How Television Changed American Culture

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Jack R. Poppele once said,“Television’s future is as expansive as the human mind can comprehend.” This is true considering the enormous advances that have been made in the television industry, since Philo Farnsworth first demonstrated it to the public in 1927. In 1945 it was estimated that there were less than 10,000 television sets in American households, which later rose to 52 million sets in 1960. Nowadays 96.7 percent of Americans have a television in their household, and the average American watches 5 hours of TV a day. Television has swiftly changed American culture in extreme ways, along with impacting the views of politics, education, and entertainment. Television not only impacted communication in America, but it drastically impacted …show more content…
It can bring the best teachers, artists, philosophers, and scientists into the American home. Toward the end of the 1960’s and the beginning of the 1970’s there was a belief that TV could be used to promote pre-school education, and improve social behavior. For example, Sesame Street has taught and continues to teach young children the building blocks of education since 1969. There have been many other shows that have been aired that captivate young children while educating them. These pre-school shows also attempt to teach children how to resolve their problems in a non-violent behavior. Television allowed documentaries to take a new form. These non-fictional, factional, works of art have informed Americans of events and anomalies of the world around them.There are countless documentaries that teach an innumerable amount of subjects and topics. Varieties can range from geographical to cultural to historical. Documentaries have become a handy tool to teachers across the nation. Television can offer an educational outlet that permits children and students to grow, develop, and broaden their …show more content…
It also provides cultural experiences that can broaden viewers’ perspectives and allow them to gain respect and tolerance towards those lifestyles they are not familiar with. Certain shows highlight new trends and styles that allow the American lifestyle to evolve. Some shows highlight the divergent trends of homes, food, fashion, and other cultural customs. Peculiar ideas and trends have been introduced through television over the years. At first viewers are usually appalled by the new “craze”, then they find the whole idea humorous. Next viewers tend to accept the change, and finally, seeing they have no other choice, people embrace it. There are many different genres of television networking that have come to be. For example, there are dramas, thrillers, comedies, sci-fi, and countless others. Broadcasting companies have even gone as far as filming real people’s lives. The sky 's the limit when it comes to the variety of shows and entertainment that is out there. Television has not only become a form of entertainment, but also a form of life. It seems as if television has been around since the dinosaurs, but surprisingly it has not even been around for 100 years. Television has changed the American lifestyle. It has become a necessity that the households of America can not live without. Television has made information

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