Chapter Nine - Television

During my week of television watching I discovered that I like to watch entertaining shows over informative ones. When I watch a show it is to help me unwind and get away from the real world for a while. I was also reminded of how many commercials are on television. Television is a great entertainer but it takes up a lot of time if you are not careful.

I think that some programs do appeal to the lowest common denominator (LCD). An example of this would be the Simpsons. But there are definitely some programs that deny the LCD as well; for instance CNN. But, I don't think there is any network that denies the LCD completely. Each network has shows that do both because if they have both types of shows then both types of people watch it and their ratings go up. You can't ignore the LCD and stay in business at the same time.

I think television has had the greatest impact on our society. It revolutionized the world when it was introduced and opened the door to numerous possibilities. Television can reach out to people on a more personal level. In addition, television is so ingrained into our society that it would be impossible to remove it. Watching television has become a social event. I know I go to my friends' apartments to watch our favorite shows together and other people do the same thing. And then some people watch the television shows just so that they can talk about it to other people the next day. Television has also impacted all other forms of media in some way or another. Although all other forms of media may have an impact on society, television has the greatest impact overall.