TELEVISION - FUNCTIONS

ACHYUTH J M

     SEMINAR PAPER ON  THE  IMPACT OF TELEVISION .
                               
                              ( CLASS IX     MIRRORING TIMES )

    INTRODUCTION

Ever since television was invented in the 1920s, the development of new technologies has influenced people’s life for many generations. Considered widely a main medium of mass communication, however, debates over TV’s fundamental purposes have never stopped. The main purpose of TV , for instance , should be educational as well as entertaining the eyes. 


                           

......................Educational TV programmes can offer people fresh knowledge that is often hard to find in books. In a globalised world it is necessary for people to be open minded and keep up to date  with the current situation.

 

            

Educational TV programs as well as entertaining programs have their own merits and demerits.

FUNCTIONS OF TELEVISION

Educational TV programs can offer people fresh knowledge that is often hard to find in books. In a globalized world, it is necessary for people to be open-minded and keep up-to-date with the current situation around the world. Not everybody has a chance to go abroad, so TV like other media such as the internet surely serves as a bridge that enables people to learn about cultures in other parts of the world.

Informative programs can supplement and deepen what students learn from school since much of the knowledge taught in class many either be out of date or not related closely to the society. Therefore educational TV programs will be very helpful and can help those who have been out of school update their knowledge or joust to improve themselves.

Moreover, informative and educational TV programs can also teach people practical skills that often prove to be useful in daily life. “Absolute Challenge” , a popular TV program in China Central TV , for instance , often offers , their audience practical advices in finding a job. Human resource managers and college graduates who are either hunting for a job are invited to the studio , where the entire process of candidate selection , recommendations , interviews and decision making are broadcasted live. By watching the program, audiences are taught on how a particular company chooses a candidate over another. They also can learn from the mistakes of those who are turned down by a company.

Although people can benefit from educational TV programs, education is not the only function of such programs. Another important function of TV is to entertain people. As one saying goes, all study and no play will make Jack a dull boy. People need entertainment which can help relieve them out of the daily pressures from work or school. If life was full of nothing but lectures and sermons whenever a TV set is turned on, that would want to watch TV anymore. Humorous and entertaining programs can help forget what made them unhappy or pressurized, even temporarily.

CONCLUSION

To summarize, the function of television should be educational as well as entertaining since people need only new knowledge to update themselves but also entertainment programs that inform people in an entertain able way can hold back more audience in front of TV sets.