Subject: How Television affects our life

Barbara Savaki 1998: It is said that people in many countries watch too much television.  Those who disapprove of television argue that it encourages anti-social behavior and steals time that could be spent more productively.  However, those who support watching television raise objections that there are many informative programs on television and that watching television is a good way to relax. A lot of people say that TV can broaden people’s interests and deepen the knowledge of the world, if they are watching the right programs.  Those in favor of TV say that it can be a good company for old and lonely people or for people who cannot entertain themselves in a different way for many reasons. There are, however, disadvantages in watching TV, like communication problems in the family or in other relationships, which are blamed on  TV habits because when everyone watches TV in their free time, they don’t have time to discuss or go out together.  People who are against TV say that there are not any in quality programs but other people watch them so they are effected negatively. Whichever way one looks at the problem, it is a fact that TV is here to stay.  While there are many discriminating viewers there are also those who should limit the amount of time they spend in front of the set.

Dimitra Roubeka 1998: TV has entered imperceptibly in the center of a collective type of society.  And the main responsible factor for people’s alienation is TV.  Because TV addiction leads us to isolation. TV distructs our attention and as a result we neglect other activities and occupations and we close out shelves into our home.  This has been succeeded by combining sound and picture which excites people’s imagination and makes them not to be able to avoid it.  TV addiction obstructs communication between people.  And that addiction is clearly shown in the fact that even though they do not like the programs it transmits, they continue watching them.  Little by little we are becoming slaves of that colorful, magic, stupid box.  This is a phenomenon which gets worse day by day and it is sad to see that people can not avoid TV addiction and live their lives but they end up with no will of their own sitting in front of a box. Even though TV addiction is one of the most serious problems of our society nobody has ever succeeded or even tried to fight it. So maybe we should start from now on to try to reject this bad habit.

Catherine Kouremady 1998: Television is the one of the greater inventions of the twentieth century.  You can find one in every house even in the remote parts of Greece.  It informs us about the past, present and future by showing interesting documentaries from all over the world. No one can underestimate its value. However television has become a passive form of entertainment.  The quality of programs is very low and there is hardly anything interesting to see.  The worst part is that television does not stimulate our imagination.  It just sits there and begs to be watched.  People spend too many hours in front of the TV and it has become a kind of addiction just like tobacco or alcohol. TV programs should be more interesting and cover all kinds of tastes.  Television should be used for both educational and recreational purposes. Its potentials have not been discovered yet.  People should be driven to other forms of entertainment too.  If television does not raise the quality of its programs then it will do mush harm to all of us, because it is the worst form of brainwashing.

The subject was given by: Mrs G. Karkanidou