Television

          Electronic television was first successfully demonstrated in San Francisco on Sept. 7, 1927. The system was designed by Philo Taylor Farnsworth, a 21-year-old inventor who had lived in a house without electricity until he was 14.(Stephen, n.d.) It is hard to believe that the T.V. has only been around less than 100 years. Think about those older generations such as the baby boomers and older being able remember actually not having a television and now seeing how times have changed. 
           "By the late 1990s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set, and those sets were on for an average of more than seven hours a day. The typical American spends (depending on and the time of year) from two-and-a-half to almost five hours a day watching television." (Stephens, n.d.)

            Now let’s consider the amount of communication that can be executed through television. Most people would not consider television as a form of communication but shows like HSN or American Idol get the audience involved by requesting the viewers to call in and purchase items or vote. Being able to reach 98% of homes with a single message such as an ambler alert for a missing child, weather news, and school closures is a just a few ways communication can take place. Just like everything else there is a downside to the television.

             There are a plethora of shows that kids and adults should not see; there are also negative physiological and psychological effects to watching too much television. Children can enter into an imaginative world and affect their true ability to function or someone could gain weight from setting and watching too much T.V. Watching television responsibly will prevent the negative effects.

            Television has come a long way from black and white, no remote and 2 channels to what we now have today. The first color broadcasting took place in 1964 and we are now capable of watching the same show in 5 different rooms. Not only can you pause a T.V. now but, you can use the television to access the internet which is another media technology.