Television and Responsibility

I found this article very intriguing. Everyone knows that television has effects on people, but I don’t think people understand the full scope of it. As a side note, I thought it was funny how Iyengar said that people spend more time in front of screens rather than in interpersonal interaction. I had a read an article last year how social scientists were studying the social behaviors of men toward women, and they said men who play videogames are losing the confidence to flirt and approach women.

To get back on topic, it is true that t.v. news gives way more attention to events and occurrences and not on issues that can’t be reduced to short clips. I think this is why there really isn’t much discussion on the environment and quality of reservations like Dillon had mentioned. There are plenty of issues that the public is unaware of because of this. Therefore, politicians are not being questioned about issues that are important but overlooked.

When it comes to elections, it is true that news stations focus on the turnout and swing states. They do focus on the candidates’ platforms, but only on the standard issues. T.V. news always needs to provide more context even if it’s hard news or a thematic event. I think more people would vote if they knew more about their platforms in regards to other issues.

This articles demonstrates the power journalists have in shaping public thought and political discussion.