Secondary Keywords- Our Lives, Television, InfluencePage Title- The Influence Of Television On Our LivesSub Title How TV Affects Our LivesThe Influence Of Television On Our LivesTelevision Has Always Been Used As A Medium To Educate, Entertain And Instruct. Many Years Ago In , The Television Was Used As One Effective Way To Send Birth Control Messages To Its Vast Population Scattered In Villages All Over The Country. Many Years Ago, Less Developed Countries Used Television As A Means To Educate And Inform The Public. In The West, The Purpose Has Always Been More To Entertain. These Days However, Even The Less Developed Nations Are Seeing The Idiot Box As A Small Cinema. One Just Needs To Look At The Models Of The Goggle Box That Is Coming Into The Market To Realize This. The Television Set Today Is A Necessity In Most Households And No Longer A Luxury.Television Is Also Used To Raise The Publics Awareness About Matters Relating To Crime, Punishment, Social Responsibilities And Government Policies. For Instance, Warns Its People About Drugs And, The Punishment Meted Out To Those Involved In Drugs Is Shown In Sad And Gory Details So That It Would Influence The Viewing Public To Behave In Socially Responsible Manners. Thus, The Influence Of Television, When Controlled By The Authorities In A Country, Can Maintain The Moral Fibre Of The Country.However, Today Much Of This Control Is No Longer There. With Millions Of Homes All Over The World Having Cable, Choice Of What To Watch On Television Has Been Thrown Wide Open. Today, A Villager In And A Teenager In Can Be Watching The Same Programme And Hence Learning The Same Culture. For , The Introduction Of Cable May Not Necessarily Be A Good Thing. Programmes With Explicit Scenes Of Violence Are Being Shown On Television Every Day. As Time Goes By, One Can Expect Certain Value Systems To Emerge Amongst The Young In Which Would Be Totally Out Of Line With What The Older Generation Grew Up With.An Article In A Renowned Magazine Once Proudly Talked About The Vast Reaches Of The Ever-so Popular Music Programme MTV. Recognizing Perhaps Their Role In Contributing To A Very Unhealthy Youth Culture, MTV Spends Tens Of Millions Of Dollars Every Year Fighting Violence, Racism, Drugs And Gender Discrimination. They Understand The Fact That Television Demands Attention To Images. Youths Are Greatly Impressed By Images. They Emulate Images They Perceive As Being The In-thing. MTV Can Quite Easily Be The Leader In Such Image Formatting In The Minds Of The Young All Over The World.Increasingly These Days, The Television Set Is Being Transformed Into Mini Cinemas In Many Homes. More Than Ever, Today The Set Provides Relief To The Maintenances Of Day-to-day Activities For Many Around The Globe. The Set Is Responsible Partly For The Disappearance Of The Art Of Conversation. Families Spend More Time In Front Of The TV And Then Disperse To Their Own Affairs Immediately After A Programme Ends. Worse, Some Even Fight Over What To Watch On Television To The Extent That Many Today See The Need To Have More Than One Set At Home.It Is Not True However, That An Unhealthy Youth Culture Can Be Solely Attributed To Television. Today, Access To The Internet And The Availability Of A Wide Range Of CD-ROMs Do Have A Role To Play In The Moulding Of Youth Culture In Any Country. Whatever It Is, We Need To Recognize That In Everything There Has To Be A Control And An Equal Balance. The Young Cannot Be Always Relied Upon To Make Wise Choices. The Old Who Run Television Networks Must Recognize This And Attempt Sincerely To Produce Healthy Entertainment That The Young Can Mature With.
