Verified Document

Television And The Family Television's Essay

An article published in 2002 in the Journal of Communication further explored television's impact on marriage. In their study, 285 never married college students were interviewed about their idealistic marriage expectations. In the vast majority of those interviewed, their marriage preferences were based upon television shows, such as soap operas and romantic comedies. It should go without saying that this notion is appalling. In an age where divorce is at its highest, parents have an even stronger responsibility to model ideal marriage traits to their children. Instead, parents are so absent that young adults turn to the numbing and idealistic television for their marriage perspective. Just as with an anesthetic, the effect of television on the family does wear off when the television is removed from the home. All it takes is a willingness of families to turn off the television and begin living. The key to improving the American family dynamic is in taking Americans off of the drug of television.

The detriments of television's anesthetic effect seep into far greater aspects of young people's lives than simply their ability to socialize. The social detriments of television go beyond basic socializing. With adolescents being bombarded with images of thin, perfect women on the television, it is no wonder that so many girls are anorexic. Once again, the tides can turn and a young...

Surprising, it did not even take much change in order to reverse the damage. Instead of girls going home and watching television after school, they should be encouraged to participate in athletic activities and come home to a family dinner at the table. So, while the anesthetic of television may be damaging, its effects are not strong or permanent.
Television has become the modern drug of American society. While most parents cannot remember a time without television, it can still be possible to overcome this addiction as a society. The key is to unplug and remove the drug from homes and provide healthy alternatives for families. In other words, it is time to re-educate America and put television back in its place.

Bibliography

Segrin, Chris, and Robin L. Nabi. "Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage?." Journal of Communication 52, no. 2 (2006): 247-263.

Winn, Marie, Television: The Plug-In Drug. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Marie Winn, Television: The Plug-In Drug. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Segrin, Chris, and Robin L. Nabi. "Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage?." Journal of Communication 52, no. 2 (2006): 247-263.

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Segrin, Chris, and Robin L. Nabi. "Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage?." Journal of Communication 52, no. 2 (2006): 247-263.

Winn, Marie, Television: The Plug-In Drug. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Marie Winn, Television: The Plug-In Drug. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Segrin, Chris, and Robin L. Nabi. "Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage?." Journal of Communication 52, no. 2 (2006): 247-263.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Family Assessment for Nursing
Words: 5904 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

Family Assessment Description of Family / Genogram Profile of Family The 'T' family has been chosen for the completion of this assignment. Mr. T is the 95-year-old patriarch. His wife and mother of their two children is Mrs. T, 92 years of age. Their children are Wilma and Leon; ages 60 and 62 respectively. Theirs is a nuclear family. Both husband and wife are quick to affirm their lives are full of joy

Television's Depiction of American Family in the 1950s and 1960s
Words: 1500 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Television's Depiction Of American Family In The 1950s And 1960s Television depiction of the American family in the 1950s and early 1960s Television has for many years shaped the American society depending on the prevailing circumstances at that time. Ordinarily it is expected that television as a form of art would mimic the real life, but this has not always been true across the eras since at some point, television shaped and

Family Wellness Diagnosis, Nursing I Opted to
Words: 2163 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Family Wellness Diagnosis, Nursing I opted to interview a family of two parents (married heterosexuals) who have two children. Both children are in their late teens. Both parents work. She is a freelance writer and he is a sales clerk at a retail home goods store. Both are in their late forties. He is about 5'11; she is 5'6." Their heights and weights appear appropriate though he claims that at 180

Family Break Up
Words: 8857 Length: 22 Document Type: Term Paper

Family Break Up For a humane, the word 'community' hints at people trying to work out solutions to common problems. The term 'community' generally stands for a group that is bigger and more diverse than a family or any group of people bound together with relationships. It also has more elements than being of the same neighborhood or enclave, though not as large as a county or a nation. Certainly it

Family in a Humorous Way,
Words: 631 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

However, historians tell us that this is actually not the case. Certainly if one reads Dickens one finds that England of the 19th century was far from familial; some of the materials out of the American Colonial periods show that the family was mostly an iron handed parent and rather aloof father. Just as there is no such thing as an ideal family, the fact of the matter is

Family Narrative Every Family Has a Story.
Words: 1848 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Family Narrative Every family has a story. Or rather every family has a number of different stories. This does not mean that there are not important overlaps and consistencies among the stories that different family members tell. Both what is the same (or nearly the same) from one family member to the next and what is different is important to attend to as one tries to make sense of the story

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now