TV--On Impact

Some people say that television has had a greater influence on society than any other medium. My gut reaction to this supposition is to disagree: I think the internet has had a far greater impact. However, upon reflection, I do agree that television has had the greatest influence on society.

I come to this conclusion because of the power television has in deceminating ideas rapidly. When the Superbowl is on, all of America tunes in. Dorm life ceases every Thursday night while everyone in my hall goes to watch the office. Most people in America who were alive at the time remember watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I know of no other media that holds the rapt attention of such a majority of Americans. It is true, there are quite probably more internet users than television watchers, but the internet is an enormous and diverse place. When one surfs the web, they choose what sites they go to and what they do. While a TV-watcher can change channels, they are limitted to watching what is playing on the channels they have.

Few people read the newspaper these days. Not everyone has time for magazines or radio. However, even many of the lowest class in America today have televisions as a permanent fixture in their homes. Yes, I do believe that the television has the greatest impact of any medium on Americans. With 60 million people owning cable television and American households averaging 7 hours of TV per day, it is clear that television is the most widely used and effectively unifying of the forms of media.