Advantages and disadvantages of watching TV - Zalety i wady oglądania telewizji

TV is defined as a mass medium. Thus, this is a means of public communication reaching a very large audience. Once luxurious, TV set is now present in the vast majority of Polish houses. Even though particular programmes are not as popular as they used to be just ten years ago, still a great number of people spend lots of hours watching them.

Almost from the very beginning people argued whether watching TV is beneficial or harmful. This dispute has never been settled. Neither TV enthusiasts nor those who hate it have been persuasive enough to convince their opponents.

Probably it is impossible to state if watching TV should be recommended or if it should be banned. Why? Because it’s not only beneficial and not only harmful. It simply has both advantages and disadvantages.

Undoubtedly, TV is a great source of information. Watching TV can definitely broaden one’s horizons – especially nowadays, when there is a wide range of channels available. Thanks to watching TV news one may get to know a lot about what is happening around the globe at the moment. There are also various channels, whose programmes concern special fields of interest. Thanks to watching Discovery or Animal Planet we can have a wide knowledge of history, travels, engineering or environmental issues.

TV broadcasts do not consist only of information, though. TV programmes are widely considered to be the main source of entertainment too. What can make us laugh or entertain us in a different way? Above all comedies, sketches, music concerts and special TV shows, many of which are hosted by famous comedians.

Furthermore, children, especially the youngest ones, can benefit from watching some TV programmes. There are plenty of cartoons directed at them. They combine fun with learning, what makes it easier for a child to remember new things and gain some useful skills.

However, watching TV has disadvantages as well. As a matter of fact, the majority of those who present their opinion about the issue, focus on the negative impact TV may have. For example, they point out that inappropriate behaviour patterns are widely presented in movies. According to them, not only movies but also TV news are fulfilled with violence and, as a result, young people nowadays are becoming more and more aggressive. This is because they try to imitate character’s behaviour.

As far as disadvantages are concerned, some researches have proven that watching TV can be addictive. It may seriously affect our physical and mental health. Those who spend a lot of time in front of a telly, when forced to turn it off, suffer just like drug addicts.

Last but not least, it is commonly thought that watching TV is a waste of time. It makes people lazier, not willing to take up sports or any other activities, especially the outdoor ones. This might finally lead to serious health problems.

To sum up, watching TV has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, we can benefit from educational programmes and get to know something about the present events but on the other it may contribute to our health problems and have a negative impact on children’s behaviour. To make a long story short, we can spend some time watching TV not being bothered about it, if it is not the only way of spending our free time.