A lot of people are affected by what they see on TV, especially if they watch a lot of it. Especially kids. Consider, anything that forms a large chunk of what you see about social interactions - especially if it's the majority of it as in kids because they don't have a lot of life experience yet - is going to influence how you think things are done.
I was just having this conversation with a friend, noting that for me the worst thing about the current generation of TV is that when we were growing up in the 80s and 90s, TV was very moralistic - it may have been stupid and cheesy, but there was always the bad behavior, and then the moral lesson at the end. It was always made very clear what was right and what was wrong - even crazy talk show hosts were cast to be the voice of reason - even Jerry Springer had a "The More You Know" kind of moment at the end of every show! Now, when you see hundreds of "reality" shows, they are all full of trashy and completely inappropriate and crazy behavior, but there is no counter-balance, there is nothing in the show that says "this is not normal, this is not right." For adults, it may seem funny. But for kids, they don't know as well as adults might that this is scripted to be a crazy show, that none of the characters are supposed to be real.
The thing that bothers me about TV shows the most is how nearly every single "problem" presented to write an episode around could easily be solved by simple communication - just explaining what happened, that is was an accident, or what you really meant. Instead they let it run for 30 or 60 minutes like something is this big huge unsolvable deal, based simply on a misunderstanding or a mistake. This is for critically acclaimed shows too! What that says to me, is that the majority audience must not think this is as boring as I do, that the problem is easily solved from the beginning by just SPEAKING TO ONE ANOTHER. If everyone thought it was as stupid of a premise for a whole show to be based on, it wouldn't be that popular of a show. But it happens in show after show after show.
I didn't think people were really like they were on TV, until I went to college and had to live with other people. I found out very quickly that couples actually swear and scream at each other on a regular basis, as well as that some families really act almost like the Brady Bunch in real life. I'm not sure which creeps me out more!
I admit it, I wanted my family to be like the Cosby Show and like Family Ties... if only the rest of my family felt that way too, maybe TV would have influenced us for the better!
On the other hand, maybe watching one of the 100 "Housewives" shows (which apparently aren't even about housewives) draws families today closer - instead of the guilt families in the 80s felt for not living up to the ideal, maybe they feel better about themselves for at least not being THAT much of a hot mess...
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
