Television

Television first became available commercially in the 1930's. It is usually shortened to 'TV' and is a popular form of communication, probably increasing in popularity over the years. Most households now have a TV and there is an increasing trend for multiple televisions in one household.

Over the years there has been a lot of discussion, as with the media in general, of the negative impact that television has had on ours lives. It is the view of some that we have become 'addicted' the television for entertainment. Limiting our social interaction with other people, and that we are watching others live their lives in a way that we may wish we could do ourselves (via a TV programme) rather than actually getting out there and making the most of our day to day lives. There are always particularly strong views of children having televisions in their bedrooms for instance. This can have a negative effect as there is the temptation for the child to watch it too much and this may stop them from concentrating on other important activities, such as schoolwork. However, some people argue that the television does not have such a 'grip' on us, but rather guides us through experiences or shows us things that we may not otherwise have chance to see (i.e. a certain travel programme or wildlife).

When television first became available to the mainstream audience the term 'appointment television' was coined. This referred to the fact that people would often work their daily schedule around programming, and make themselves available at the time that their favourite programme was scheduled. However, after the video recorder was invented this was no longer the case. The video recorder meant that it was possible to record a TV show and watch it at a later date at the viewers convenience. Latterly this has been replaced by the DVD recorder and it is even possible to get a recorder that is a bit like a mini computer, in that you can record onto a microchip. This means that it is possible to record a lot of programmes and have them all stored for you.