Television’s Terrifying Influence

581 Words3 Pages
Children used to have endless fun exploring places and imagining and playing various games. When television first came out children took little interest due to their fascination with their own creativity and the world around them. However, as time wears on, television demands precedence over children’s imagination, real world experiences and their overall lifestyles. Television is seen as a window to the world around us, but can a screen with a two dimensional picture on it really show us the wonders of our Earth? Though it may seem like a great way for kids to gain knowledge of far away places, it is actually destroying their creativity and imagination. Compared to the feeling of the wind in your hair and the smell of salt water, a program that shows children a boat ride is as stimulating a watching grass grow. Not only does television rob a child of its experiences but it negates the need to use the imagination. Children, such as the ones I baby-sit, use characters and plots from shows they have seen when playing a game instead of coming up with their own. Though some may argue that certain school assignments allow for a child to exercise their imagination this is not the case. An assignment where a child comes up with a story from a given prompt is nowhere near the experience of the child playing a game that popped into their mind seemingly out of thin air. Thus television’s grip upon children tightens and pushes out the need for much free thought. Similarly, television dominates a child’s lifestyle. Many children, my brothers included, allow the other areas of their life—including academics—to slip as long as they get to watch their favorite shows. They will gladly sacrifice their education, health and, essentially, their freedom to be able to watch a couple hours of television. The
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