By Mike Cooper / Pros and Cons of TV

‘Back in the day,’ there were only 3 television networks. The shows that they broadcast all had a moral to the story and, for the most part, happy endings. You know what I’m talking about. Watch a rerun of The Rifleman, Leave it to Beaver or The Lone Ranger; the good guy won, the bad guy lost and somebody learned something along the way.

Fast-forward 50 years. With cable and satellite programming, not to mention streaming apps, YouTube and other sites with video content, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of options available to most people airing millions of shows each month. The shows range from reality to theatrical productions, drama to comedy, risqué to cartoons. The good guy doesn’t always win and there isn’t always a moral to the story. Did the attention span of the average person drop because of all these choices or did the choices come about because our attention span dropped?

Here are a few pros and cons to all the content available today:

Pro:      Choices

If you want to watch something, chances are you’ll be able to find it somewhere. Want to catch a rerun of Seinfeld or catch up on world news? There are several stations that air them (generally not the same stations). Interested in cooking, home improvement projects or restoring an old car? You can find programming about those topics as well.

Con:    Too Many Choices

Is there something to be said for having too many choices? Is your world enriched because of Honey Boo Boo or Keeping Up With The Kardashians? How many shows out there try to reach the lowest common denominator? If there were fewer shows, but better content, wouldn’t that be better for society, in general?

Pro:      Brings People Together

When shows like Seinfeld or the Soprano’s ended, people were talking for days about it. Was it what they expected? Could they infer anything from the ending? Today you can watch an awards show by yourself, but still join in on the millions of posts and tweets about the fashion, hosts, winners, losers, and speeches with people across the world.

Con:    Creates Sedentary Lifestyles

When we watch television, stream shows, or watch YouTube videos, we are sitting around instead of being active. Currently more than one-third of adults are considered obese. If people spent less time watching these shows and more time walking, biking, or just being active, we could reduce that percentage and save a lot of money on medical expenses that arise from obesity.

There are a lot more pros and cons than this and people on both sides are very passionate about their views. People view programming, whether on a TV, computer, or phone, for a lot of reasons – educational, entertainment, or just ‘noise’ in the background. Whatever your reason, get the most out of it. As Americans we are lucky to have these choices available to us; some societies don’t give their citizens that choice at all.

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Pros and Cons of TV