Bad T.V

            Growing up in a Mexican culture influenced home, life was very particular. Family over anything, and the news was constantly on T.V to look at what was going on back at home. As a child, I thought of the news as a boring pass-time which older people, such as my parents, would do. I stuck to the good old Saturday morning cartoons and left it at that. My parents, mainly my father, would criticize me for being able to wake up early on Saturday mornings to watch these cartoons but was unable to wake up early for school. It is quite mind bobbling to look back at my younger self and realize how much influence television had on a younger mind.

            Times have changed quite a bit, I no longer force myself off the warm cozy bed in order to get my morning fix of cartoons, but who has not been indulged in a television series? The television was made as an entertainment for the masses and it is doing just that. Reality television is essentially giving that morning fix I craved as a younger child to the population. Reality T.V has taken broadcasting into a different direction. No longer are people interested in the news, talking among themselves about what is happening in the world and how we are being influenced. Children are no-longer given the sense of innocence and childhood they once held.

            In today’s society, the viewer’s crave the drama and cultural differences which reality T.V provides. We now see younger and younger audiences being influenced in a negative way by these programs like the “Jersey Shore’s.”  Children and adolescents’ are affected more so than adults by what they see on T.V. They see these shows and assume that it is the social norm. What examples are we giving the younger generations as to what an acceptable ethical standing and attitude is?

            Personally I do not watch reality T.V and have no interests in the lives of others to whom I will most likely never meet or associate with. I believe that these types of shows tend to have more of a negative impact in society than good. We see the outcome of these show’s in our sociological sway, as in what is expected to be normal now. I do agree that teen pregnancy has been around for years prior to reality T.V, but I feel that the younger generation now see this a not a big deal and it has had an impact in their opinion of marriage, relationships, and their sex lives. I am not restrained on the old mentality and I believe I’m an individual with an open mentality, but the negative effect that is reality T.V outweighs the positive effects, if any, it has in our social structure. I believe everyone has the right to express themselves in any way they see fit as long as it does not have a negative effect in any one else and they do not inflict pain on themselves or anyone else. I simply believe that parents should take in to consideration what their offspring watch and regulate what they take part in.