Impact of Technology on Television

Technology has brought many advances into our lives and society. Take for instance television industry. Technology has helped revolutionized television. The way people watch and perceive television now compare to few decades back has totally changed due to technology.

In the past, television was very limited. Only few networks, shows, and movies were available. There was also a space restriction with where one could watch the TV. Look at now! The television industry has succumbed everyone with its unlimited options. There are so many more networks, shows, sports, and movies bombarding a viewer with unlimited options ranging from all sorts of genres. Television has indeed evolved! Technological advances such as faster transistors, chips, and displays have definitely helped shape the television industry. People can experience TV in such great HD quality – providing a great viewing experience. Internet, in my opinion has been the key factor in revolutionizing the television industry. Television was only a means to so called “entertainment” before. People would watch TV to get some relaxation or relieved stress from everything (work, chores, etc). Not anymore though! It is no longer restricted to space anymore. It is made available anywhere and everywhere thanks to the Internet. People do not need to be sitting home in their living room in order to enjoy TV. They can enjoy it anywhere they like thanks to computers, tablets, smartphones, etc.

Television is a part of life for everyone. Everyone is hooked into shows nowadays. Some people get so absorbed in them that they repeatedly watch an episode over and over again that special term is created for those – binge watching! So many people spend time just by absorbing themselves into these shows. There are so many varieties, such cleverly written stories out there that it is impossible to resist them. Social media here becomes the key factor in spreading the news and making something go viral that everyone gets dragged into it. It creates a peer pressure for teens, adults, etc. It has become a social norm - conversation starter and much more. For some, these shows become addiction. All they can think of is about watching these shows. They can’t separate themselves from them and waste all their valuable time.In addition, recent Internet networks such as Netflix have took this even far - allowing access to these shows and movies anywhere, anytime. How can one not get absorbed in them?

Shows aren’t the only thing television provides. Sports are another huge thing. There are so many sports as well. Sports are even more popular than shows in America. People spend time following (watching or keeping up with their games online through stats), talking, arguing, betting about their teams and much more. Sports is like a religion in America. Every other person is watching them.

So many of us (including myself) are absorbed into the television (shows, sports, etc) that we waste so much of our time. While writing this, I realized how much of my valuable time I have wasted on watching sports, shows, and movies. I understand that some sort of “entertainment” is required to relieve our stress. How much of it is needed to relax though or how much fun do we need through television? Why can’t we control ourselves with the excessive use? Think about how much more productive we become if we could only control the “how much” part of the television.