Selective Critique of “Television: The Plug-In Drug”
With television’s debut over half a century ago, the first generation of viewers anticipated the new device to radically change family life. In the essay “Television the Plug-In Drug,” Marie Winn asserts that it has, and maintains that the contemporary cultural addiction to television is one of the main contributing factors to the deterioration of meaningful relationships within the family and communication skills in general (438-46). Winn argues that watching television has become a detrimental habit where individuals spend more time with the television than with their family, which undermines healthy relationships among family members and the uniqueness of individual families. For evidence, …show more content…
Winn goes on to explain that after its invention, television became the main distraction at family holidays, implying that the family was not previously divided. While the evidence Winn presents about the weakening effects of television on family relationships is convincing, a greater variety of scenarios would encourage a more productive and accurate evaluation of television viewing. Winn explains that sociologists define a ritual as ‘“that part of family life that the family likes about itself, is proud of and wants formally to continue”’ (442). Winn's position is overly limited because it does not take into account that new rituals can be formed. Instead, she implies that rituals that are centered around the television are less important. Similarly, Winn implies that television watching is the only ritual that some families seem to be taking part in. Some members of the family might be too busy throughout the week to set apart time to take part in a family ritual. In cases like these, the convenience of television makes bonding easy. Winn does not consider that these new family rituals that involve watching television together can be something that the family enjoys doing, whether they are watching a show that everyone
With television’s debut over half a century ago, the first generation of viewers anticipated the new device to radically change family life. In the essay “Television the Plug-In Drug,” Marie Winn asserts that it has, and maintains that the contemporary cultural addiction to television is one of the main contributing factors to the deterioration of meaningful relationships within the family and communication skills in general (438-46). Winn argues that watching television has become a detrimental habit where individuals spend more time with the television than with their family, which undermines healthy relationships among family members and the uniqueness of individual families. For evidence, …show more content…
Winn goes on to explain that after its invention, television became the main distraction at family holidays, implying that the family was not previously divided. While the evidence Winn presents about the weakening effects of television on family relationships is convincing, a greater variety of scenarios would encourage a more productive and accurate evaluation of television viewing. Winn explains that sociologists define a ritual as ‘“that part of family life that the family likes about itself, is proud of and wants formally to continue”’ (442). Winn's position is overly limited because it does not take into account that new rituals can be formed. Instead, she implies that rituals that are centered around the television are less important. Similarly, Winn implies that television watching is the only ritual that some families seem to be taking part in. Some members of the family might be too busy throughout the week to set apart time to take part in a family ritual. In cases like these, the convenience of television makes bonding easy. Winn does not consider that these new family rituals that involve watching television together can be something that the family enjoys doing, whether they are watching a show that everyone