Literature Review Example: Negative Effects of Electronic Media in Television by Todd Alcott

Over time now, psychologists and other morality police have criticized the electronic media for its contribution to violence and immorality. Indeed, a television set is an electronic device that broadcasts a variety of topics ranging from violence, danger, and sex. It is an evil tool that has penetrated the society in a dangerous way. The negative effects of television are compounded by the addiction that comes from prolonged watching. Television programs are continuous, and they go on and on until the day ends. For example, once a music programs is over, the television channel airs another attractive episode that keeps a viewer glued to this device that is sometimes dubbed the idiot box. The presence of many television channels is also harmful, since a viewer just needs a remote control and a cozy sofa to become addicted. The dangers of television watching are vividly evident in Television by Todd Alcott. He personifies the television as a speaking object. The persona in this poem lures its viewers to continuous watching, and even gives strict rules of viewing. In the poem, Todd uses repetition to illustrate the addiction that television has given to its viewers. The persona constantly says look at me for most of the poem. In this scenario, the television is addicting its viewers and calls for their undivided attention. Ironically, it only allows the viewers to do what is absolutely necessary, and avoid other activities other than going to the bathroom or picking a snack. The television here appears to promote sedentary living, which this paper addresses as one of the negative effects of watching this household accessory.

Sedentary living is defined in strict terms as the adoption of a lifestyle that involves more of eating and drinking and less of aerobic exercises. Television viewing promotes this kind of living since one does not get time to undertake an aerobic exercise. Children are the most affected class of people when television watching is concerned. There is a lot of research to correlate screen time (defined as the amount of time in hours that somebody spends on television) and poor cardiopulmonary fitness. These studies show that prolonged television watching denies a person the valuable time that they could have spent in the pitch playing football or engaging in any other activity that promotes cardiovascular fitness. Male adolescents are in particular affected by sedentary lifestyle (Boone et. al. 26). The more the screen time, the higher the tendency of developing obesity. Obesity is a pre-morbid condition that predisposes children, and indeed any other person, to hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The feeding pattern that pathologic television viewers assume compounds the risk of developing obesity. In Alcotts poem, the television instructs its viewers to get a snack and continue watching the programs. It shows, therefore, that television viewers rarely get time to settle for a proper meal. The kind of food that these viewers consume is likely to contain high fats and sugar content, and, therefore, involve them in a higher risk of developing obesity.

Arguably, prolonged television watching promotes immorality and violence. in Alcotts poem, the television promises the viewer all manner of content ranging from danger, sex, thrill and action. Furthermore, the television tells the viewers that it is there for him throughout the day. In fact, the television speaks of 24 hours of attention. Alcott assumes a satirical tone to express his sympathy for viewers who would fall into the trap presented by the television. Even after promising the viewers all manner of negative material, some people still find time to watch the programs perpetrating violence and death. Scientists have probed the theory that watching violent video and television programs promotes violence in children and the general population. Varied results have come from this scrutiny, with a section of them nodding to it, while other dismissing it for lack of material evidence. What is unanimously agreed upon, however, is that watching sexual content in the television promotes immorality. Sexual immorality that is resultant to television watching include masturbation, extramarital affairs, rape, and child sex (Cuklanz 87). Children and adolescents who are used to watching pornography and related material are more likely to engage in premarital sexual affairs than their counterparts who have not engaged in watching sexually arousing television programs. While television promotes constructive ideas and opens ones mind to the world beyond, there are deleterious effects of strong attachment to television. The image portrayed by Alcott in the poem is of a person who spends all their time on television. Such people are, therefore, most likely to experience all types of programs that would convert them to violent social members and sexually immoral beings. Such people are not god citizens and cannot stand for any value in the society. This poem places a television set at the center of the destruction of social cohesion and solidarity.

In a desperate move to remedy the addiction that comes with passive television watching and to remedy sedentary living, scientists are coming with innovative methods to keep children engaged wile watching television. One of these methods is the introduction of a video game called Dance Dance Revolution (Maloney et. al. 20174). This game allows children to increase aerobic activity while watching television or playing a video game. According to Maloney et. al., this endeavor will increase physical activity while reducing sedentary screen time. This desperate move shows that people have internalized the call given by Alcotts television. Parents have accepted that their children cannot live without television and are willing to partake in promoting television watching. The move appears to be the last line of defense against child obesity after all other measures have failed. Despite the bulk of evidence showing that excessive television watching is dangerous, parents are still not willing to remove the television sets from their childrens bedrooms, but instead are devising crafty methods of engaging the children inside their rooms. I think that the long term effects of this endeavor is not to prevent obesity, but to console parents that their children are not just passively sitting in front of a television set.

In conclusion, prolonged screen time is correlated with development of lifestyle disorders. Television watching promotes sedentary living, and it can be correlated with the development of obesity in children, in addition, sedentary screen time promotes sexual immorality as children involve themselves in watching sexual imagery on television. Alcotts poem is an eye opener on the method through which sedentary living develops. It shows that the television is so luring that the viewers are willing to forego their daily activities to watch it. The more the time that children and other people are engaged in television watching, the more they are exposed to sexual content and violence. The introduction of activity to accompany television watching is just a desperate measure to delay obesity, since parents cannot withdraw their children from the comfort of their room to engage in physical activity outside the house.

Works Cited

Boone, Janne E., et al. "Screen time and physical activity during adolescence: longitudinal effects on obesity in young adulthood." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 4.1 (2007): 26.

Cuklanz, Lisa M. Rape on prime time: Television, masculinity, and sexual violence. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.Maloney, Ann E., et al. "A pilot of a video game (DDR) to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary screen time." Obesity 16.9 (2008): 2074-2080.