Disadvantages of Watching Television

Nowadays we have a greater amount of technology than we did in the past. Today we have a lot of media in every place. According to my research in the class, I’ve found 72% agree that the television is the most common media all over the world. In fact, people love to watch many different programs on television. Even though a lot of people like to watch TV, I believe that watching TV has three disadvantages.

The first disadvantage of watching TV is its negative effects on people’s health. Addiction to watching TV causes problems in a person’s eyes and causes people to gain weight. As we know, the light of the TV is harmful to our eyes, especially if a person sits very close to the TV. However, a lot of children sit in front of TV for a long time. According to Nikki, “The TV’s light damages the watcher’s eyes.” She continued by saying, “and it’s a waste of time.” However, Asma said, “There is no danger to the people who watch TV a lot.” Actually I agree with Nikki. Out of my classmates, 88% agreed that the TV’s light affects ore’s eyes. I think the best distance between the TV and the watcher is at least three meters. Also, the most doctors’ opinion is that a person’s head should be at the same level as the TV height. The other negative affect on a person’s health is weight gain. People who watch TV without exercising naturally gain weight. Both Nikki and Asma agreed and said, "There is a possibility to gain weight more when TV watchers eat while they are watching TV because they pay attention to the TV. So they often feel stuffed later." On the other hand, "It's not necessary that people who watch TV gain weight because they can exercise while they are watching by using a lot of machines," Baito added. So, watching TV can negatively affect ore’s health.

The next problem is sleep deprivation. TV helps people to stay until midnight. Always there are interesting programs broadcast at midnight, so people prefer to wait for these programs instead sleeping. According to the survey that I did it in the class, I've found 77.7% agree that the people who watch TV a lot have sleep deprivation. Also, many studies find that adults should sleep seven hours a day. Sleep deprivation is a physical problem, and there are other problems. For example, when I spend more time to see the TV in the night, I can’t wake up early in the next morning.

Programs' effect is another disadvantage. Certain kinds of programs affect our behavior. Some people like to watch violent TV shows and movies that have a lot of action. Scientists found a link between violent programs and aggressive behavior. Children who watch violent movies are more likely to argue with teachers and fight with other students. In contrast, violent programs affect adults less than children because adults are wiser than children. Most people in this class decided that the violent shows affect children in different ways. Asma said, "The children who watch these shows are doing what they see." She continued by adding, " also, they are aggressive  and more likely to fight or argue with others." In addition, Baito said, "Yes, violent shows teach children to be violent and they instill the instinct to fight." So, some of the programs affect us negatively.

The last disadvantage of watching to much TV is can lead a lack of communication between people. Addiction to watching TV is like a prison because it keeps people in front of TV at all the time. Television is destroying family life. Now families just sit like robots in front of the boob tube, the television, instead of talking or playing games together. Some families even eat dinner in front of the TV screen. There's little communication between parents and their children or even between husband and wife, except maybe an argument about whether to watch Monday Night Football or ER, a show that women like. Actually I think TV is a disaster that destroys the relationships between family members if they don’t use it correctly.

In conclusion, we must avoid becoming addicted to watching TV to protect our health and avoid damaging our bodies because watching too much TV affects our health by damaging the eyes or the whole body. Also, we have to get enough rest and not let children watch violent shows by choosing programs that are appropriate for their ages. Last but not least, we should let children go out and see the world and help them to be effective in their society. In addition, we have to teach our children the disadvantages of watching TV.