The Social Impact of Free TV Shows
Over the years, the myriad variety of free TV shows had somehow produced around the same number of studies centering mostly on the positive or negative effect of these shows to the viewers. At this point, the outcomes had been a fuzzy stalemate.
Nowadays, the viewing interest of people had not receded after all these years. This is true, even after the explosive emergence of computers and the Internet and its domination of all things in media today. The Internet's prominence and popularity is felt, no doubt, by everyone but it hadn't displaced the old habits of people. People still watch free TV shows for their news content (newscasts), for their entertainment value (drama series, fashion, talk shows) and a few educational (science and human-interest features).
One reason could be that even though Internet also brings in facts into the home, it lacks the drama of TV. On a smaller note, watching TV is just clicking "ON" in the remote, while a computer will take time to load up. One expert proposed that the attraction to watch Television might also be attributed to the dramatic nature of the medium. Television has the practice of portraying the normal or program as exciting and compelling, which never ceases to interest people. (A critic, naturally, termed it as "sensationalizing".)
Other elements that had been advanced is TV's inherent "ability to transmit personality" across to the viewers through its shows, whether fictional or not. Viewers - as human beings themselves - are basically "insatiable in their interest about other human beings." Free TV shows dive on all of these each day, and in all the usual categories (news, fiction series, entertainment and educational features).
One known psychologist has forwarded two more theories on people's interest in watching TV, most especially celebrities. One is referred to as "fairy tale factor" and the other is the "Schadenfreude effect".
The "fairy tale factor" posits the theory that people are interested in the lives of celebrities because they are like old fairy tales. Their stories are replete with the familiar (and affecting) human elements of love, hatred, and redemption. Modern celebrities have their "rags to riches tales" compared to the happy-ever-after fairy tale endings.
The "Schadenfreude effect" is nearly referred to as people taking pleasure in the suffering of celebrities. This can partly explain the popularity of entertainment and celebrity news features which mostly carry celebrity scandals, indiscretions, divorces, and other sordid news.
The day's office talks ("water cooler" conversations) are often all about the previous night's free TV show. Opinions are kicked around, jokes abound, and some disputes are born and resolved based on these shows.
How has TV affected propaganda, politics, and gender issues? Television shows do have some social or political agenda, and these are pushed to the audiences whether consciously or otherwise. It had been noted that some viewers sometimes repeat or use fictitious information coming from TV shows as if they were factual.
During U.S. elections, candidates freely ride out on many free TV shows to succeed their political causes, aside from the usual political advertisements. In the latest events of conflict along with other nations, the government did not hesitate in using TV in pushing its own agenda.
Women issues, notably the feminist movement, had been helped by TV via its shows. Gender equality had been pushed and continually stoked by television, erasing the old stereotypes of men and women and their roles in society.
Free Television shows, as we know them, had helped integrate and globalize the people around the world. They've shown revitalizing audio-visual information on other people, their behavior, their habits, and their culture. Slowly, some cultural aspects (language, music, the arts, and many others) had started to be homogenized and they are already enjoyed by a lot of people, regardless of race, creed, or religion.
Nowadays, the viewing interest of people had not receded after all these years. This is true, even after the explosive emergence of computers and the Internet and its domination of all things in media today. The Internet's prominence and popularity is felt, no doubt, by everyone but it hadn't displaced the old habits of people. People still watch free TV shows for their news content (newscasts), for their entertainment value (drama series, fashion, talk shows) and a few educational (science and human-interest features).
One reason could be that even though Internet also brings in facts into the home, it lacks the drama of TV. On a smaller note, watching TV is just clicking "ON" in the remote, while a computer will take time to load up. One expert proposed that the attraction to watch Television might also be attributed to the dramatic nature of the medium. Television has the practice of portraying the normal or program as exciting and compelling, which never ceases to interest people. (A critic, naturally, termed it as "sensationalizing".)
Other elements that had been advanced is TV's inherent "ability to transmit personality" across to the viewers through its shows, whether fictional or not. Viewers - as human beings themselves - are basically "insatiable in their interest about other human beings." Free TV shows dive on all of these each day, and in all the usual categories (news, fiction series, entertainment and educational features).
One known psychologist has forwarded two more theories on people's interest in watching TV, most especially celebrities. One is referred to as "fairy tale factor" and the other is the "Schadenfreude effect".
The "fairy tale factor" posits the theory that people are interested in the lives of celebrities because they are like old fairy tales. Their stories are replete with the familiar (and affecting) human elements of love, hatred, and redemption. Modern celebrities have their "rags to riches tales" compared to the happy-ever-after fairy tale endings.
The "Schadenfreude effect" is nearly referred to as people taking pleasure in the suffering of celebrities. This can partly explain the popularity of entertainment and celebrity news features which mostly carry celebrity scandals, indiscretions, divorces, and other sordid news.
The day's office talks ("water cooler" conversations) are often all about the previous night's free TV show. Opinions are kicked around, jokes abound, and some disputes are born and resolved based on these shows.
How has TV affected propaganda, politics, and gender issues? Television shows do have some social or political agenda, and these are pushed to the audiences whether consciously or otherwise. It had been noted that some viewers sometimes repeat or use fictitious information coming from TV shows as if they were factual.
During U.S. elections, candidates freely ride out on many free TV shows to succeed their political causes, aside from the usual political advertisements. In the latest events of conflict along with other nations, the government did not hesitate in using TV in pushing its own agenda.
Women issues, notably the feminist movement, had been helped by TV via its shows. Gender equality had been pushed and continually stoked by television, erasing the old stereotypes of men and women and their roles in society.
Free Television shows, as we know them, had helped integrate and globalize the people around the world. They've shown revitalizing audio-visual information on other people, their behavior, their habits, and their culture. Slowly, some cultural aspects (language, music, the arts, and many others) had started to be homogenized and they are already enjoyed by a lot of people, regardless of race, creed, or religion.
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New Unique Article!
Title: The Social Impact of Free TV Shows
Author: Waldo Rizzo
Email: mcreasoft.uaw@gmail.com
Keywords: tv, television, hi-def, HDTV, plasma, free tv, free televisions shows
Word Count: 638
Category: Communications
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