TV, Film and Digital Media 2015

 Critics blame television for everything from obesity to the murder rate but we also need to keep in mind that television benefits society in many important ways. In this module we'll discuss the effects of TV, both good and bad.

 Today, the average American watches close to four hours of TV each day. Based on this, by age 65, the average U.S. citizen will have spent nearly 9 years, nonstop, 24 hours a day, glued to "the tube.“

 98.5% of U.S. households have at least one television set  90% of U.S. households have two or more TV sets  87% of U.S. households have at least one DVD or DVR player  Are these statements true of your household?

 The average U.S. home has the TV on more than 51 hours a week (an average of 7.5 hours a day).

 81% of children ages 2-7 watch TV alone and unsupervised  70% of day care centers use TV during a typical day  54% of year olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, said they would prefer to watch television

 It has been shown that children who watch TV more than 10 hours a week suffer negative academic effects  The average American child ages watches television 20 hours a week

 By age 18, the average American child sees 200,000 violent acts on TV, 20,000 of which are murders, most by handguns.  73% of the time the people in TV dramas who commit violent acts go unpunished.  47% percent of violent situations show no real harm to the victims, and 58 percent show no real pain.  What psychological effect do you think this has on society?

 Only 4 percent of violent programs show nonviolent alternatives to solve programs.  80% of Hollywood executives think there is a link between TV violence and real life violence.  Do you think violent programs influence the way society views real life violence?

 During Saturday morning cartoons there are typically more than 200 "junk food“ commercials.  At least 12 medical studies link excessive television watching to increasing rates of obesity.  In 1963, 4.5% of children ages 6 to 11 were seriously overweight; by 2009, this percentage had more than tripled and reached 18% in 2012.

 Before graduating high school the average U.S. child will see 360,000 commercials.  By age 65, this number will expand to two million commercials.  A 30 minute TV program in the U.S. typically has 8 – 8 ½ minutes of commercials and that amount is increasing each year.  Does seeing advertised products, especially food, make you want to purchase them?

 Rather than turning on the television to watch a specific program, it has been found that most viewers decide to "watch television" and then find a program that looks interesting. This is called the Least Objectionable Program (LOP) model of television viewing.

 We also know that most people watch TV in a relaxed, transfixed state of awareness. Some psychologists believe that people aren't critically thinking about what they are seeing. This means that situations (and commercials) are passively accepted at an unconscious level.  How can this information benefit TV programmers?

 We like to be entertained. We like excitement. We like to vicariously (and safely) “live” the experiences of other people.  We like to be drawn into fantasy worlds, but maybe most of all, we like to passively relax in front of "the tube," select our vicarious experiences, and let them enter our conscious without any real effort on our part.  What's wrong with that?

 To stay mentally and physically healthy, it's important to spend some time relaxing each day. Plus, it's been proven that it's healthy to laugh and release our tensions. With TV we can enjoy the humorous escapades of our TV friends.

 The impact of TV was first realized during the mid 1900s.  Civil Rights: U.S. citizens had been reading about the civil rights movement for decades, but it was only when TV came along in the 50s and 60s that viewers saw on the news what was really happening. Politicians then felt pressure from the public to take action to change things.  Vietnam War: U.S. citizens had also read about war for decades. But when they started seeing newsreel footage of dead, maimed, and wounded American soldiers every night on TV as a result of the Vietnam war, the majority of the country soon tuned against the war.

 Critics of TV say that television: ◦ Debases the arts and audience tastes  By presenting mediocre or bad entertainment, the public begins to accept it as good ◦ Undermines moral standards ◦ Encourages escapism  People prefer being entranced by television to improving themselves or dealing with life’s issues ◦ Engages in economic exploitation  Commercials encourage you to spend money on things you don’t necessarily need ◦ Exhibits a liberal bias ◦ Sets up false images of reality  i.e. reality TV shows ◦ Distorts reality through omission  TV presents an unreal view of life

 Select a partner  Choose one of the topics from the previous slide  Prepare a class presentation that presents at least three (3) pros (reasons for) and least three (3) cons (arguments against) your chosen statement that DO NOT APPEAR IN THIS POWERPOINT.  State and provide evidence for your opinion on the topic. ◦ Are you for or against the statement? Why?