Final Draft: [The Effects of Television Viewing]

Television has become an arguably the greatest invention of the past century that has fascinated its audience, both children and adolescents (Sharif 1999). According to the American Time Use Survey carried out in 2003, men and women spent most of their time, roughly 2.5 hours per day in watching television. Since television viewing has saturated our lives, hundreds of arguments can be made on the topic that television is playing good or bad role in the society. While television can entertain oneself, it may also influence them in undesirable ways if viewed for long periods. Therefore, the negative effect of television viewing has been an issue for many years. I strongly believe that television viewing has inauspicious consequences of being able to negatively affect people.

First and foremost, the most obvious is the effects that television has on the psyche and behaviour, especially in children. Children are still at a stage where the shaping of behaviour takes place. Consequently, they tend to form an idea of life and behaviour as pictured by the shows they watch (Sharif 1999). Sharif (1999) indicates evidence from a research that has shown that children become desensitized to violence after constant watching of violent programs. When they come to solving problems, they would think that violence is an everyday tool for solutions. Besides, short programs with loud and colourful presentation develop short attention spans in children. As a result, children tend to take the easy way out whenever they encounter any problems. They may face frustration when complicated situations occur in their life and giving up easily (Sharif 1999).

Next, the causal effect of television on health is also highlighted. Children may be more physically inactive if they are overindulged in television viewing as they would not have the time for outdoor activities (Sharif 1999). Television lures its audiences to the extent that they exclude other activities and this can be destructive. Watching television is an inactive activity as its audiences just sit in front of it for hours. Worse comes to worst, when television viewing is accompanied with junk food, it may cause obesity and related diseases. It is also unhealthy to overindulged in television as one may even suffer withdrawal symptoms when something happens that forbid the viewing (Rutherford 2002). Children may also imitate dangerous stunts from television programs which can be harmful if care is not taken (Sharif 1999).

There can no longer be any doubt that heavy exposure to television viewing may cause difficulty in focusing things, for instance homework (Leigh 2001). UK Time Use Survey (2000) shows that time spent most on selected free time activities are TV, video and radio. Although it takes a little effort to switch off the television, many prefer to flick between channels, browsing for something worth watching. Time set aside for homework may be wasted as a consequence (Rutherford 2002). This may adversely affect children’s academic performance. According to Dr. Jones, children who watched too much television programs are among the weakest students at school. It is difficult for children to develop their imaginative skills that may come in handy in solving problem and organizing (Leigh 2001).

In a nutshell, television viewing affects the development of thinking processes, affects health and causes difficulty in focusing. Television shows can be entertaining but when one gets addicted, these negative impacts will prevail and may even be disastrous. Hence, I strongly believe that there are negative effects on television viewing. We should control our time spent on television viewing and watch in moderation to avoid lifelong harmful effects (Rutherford 2002).

Draft 2: [The Effects of Television Viewing]

Television has become an arguably the greatest invention of the past century that has fascinated its audience, both children and adolescents (Sharif 1999). According to statistics carried out in 2003, men and women spent most of their time, roughly 2.5 hours per day in watching television (ATUS 2003). Since television viewing has saturated our lives, hundreds of arguments can be made on the topic that television is playing good or bad role in the society. While television can entertain oneself, it may also influence them in undesirable ways if viewed for long periods. Therefore, the negative effect of television viewing has been an issue for many years. I strongly believe that television viewing has horrible consequences of being able to negatively affect people.

First and foremost, the most obvious is the effects that television has on the psyche and behaviour, especially in children. Children are still at a stage where the shaping of behaviour takes place. Consequently, they tend to form an idea of life and behaviour as pictured by the shows they watch (Sharif 1999). Sharif (1999) indicates evidence from a research that has shown that children become desensitized to violence after constant watching of violent programs. When they come to solving problems, they would think that violence is an everyday tool for solutions. Besides, short programs with loud and colourful presentation develop short attention spans in children. As a result, children tend to take the easy way out whenever they encounter any problems. They may face frustration when complicated situations occur in their life and giving up easily (Sharif 1999).

Next, the causal effect of television on health is also highlighted. Children may be more physically inactive if they are overindulged in television viewing as they would not have the time for outdoor activities (Sharif 1999). Television lures its audiences to the extent that they exclude other activities and this can be destructive. Watching television is an inactive activity as its audiences just sit in front of it for hours. Worse comes to worst, when television viewing is accompanied with junk food, it may cause obesity and related diseases. It is also unhealthy to overindulged in television as one may even suffer withdrawal symptoms when something happens that forbid the viewing (Rutherford 2002). Children may also imitate dangerous stunts from television programs which can be harmful if care is not taken (Sharif 1999).

There can no longer be any doubt that heavy exposure to television viewing may cause difficulty in focusing things, for instance homework (Leigh 2001). UK Time Use Survey (2000) shows that time spent most on selected free time activities are TV, video and radio. Although it takes a little effort to switch off the television, many prefer to flick between channels, browsing for something worth watching. Time set aside for homework may be wasted as a consequence (Rutherford 2002). This may adversely affect children’s academic performance. According to Dr. Jones, children who watched too much television programs are among the weakest students at school. It is difficult for children to develop their imaginative skills that may come in handy in solving problem and organizing (Leigh 2001).

In a nutshell, television viewing affects the development of thinking processes, affects health and causes difficulty in focusing. Television shows can be entertaining but when one gets addicted, these negative impacts will prevail and may even be disastrous. Hence, I strongly believe that there are negative effects on television viewing. We should control our time spent on television viewing and watch in moderation to avoid lifelong harmful effects (Rutherford 2002).

Draft 1: [The Effects of Television Viewing]

Television has become an arguably the greatest invention of the past century that has fascinated its audience, both children and adolescents (Sharif 1999). According to statistics carried out in 2003, men and women spent most of their time, roughly 2.5 hours per day in watching television (ATUS 2003). Since television viewing has saturated our lives, hundreds of arguments can be made on the topic that television is playing good or bad role in the society. While television can entertain oneself, it may also influence them in undesirable ways if viewed for long periods. Therefore, the negative effect of television viewing has been an issue for many years. I strongly believe that television viewing has horrible consequences of being able to negatively affect people.

First and foremost, the most obvious is the effects that television has on the psyche and behaviour, especially in children. Children are still at a stage where the shaping of behaviour takes place. Consequently, they tend to form an idea of life and behaviour as pictured by the shows they watch (Sharif 1999). Sharif (1999) indicates evidence from a research that showed children become desensitized to violence after constant watching of violent programs. When they come to solving problems, they would think that violence is an everyday tool for solutions. Besides, short programs with loud and colourful presentation develop short attention spans in children. As a result, children tend to take the easy way out whenever they encounter any problems. They may face frustration when complicated situations occur in their life and giving up easily (Sharif 1999).

Next, the causal effect of television on health is also highlighted. Children may be more physically inactive if they are overindulged in television viewing as they would not have the time for outdoor activities (Sharif 1999). Television lures its audiences to the extent that they exclude other activities and this can be destructive. Watching television is an inactive activity as its audiences just sit in front of it for hours. Worse comes to worst, when television viewing is accompanied with junk food, it may cause obesity and related diseases. It is also unhealthy to overindulged in television as one may even suffer withdrawal symptoms when something happens that forbid the viewing (Rutherford 2002). Children may also imitate dangerous stunts from television programs which can be fatal (Sharif 1999).

There can no longer be any doubt that heavy exposure to television viewing may cause difficulty in focusing things, for instance homework (Leigh 2001). UK Time Use Survey (2000) shows that time spent most on selected free time activities are TV, video and radio. Although it takes a little effort to switch off the television, many prefer to flick between channels, browsing for something interesting. Time set aside for homework may be wasted as a consequence (Rutherford 2002). This may adversely affect children’s academic performance. According to Dr. Jones, children who watched too much television programs are among the weakest students at school. It is difficult for children to develop their imaginative skills that may come in handy in solving problem and organizing (Leigh 2001).

In a nutshell, I strongly believe that there are negative effects on television viewing. The negative effects are affects the development of thinking processes, affects health and causes difficulty in focusing. Television shows can be entertaining but when one gets addicted, these negative impacts will prevail. Hence, we should control our time spent on television viewing and watch in moderation to avoid lifelong harmful effects (Rutherford 2002).

Final Version of Argumentative Essay

Junk food has always been the favorite food for youngsters especially schoolchildren as there are a variety of supplies from the school canteens. Junk food can be defined as foods with insufficient nutrients and it is not good for our health (Tran 2005). Junk foods also contain synthetic additives to level up their attractiveness and to expand its expiry date (Smith 2005). Research shows that chips, biscuits, cookies, hamburgers, soft drinks, instant noodles and confectionery are unhealthy (Health Foundation 2005). The issue of banning school canteens from selling junk food has raised a heated debate among the society. The fright of health issues, behavioural problems and litter problems which are caused by the consumption of junk food have my word on believing that the sale of junk food should be banned.

Fingers are pointing at junk food for causing childhood obesity due to the distinctively low nutritional value and contains inedible synthetic additives (Smith 2005). Over the past 30 years, the healthy food eaten by Australian youngsters has plummeted which can be due to the increasing supplies of junk food (Tran 2005). According to Tran (2005), more than 50 per cent of schoolchildren nowadays purchase their lunch from school canteens which mostly comprise of junk food. This gives us an idea of the most common scenario is a child who is munching on junk food and quenching a can of soft drinks during recess. Tran (2005) also provided evidence from Professor Steven Reynolds who indicates that school canteens providing unhealthy foods are promoting youth obesity. This is further worsened when most youngsters do not exercise regularly.

Other than that, poor eating habits of children can induce unhealthy growth and reduce their learning potential as junk foods often consist of chemical enhancers which can lead to behavioural problems (The Food Show 2005). According to Smith (2005), behavioural problems in children like hyperactivity and poor concentration are results shown from the additives. Since junk food is convenient and is easily available from schools, children are unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves (Tran 2005). Consequently, the removal of junk foods from school canteen shows noticeable improvement in student’s behaviour (Green 2005).

From a wider perspective, the sale of junk food in schools can also create litter problems as most junk foods come in pre-packaged meals and canned drinks (Smith 2005). This problem is faced by the schools as plastic packages and cans can be seen lying around the school compound (Green 2005). As a result from littering, schools may be facing health risk, spend more than usual to clean the compounds and may even give a bad impression (Smith 2005). When junk foods are removed, the litter around the school has diminished. The cleaning cost saved can be spent on other beneficial maintenance projects (Green 2005).

In conclusion, I stand for the banning of the sales of junk food in school canteens as excessive consumption of junk foods may lead to obesity which has a direct impact on future risks for heart disease, osteoarthritis and cancers, and also behavioural problems. Schools may also encounter opportunity cost due to litter problems. Children must know that what they eat affects their future growth, thus a school cannot neglect their responsibility and drop the buck at food, instead schools need to take up its’ role to assail the problems. The school canteen should be utilized to educate healthy eating habits (Tran 2005).