body smell when we sweat.

Recall the stereotype of the Stepford wife and all the sexist tropes we saw on the boob tube. We have expected women to behave like that. Well, not just women, but for every tv trope, we have long lost the ideal self to the models of TV. It is great to note, however, that more shows are now steering away from the misogynist, sexist character roles and opted to go with more gender equality in their programs.

Another bad news is bad news. Psychological effects of negative news are increased worry and anxiety. You might say that it is the the job of newscasters to report whatever is going on, good or bad. The problem is, especially that news affects our entire mood for the day, they are not simply contented with divulging the details but they have made bad news sensationalizing a norm.

On top of those negative effects on adults, we often create the mistake of making TV a babysitter for our children. TV is known to be useless for children under the age of two as it wastes the time needed for activities the child needs to develop his cognition, such as connecting with other people. It also takes away the innate ability of the child to develop initiative when faced with challenges as TV makes a child passive, not active.

On the bright side of the coin, cartoons have been proven to have a soothing effect to children in pain. TV also combats loneliness, according to the Social Surrogacy Hypothesis. In conclusion, like most things, TV has both pros and cons, and it is up to you to moderate your dose.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment