impact of television on society

The television has become one item of a family's existence to such an extent that, now it cannot be brushed aside at this stage. It is a part of every home whether it is in an urban locality or the rural.

This mechanism has done a lot of service to man in every sphere of life. It helps educate young people, it provides entertainment sitting in the comfort of the home, and, above all, it tells all about things happening in and out of the country, throughout the world.

All this is wonderful and a great service to man but, at the same time, it also has a negative side to it, a negative impact on the society of the times. People have got so very engrossed in this TV and its wide variety of programmes that, no one, yes no one has any time to spare for even his next-door neighbor, leave aside the society at large.

When a TV programme is to be aired, people of all hues and colors get glued to their sitting rooms, no matter what may occur around them. They become absolutely unaware of their surroundings and are completely lost into the world of the television. This attitude makes them in turn, unsocial and confined to their homes unmindful of what goes on next door.

We rarely go to a party or a get together where people are not heard talking of having missed a television programme, and sulking for it. So much so that, programmes like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata made people even leave important appointments for, after all how could they afford to miss a serial.

With this change, socializing is becoming a rare pleasure, as all pleasures and entertainments are found at the foot of the 'Idiot Box'. This is a very bad impact of the TV on the social lives of our people. Besides the adults, even children prefer to watch a programme on the TV. Rather than enjoy a game of football or cricket.

This makes the children also bereft of their valuable sports, the exercise it involves, and the meeting with their peer group on the games field.

Thus this TV has a negative impact on both adults and children alike, in making them unsocial. My personal view is that, if we are not able to strike a balance between TV viewing and socializing, that day is not far when society as a whole, will be a lost entity and non-existent.

Everyone will live by himself, for himself just like the living beings of the animal world. We will that day not believe in the definition that man is a social animal, and, that day we may have to be satisfied by saying that man is just another animal and not a social animal.