Television is an important form of communication and has been for many years. Television brings important historical events, both positive and negative, directly into our homes. People don’t just read about current events, they experience them in real time.
Television can also be a fine teaching tool – there are many television shows on the air that are informative and educational. The right television shows can teach our children about morals and values as well as right from wrong. Educational television is not only for children however; Public television as well as cable television channels such as National Geographic and The History Channel serve as learning tools for adults. In fact many colleges and universities use local channels to provide distance learners the opportunity to attend lectures given on television.
Along with the advantages listed above there are also disadvantages to television. First the same proliferation of new channels that provides additional educational opportunities also provides opportunities for children to be exposed to more inappropriate content than ever before. It is not uncommon for children to have access to movies and programs intended to be viewed only by mature audiences. While technology has been put into place to help conscientious parents censor the channels and shows their children can access, these methods are far from fool proof and they are only as effective as the parents who choose whether or not to utilize them. This unfettered access to adult material appears to manifest itself in a variety of different ways but most people would agree today’s children are more aware of adult themes (such as sex and violence) at an earlier age than ever