5 Minutes For English

Children and Television

British children watch a lot of television. But watching television over a long span seriously damages children's ability to think clearly. Moreover, exposure to TV sensationalism robs youngsters of childhood.

First and foremost, television is opening up all of society's secrets and taboos, thus erasing the dividing line between childhood and adulthood. It is considered to be the "first curriculum" because of the amount of attention our children give to it. Children spend much more time on watching television than on learning at school.

To come second, children even watch TV at night without any parental control. Although many parents and educators believe that television is an "entertainment medium", in reality, it is not valuable at all. Television can never teach what a medium like book can teach. Television is not a suitable medium for conveying ideas, because an idea is essentially language – words and sentences.

On the one hand, the code through which television communicates – the visual image is accessible to everyone. Television moulds the intelligence and character of the youth far more than formal schooling.

But on the other hand, understanding printed words must be learned and watching pictures doesn’t require any learning. And even California Department of Education indicates that the more children sit in front of the television, the worse they do on achievement-test scores.

On the plus side, television encourages the use of imagination. In watching TV children have their emotions fully engaged. TV has a valuable capacity to involve people emotionally in its pictures.

But on the minus side, a high degree of visual stimulation such as audio-visual media tends to distract attention away from   the language. There are some more things you must know before you can learn other things. It means that all things are as immediately accessible as they are on television.

In conclusion I can say that television is very crucial in our lives. But talking about children, we should control the process of their watching TV and try to show them only those programs that are useful and educating.