In this generation, Television is a an essential appliance seen in every home whether you are rich or poor. It is part of everyone’s life. Even if you don’t watch it people around you, do. This form of media has a large audience base. Advertisers of products take advantage of this fact so they advertise on the hottest and newest shows on television. People who watch on the other hand do not realize that while enjoying their favorite television hey subconsciously absorb the political, social and economic messages that are assumed in the program and its advertisements.
Television these days are so much different than it was decades ago. Today, we have hundreds of channels to choose from far from my parent’s time, they only had about five. Viewers are exposed to more information, whether it is good or bad is another story. Television, like the internet, is a tool that can be used either for bad or good. On one hand it can be used to educate and allow people to see a world they might never have a chance to see in reality. On the other hand, television sometimes shows a distorted view of reality, which can damage people’s views of the real world, and this can influence how people think and behave. This is seen in shows and movies where it is acceptable for teenagers to be disrespectful, rebellious and uncontrollable. A lot of television shows have labeled or stereotyped different kinds of teens and this in a way pressures teen agers who watch the show to choose which teen they are. The surprising part is that most of the stories portray the respectful, obedient ones as the “doormat” who gets stepped on or bullied and the bullies are the ones made to be cool. Although some shows redeem the story in the end, sadly, it has already made the “bad side” more attractive and fun to the teen viewers who often look for role models in these kind of shows. 
There was a time when I got pressured into being a different person/daughter to my parents. I would see people on TV sneak out of their houses, although I knew it was wrong, it felt like it was so cool and was a taste of independence, good thing I did not act impulsively nor was I daring enough to have tried it. There is this inner voice in me that puts me in check. I am super close to my parents but there was a time when I distanced myself from them thinking it was “freedom” to do what I wanted to do without anyone telling me otherwise. I thought being close to my parents would make me less cool or less accepted until I realized that all of us have a different beliefs, standards and view of the world. As a saying goes, “Do not judge yourself
through someone else’s eyes.” I came to understand these more when I realized that I am who I am, I am my beliefs, choices and values. I know what defines me and will not allow the standards set by the television shows as to what beauty is, or what a teenager is, nor what morality is define me.
Television is not bad, you just have to have to know your boundaries and limitations. It shouldn’t dictate how you live your life. For as long as television is used to teach lessons in morals and produce good role models for children to look up to then television can be an excellent educational instrument. If, however television has shows drugs and violence in prime time shows they should see to it that they are responsible enough to make sure that the consequences of drugs and violence are properly explained. They say that you are what you eat, in the same way I believe we are what we watch so we should be careful of what television shows we watch. The effects of a program go far and beyond the show’s airtime.
It is a reality that what seen on TV influences people in society, in different degrees. Television has the potential for both good and bad effects, as responsible members of society we must not watch programs that depict more negativity and those with no redeeming value. If we stop watching these kind of shows, producers will stop producing these shows as it will not make them money. In the end, it still is our choices that make up our worldview.
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