Essay Analysis: What TV Does to Kids Christine, Jarrett, Ruby, Tony

Introduction Essay Overview:  Television negatively impacts child development and growth  Stunting creativity  Shortening attention span/concentration due to instant gratification  TV violence tends to create aggressive behaviour  Displaces interaction between parent and child  Less involved in real-life experiences  Advertisements distort ability to decipher truths

Introduction Author’s Message:  Television has become a part of our lives, so parents should monitor the programs their kids are watching, and when felt necessary, comment on certain topics to educate their kids  “What are they watching - and with whom?” - Harry Waters

Introduction General Impressions:  Waters sheds light to the issue that TV has a strong influence towards a child’s development, presenting the negatives of children watching TV  The idea of the essay is dated, but the concept is similar to present-day in regards to modern day media, technology and social media platforms  Waters’ argument is clear, coming from a concerned parent  “Old vs New” debate

Intended Audience The most appropriate intended audience for this essay would be parent figures. Though the essay talks about children and teens, the messages of the essay seem to be directed to the parents, who are in charge. ● Opening paragraph, refers to a child character. ● Paragraph 2, reference to parent and tv influences. Paragraph 6, anecdote of a dilemma a parent faces regarding their child and television. Paragraph 15, offers a resolution directed at parents.

Tone & Mood  The mood used in this essay seems to be one of a slightly humorous persuasion given the numerous references to television cliché.  The tone appears to be sarcastic for a “serious” essay like such. It was also didactic in terms of the way that the author is simply teaching the audience certain facts about the behavioural research performed on children.

Use of Language -Uses vocabulary that can be understood by everyone, some colloquialism -colloquialism terms: transmitted (paragraph 3), turned off (paragraph 10), virtually (paragraph 15) which are terms referring to the TV -Makes it more relatable to modern times -Does not use contractions (don’t vs. do not) -Makes the overall essay formal -General sentence structure for every paragraph: COMPLEX -Makes it sound more believable and reliable -Topic sentence -Makes a statement referring to the topic sentence -Statistic or anecdote that supports their argument

Structure  Thesis: end of paragraph 2  Includes an anti-thesis in paragraph 3: why?  Method of Development: authority (cites several studies and statistics), examples (uses many anecdotes)

Rhetorical & Literary Devices Anecdote: a brief story that shares an interesting or amusing event dealing with one incident. Paragraph 1: describes the life of a child who is addicted to watching TV Paragraph 6: describes a family that went out on vacation, but all the kids wanted to do was stay home and watch TV Paragraph 13: describes a family that stopped watching television, followed by the positive effects it had on their children -Gives real-life examples as well as facts to strengthen the thesis -Allows the parents to relate to the events and on what they might be doing too

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Allusion: an indirect or direct reference to something you assume your audience will understand and appreciate. Paragraph 11: “The debate over the link between TV violence and aggressive behaviours in society has had a longer run than ‘Gunsmoke’.” -Gunsmoke is the longest running TV show in the United States

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Personification: a situation that is similar, comparable; a likeness in some respects. Paragraph 7: “the flickering blue parent” “Now the electronic box does most of the talking.” -Television is there to interact with the child more than the parent is -Image of a cold and detached “parent”

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Diction: the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. -Uses words like killings, inescapable (paragraph 2), mayhem, catatonic, tyrannical allure (paragraph 6), carnage (paragraph 11), draconian (paragraph 14), laments (paragraph 10), battle (paragraph 12) -Emphasizes the severe chaotic effect that TV has by linking it with a subtle reference to war

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Diction (pt.2) -Uses various ways to refer to the TV: plug-in picture window (paragraph 3), flickering blue parent (paragraph 7), electronic box (paragraph 7), tube (paragraph 11) -Cold, detached feeling -Represents how television just feeds information to children, telling them how they should think and feel

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Alliteration: the repetition of the same consonant sounds  Small screen (paragraph 2)  Plug-in picture (paragraph 3)  Antisocial acts (paragraph 11) - Focuses on a certain part of text - a strong impact and is memorable or striking to the reader - Gives TV a negative impression, supporting his argument

Rhetorical & Literary Devices (cont.) Synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole  “Pulling the plug” (paragraph 13) - ‘Plug’ represents the television, and pulling it out of the electrical outlet does not allow the TV to turn on - Emphasizes the parents preventing children to watch television to get them off the couch and be more active

Discussion Questions 1. Do agree with the author in saying children are heavily influenced by television? If so, to what extent? 2. Do you yourself find that you have become desensitized to things found on mainstream television (e.g. violence, gender roles, stereotypes)?