How American society perceives itself is largely affected by television these days. A large section of the population identifies themselves through popular culture as depicted on the television; their visions are colored by the ideas that the numerous tv shows present. And we cannot be judgmental and trash them all because we are the ones who enjoy watching these shows making them huge hits with the public and helping producers make money and introduce more shows like these. Sponsors use agenda setting to promote their products and influence people's buying decisions. Suddenly, we feel our lives are incomplete without junk food, alcohol, cigarettes or expensive gadgets. But sponsors have to make money which in turn will help producers get sponsorships from them and bring out more tv shows which we enjoy. Thus the vicious cycle continues.
American tv shows has changed the ideas of people about matrimony, family, social behaviors etc. Gone are the days when there were shows like House on the Prairie, The Cosby Show, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver etc where families were shown to be stable social units with the father being the sole breadwinner, the mother being the homemaker and both parents being very loving, caring and attentive towards children's needs. Divorces, child abuse, extra marital affairs were issues hardly aired on television. Nowadays, families are no longer perfect as they used to be depicted. Divorce rates have gone up; children are facing sexual abuse et all; the picture of perfect families is no longer there. Also women are no longer staying only at homes but have ventured out to pursue a career. Also friends are portrayed as people close to an individual more than families.
Apart from that, there are tv shows glamorizing the world of 'sex, drugs and rock-n-roll', rampant violence, crime etc. Drugs are often being shown as propagators of music. All these easily influence people, especially children in a negative way. Also people are so content with whatever political views that television presents that they are comfortable with the status quo and becoming more inactive socially and politically. Their senses of styles, languages, vocabulary are changing.
One cannot predict the future of the society undergoing these changes every now and then. Just as one cannot throw out the television from one's life just like that.
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