Sarah Goedeke Assignment #7 Due Date: April 25 @11 a.m.

(MW) 100 points Title: Impact

Over the last sixty-or-so years, American culture has evolved faster than ever. Innovative technology is no doubt the underlining cause of this rapid acceleration. America experienced huge growth during the past centurys inventions. As Edward R. Murrow, renowned journalist and television pioneer, once said of television, This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it is nothing but wires and lights in a box. Without new ideas such as the automobile, printing press, telegraph, telephone, radio, television, cell-phone, etc., America would have been less likely to accomplish the same public-influenced decisions that took place during technologys growth. For instance, racial and gender equality, the Kennedy/Nixon debate which marked a beginning for political TV, Woodstock, and even the moon landing all illustrate how TV has been a positive key-factor that enables our society to embrace freedom of speech and childrens growing use of entertainment technologies brings with it both the risk of possible harm with undeniable promise of enriched learning, well-being and positive development that has helped shaped American to become a more well-rounded, open and educated culture. The impact of TV first became undeniable during the mid-1900s. Americans had been reading about the civil rights struggle for decades. But, when TV came along in the 50s and 60s and viewers saw in TV news footage what was really happening, that the country amassed political pressure to take action to change things. U.S. citizens had also read about war for decades. But when they started seeing newsreel footage of dead 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. Some could argue this type of programming was the birth of one of the most unique decades in history with historical Woodstock and Anti-War and Peace rallies.

Television impacts culture in more ways than we can imagine. In the United States alone, over half of the population now admit to watching television while eating dinner, with more than a third watch while eating breakfast or lunch. Currently, research shows people are now turning to television as a means for escape from the overwhelming pressures of society. Individuals can use television to create a para-social or faux relationship with characters from their favorite television shows and movies. This has been positively linked to lower levels of stress in America. For most viewers, television is a healthy a way of deflecting feelings of loneliness and social deprivation that is unlike any other medium. Childrens growing use of entertainment technologies brings with it both the risk of possible harm with undeniable promise of enriched learning, well-being and positive development. Our future as a nation depends on our children, which is why most are hesitant to expose their children to Television. When enjoyed in moderation, educational television has numerous constructive effects on a childs learning. Quality programming can accomplish Help children learn about world cultures, traditions, and religions; nurture interest in history, art, English, math, and the sciences; help children understand friendship; teach children concepts like sharing, saying please and thank you, and using good behavior; and introduce children to road, fire, and strange safety issues. As a former education major, I can say with confidence that because children are constantly engaged in learning, TV has more positive benefits than negative. Replacing a mindless TV show with an educational one, such as Yo Gabba Gabba or Dora the Explorer, can have a wonderful impact on your learning child. Just remember that too much television, even educational, can have negative effects on your childs health and well being. Their developing minds absorb information, concepts, images, and words gleaned from their surroundings. Children are very much like sponges in the sense that they pick up words

and ideas from what they see and hear whether you want them to or not. While TV shows can introduce children to things that lead to negative behavior, you can reinforce good behavior or new learning away from the TV screen. One place a child has the potential to pick up large amounts of information is the TV. The family television isnt just about entertaining; it can have a positive impact on a childs learning. Obviously, its easy to blame television for everything from obesity to the murder rate. While TV is justifiably easy to criticize, television benefits society in many important ways. In fact, to stay mentally and physically healthy, it's important to spend some time relaxing each day. Not to mention, 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. Television has the potential to unite communities, provide information to allow positive cultural, social and environmental change, and to create true global unity. With that said, television is no longer the highest means of social medium. All over the world, society and the way we communicate, spend leisure time and how we get our information has shifted gears in a whole new direction. As technology and the generations born during its success, the media will be impacted and evolve. While, some argue the Internet will finally be the death of traditional media, I believe that just like music recordings survived the radio; radio survived television, and television will survive the Internet. The new level of technology, and the media that comes with it, has created means for social-interaction much higher than ever experienced by generations of the past. Therefore, it seems impossible to predict how we will be individually impacted. Much like television though, I believe the Internet has much more positive benefits on American than negative. It accomplishes the same social interaction as TV, but with much

greater possibilities, outlets of information and most importantly the ability to choose what you learn and control your own personal exposure, as well as your childrens. The Internet offers un-presidented opportunities to learn, communicate and spend leisure time unlike ever before. Youtube alone has more hours of entertainment than we can watch in a lifetime. The music industry is forever changed as well. Music is now easier to obtain than ever. With all these advancements, it is hard to say how society will ultimately be impacted, but I believe American culture will only become stronger, more educated and open-minded than ever before. With the new media revolution we are witnessing taking place in our society, Internet investing is a popular subject. If I were to invest right now, I would consider a few different areas, such as, Pandora Radio on the Internet, Google TV and Netflix. Pandora promises to become more popular with the shift of the populations non-commercial preference. Although Pandora does have some commercials, it is far less than typical and repetitive than your cars radio station, so I think investing in Pandora would be a good idea. Google TV sounds to me like the first step in the right direction for medias future. The combination of Google Internet, computer storage and TV capabilities is exactly what the public has been waiting for. Google TV has so much potential to change leisure time even more than it already has. Lastly, with Blockbuster Rental going out of business, and the ever-growing popularity of Red-box, Netflix seems like the best investment of this time. Netflix represents a whole new way of distributing media and will probably have bigger affects on society than we have yet to realize. Although Television is no longer the best means for social communication, it is important for us to recognize the positive impact Television has had on America. Although, childrens growing use of entertainment technologies brings with it both the risk of possible harm, with undeniable promise of enriched learning. Television has the potential to unite

communities, provide information to allow positive cultural, social and environmental change, and to create true global unity. With new innovations in Internet, American has un-presidented opportunities to learn, communicate and spend leisure time unlike ever before. Some argue the Internet will finally be the death of traditional media, I believe that just like music recordings survived the radio; radio survived television, and television will survive the Internet.