Preview

Intellectual Merits of Television Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
391 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Intellectual Merits of Television Essay Example
Intellectual Merits of Television

Steven Johnson wrote an article “Watching TV makes you smarter. In his article he explains how watching television can help you make a smarter person. He uses examples from several TV shows and series that may be affecting our brain activity even when we don’t realize it. He try to reach to audience from teenagers to older adults. He makes some good points in his argument as well. He argue that TV isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but too much of anything is never a good thing. On the other hand, Dana Stevens wrote an article about “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box, her audience are people who watch television. She wrote this article in response of Steven Johnson article. Stevens doesn’t believe that watching TV has a negative effect like an anti-television liberal; instead she argues that watching television doesn’t make you any smarter. The main idea of her articles is that the consumption of TV is not necessarily bad. Steven’s clearly states that watching what you enjoy shouldn’t be condemned. The individual must understands that the shows they take pleasure in watching doesn’t really make them smarter. She claims that Watching TV teaches you to watch more TV. She said that TV is only for entertainment purposes and it doesn’t make you any smarter.
After reading both of the articles “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” and “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box”, I agree with both of them for the most part because TV could make you smarter, but it really depends on what you’re watching. There obviously isn’t a lot of thinking involved if you’re watching something like Gossip Girls. However, the TV show mentioned in the Johnson’s article could technically “make you smarter”. I think the Johnson’s article was well-written and he did a good job taking a side that most people don’t consider. I agree with Dana Stevens point that TV is for entertainment. We all have our favorite TV shows that we like to watch for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Steven Johnson’s essay Watching TV Makes You Smarter” (2005), he suggests that the increasing complexity of TV shows can engage audiences’ brains, and help people think smarter. Citing multiple second-hand evidences, Johnson develops his ideas by comparing old and new TV shows, describing the confusion may caused by complex TV shows’ threads, and the positive effect of watching complex TV shows. By using examples from multiple TV shows, the author differentiates engaging and sedating TV shows in order to persuade people to consider changing the criteria for evaluating TV shows. With informative and suggestive tone, Steven is probably writing to…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is no doubt that television holds a purpose in our society today, but is that purpose brain-numbing or actually beneficial to our brain development? The television, also known as: TV, the boob tube, the idiot box, as well as many other nicknames, has been around for almost a hundred years. Ever since cable TV became popular in the 1950’s, there has always been a worry that people watch too much TV. Most people believe that with exorbitant exposure to the popular media both dumbs us down as well as makes us more likely to tolerate acts of violence. Dana Stevens’ “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” argues that television does not make you smarter, directly contrasting Steven Johnsons article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter.” Television has definitely made a mark on our hearts and has most certainly made an impact on society, but too much of a good thing is never a good thing. The propaganda photo about television that was found on Facebook is a good lens that helps me understand Stevens’ argument better. The photo assisted the understanding of Stevens’ depiction and contradiction of Johnsons writing, her discussion about what these “more complex shows” are actually like, as well as her discussion about the national event TV Turn Off Week. This photo clearly depicts that TV does not enhance or benefit in brain production in any way, however it “destroys” the imagination, or what’s left of it, and in return, it fills the mind with complete nonsense, and therefore numbing the brain. The photo, which is a picture of a television, states, “My job is to help destroy what’s left of your imagination by feeding you endless doses of sugar-coated mindless garbage.” As humans, we are very complex intellectual beings, however television has been captivating our minds and bringing our intelligence down.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Steven Johnson’s, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter,” and Nicholas Carr’s, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” both authors highlight the ways media have changed the way we learn in the world today; Johnson argues that television is having a positive effect on society and, in fact, is making us smarter, while Carr contends that media, especially the internet, limits our ability for, “deep thought.”…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 2005, a study published in the American Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that the harm caused by TV watching shows up even after correcting the data to account for students’ intelligence, family conditions, and prior behavioral problems. The bottom line: “Increased time spent watching television during childhood and adolescence was associated with a lower level of educational attainment by early adulthood.’’…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    choices, but I do agree with Johnson that my selections usually fall into the rating and…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article states that television makes children "dumber.” In my opinion this statement can be true or false. If children watch educational shows or movies instead of the non-educational I think that they would not get dumb. If you think about it, it’s not the children's fault that they are watching the "dumb" shows; it’s the parents fault because they should put on something educational. Parents should limit the child's time watching television. The children should only be allowed to watch an hour of television. Then it’s the parents’ job to make sure they go do their homework or read a book, instead of watching hours and hours of television.…

    • 640 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    How Tv Makes You Smarter

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages

    People all over the world turn on their television each night and watch a few moments to a few hours of television and it is hard to miss a reality show which on almost any channel. If they were to pause on one of these shows they might not know it but they would bettering themselves on a personal level. Based on the ideas of Steven Johnson the average person could learn a thing or two from reality TV. In his article called, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” Johnson states that; "For decades, we've worked under the assumption that mass culture follows a path declining steadily toward lowest-common-denominator standards, presumably because the "masses" want dumb, simple pleasures and big media companies try to give the masses what they want. But as that 24 episode suggests, the exact opposite is happening: culture is getting more cognitively demanding, not less."(214). Johnson talks explicitly about what a scholar might call the “dumbing down of America”, which in his mind is completely false. Watching reality television in his mind makes a person more aware of the everyday occurrences that happen. The major point first made in Johnsons article is based on his theory called, “The Sleeper Curve”. This theory is about how: “television alters the mental development of young people for the better” (215). Johnson talks about reality TV affecting younger generations in a positive light and helping with personal development. Another major topic discussed is how; “multiple threads in new television episodes are much more complex than old television shows.” In talking about this Johnson refers to the Mary Tyler More show being cookie cutter whereas reality TV today has real life issues. Through this kind of television our younger generation can be taught how to handle tough situations. The third major topic that is brought up in Johnson’s article is about how younger generations are given mindless television that provides them with…

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Popular culture has a tremendous effect on our everyday lives for years and has had a significant change on everyone in some type of way. It is heavily influenced by technology. In some form of way technology has allowed people to gain more knowledge on general topics. “2b or Not 2b” by David Crystal, and “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” by Steven Johnson, both discuss how technology has had a huge impact on the way our modern day society works. Crystal argues the benefits that come with texting. He explains that although in many ways texting has tainted the English language but at the same time it allows people to have better understandings as well. He beliefs it is the evolution of language. Johnson argues that television is not making us dumb but in fact is actually healthy for our brains. He explains throughout his essay that television enhances our cognitive faculties, making us more intelligent. Both essays show how pop culture, being technology, can have positive effects on people which are what ties these two articles together.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media Argument Synthesis

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    She does not think that watching television makes you smarter. However, she does not think it makes you dumber either. She believes that there are certain shows acceptable for children and some that are not. She believes that children, being young and vulnerable to the advertising industry, should be directed in the right path of choosing which television shows to watch and which not to watch. Children are susceptible when it comes to media. They almost act as a sponge; soaking up everything they see and hear and repeating it later on. Therefore, I cannot help but to agree with Stevens on that aspect of media except she then takes it too far when she asks , “Shouldn’t grown men and women be trusted to judge their own dosages, just as they would decide on the number of drinks they can handle at the bar?” (234). I disagree because I can see how some might react to this by saying that sometimes people don’t know their limit and can’t stop. This is 100% accurate when it comes to most things such as drugs, alcohol, and media. People might read that and think that media shouldn’t be placed into such a category, but all three of these things can start as small doses and turn into addiction within the blink of an eye. Parents who watch a lot of television as a child will most likely end up watching more and more television as they get older. If parents are not too concerned…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The main purpose of the article “The Debilitating Effects of TV on Children” By Dr. John M Grohol, is that the more time children spend watching television, the more harmful it is. It is not only detrimental to a child’s education, but also socially and medically. Dr. Grohol believes that despite the negative effects television has on children, parents continue to allow children to watch way too much.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    comic book

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the article “watching TV Makes you smarter “by Steve Johnson, he claims that watching TV can actually make you smarter. Johnson claims that television these days seems to be more complex than in earlier years, so by watching it were putting our thinking caps on. Even for example the show 24, it’s based on Muslim terrorists and torture scenes but he believes it to be more educational then anything. TV doesn’t need to dumb you down or waste your time we can be learning things throughout the episodes. Shows that are on now have more than one story line going on at a time. We have to actually pay attention and try to follow the characters and how they relate. So by television having more complexity and more drama going on it forces us to think therefore TV makes us smarter.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In fact, she thinks it 's an unproductive experience. She wrote, about television viewers, “They are aware that it is an unproductive experience, that by any human measure any other endeavor is more worthwhile”(609). To mention one of the benefits of television; through TV people explore places, animals, or things that they could never see otherwise. Most people are not able to visit the rain forest or see a lion in the wild, but, many have seen these things on TV, and that is just one of the benefits of watching television. In an article for the New York Times, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter,” by Steven Johnson. He argues that many of the shows that our population deems bad TV, are relatively healthy for our brains to watch. He states, “You have…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tv Essay

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    TV may be a form of entertainment for many people, but some people say it ruins families. The essay “Primal Screen” by Ellen Goodman and the short story “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury both examine the negative aspects of TV on families and society as a whole. Goodman uses a harsh diction and Bradbury uses imagery to convey their message.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dr. John Grohol wrote an article called “Debilitating Effects of TV on Children” which explains that children who watch too much TV affects their academic performance, cause health problems, and possibly lose their innocence.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Steven Johnson argues about watching TV shows makes us smarter by developing our brain. He compares the current TV shows and earlier TV shows.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays