Television and Its Place in Our Life

Television, the modern magic picture box, is one of the chief miracles of science. Science has revolutionized life with its various gifts. It has proved to be an Aladin’s lamp at the beck and call of humanity. Television is one of the latest gifts of science. Mankind is indebted to Baird, the famous scientist who invented this wonderful box. The advent of the television has produced a big change in the attitudes and outlook of humanity.

Television is a machine that enables us to see from a long distance. It is a big improvement upon the radio. In a television, we cannot only hear the various actors, singers and speakers playing their roles thousands of miles away, but can also see them in action. Television has, thus, brought the modern science to our doorstep. Even while sitting comfortably in our cosy beds or comfortable drawing rooms, we can have a glimpse of the various activities going on in different parts of the world. We can now watch the Test Matches being played in any other country lust as we can hear a running commentary

Television is becoming popular day by day. A look at day’s programme on the television would convince anybody that it is a very useful machine. It instructs as well as delights the viewers. Its programmes include children films and shows, feature films, news and views, speeches, debates and discussions by experts, important interviews, sports, matches, beauty contests and short plays etc. A television programme caters to all interests — the young or the old, the rich or the poor, the kings or the paupers. A television viewer sits riveted to his set for hours on end as the beautiful sequence of entertaining programmes passes before his eyes. The television viewer finds himself transported into a different world full of beauty, charm and glamour. The cable TV has placed within man’s reach the best of the TV programmes anywhere in the world. Today one is in touch with the affairs of the whole world and one feels he is a part of the entire universe. Television broadens a man’s outlook in life and makes him a citizen of the world.

Some of the programmes on the television are highly educative. Programmes for the housewives, health education programmes and the school broadcasts are playing an excellent role. Experts in household affairs teach the housewives how to keep their houses in order, to prepare the best of dishes and to run their households in an efficient manner. Specialists in various diseases teach people how to take care of their health. Similarly, experts in the field of education are called upon to deliver lectures to students so that they can have the best of guidance from the experts.

Colour television has also been introduced in the country. More and more programmes are now being relayed in colour. Videocassette recorders are also fast becoming popular in the country.

Television, however, has its own demerits. That is why it has been nicknamed ‘idiot-box.’ First, it is a health hazard because it has a bad effect on the eyes. Secondly, it creates its fans and television fans keep sticking to their sets for long hours. Children tend to ignore their studies and insist on watching every programme. They form the habit of sleeping late and getting up late. With the introduction of the Cable TV and the CDs, the craze for films is increasing day by day. In fact, a demand for banning the VCRs has already come up. We should, therefore, learn to make a right use of the television, Television viewers should select and watch the useful programmes only. Moreover, all precautions should be taken to save the eyes from the harmful effects of the television,

India is a poor country. But she has certainly entered the television age. With the introduction of satellite transmission, television has now reached almost every nook and corner of the country.