Ciobica Eliza, FLSC, Engleza Romana (ER1)

November 24th, 2016

The role of television in people 's lives
Television has come to play such a complex and important role in our lives that I
do not think it is far-fetched to say that nowadays we could barely live without it. Of
course, there are people in remote places that do not have acces to television or
people that have deliberately given up watching TV as a form of liberation. But these
are isolated cases. For must of us, television has come to define in many ways our
relation with the world.
First of all, television is the cheapest source of entertainment. After a long day at
work, school, l usually feel like relaxing in front of the TV. Even if I do not find
anything interesting, I continue to zap through the channels for hours because I
associate it with the idea of having a rest. Most of the times I do find something
worth watching: a movie, a talk-show or a documentary programme.
Secondly, for people who cannot afford to travel but yearn to see the world,
television is the solution. In a sense, television can give everything that people
cannot have in real life otherwise why would soap operas be so popular, despite
their poor quality? TV dramas continue to remain the most profitable visual
programme in the world because they give ordinary people the chance to catch a
glimpse of the rich man's world and feel like they are part of it, for half an hour at
least.
Thirdly, television keeps us informed while barries of time and space disappear
and we receive live news from all over the world. Although the Internet has lately
become a serious competitor, few people actually ,,betray'' their comfortable
armchairs and their Tv sets for the less friendly computer monitor. So, television
contributes to our education and knowledge. Documentaries and information
programs give us insight on nature, our environment and political events. Whether
youre young or old, you can learn from television. Many programmes are interesting
and informative.
Unfortunately, television plays an active part in forming public opinion or
creating celebreties and whether we accept it or not, we choose most of our role
models from TV programmes. In my opinion, this is how television ultimately
preaches the values of a society. A lot of people become Tv stars not for their
qualities or achievements, but because they have apperead naked on the cover of a
magazine or because they were involved in a scandal. They thus become celebrities
for the viewers and sadly, even models.
Yet blaming television is not the way to solve the problem. The best way to
avoid being totally controlled by television is to increase our level of education and
understand that television is, above all, a profitable business.

And in a sense, television is even a positive presence in our lives. One can
often find many thought-provoking shows, many interesting documentaries and highquality performances that are really worth watching and which expand our knowledge
of the world.
All the things being considered, I can say that television has become part of our
lives. But it takes an audience to keep television alive and it is our tastes and choices
that ultimately dictate the quality of what we see.

Bibliography:
http://www.english-online.at/media/television/effects-of-television-on-society.htm
http://catchenglish.ru/topiki/srednej-slozhnosti/tv.html
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/