Can Television Make You Smarter Essay examples - 1496 Words

In Steven Johnsons article Watching TV Makes You Smarter he discusses the intellectual merits of television programs. The essence of Johnsons argument is that the complexity of certain current shows can get one to think at a higher cognitive level, and that shows have become more cognitively demandingof their viewers over the past few decades. Johnsons argument, that is in favor of watching quality television and the benefits that one can get from it, is reinforced by some good points the author makes. Johnson is effective in his argument and was very convincing. Viewing certain television programs can in fact benefit ones cognitive capacities, especially in children. Johnson article effectively states that watching programs†¦show more content†¦When discussing the topic online this week with fellow classmates, I noticed that some people indeed have strong feelings on the issue. In his article, Johnson talks about how some people only observe the negative aspects of shows like 24. Some people criticize the shows writers, producers, and even the shows viewers because of the violent themes. Some dont realize how the complex story lines require the viewer to ... pay attention, make inferences, and track shifting social relationships(229). I have seen how some people on the discussion board may have misinterpreted Johnsons article and overlooked his main points. From my experiences as a parent, I have learned that most parents of young children always tend to have strong feelings on the topic as well. I find that there are some parents that let their children watch television and praise the positive benefits, while there are some parents tha t refuse to let their children watch any television, even educational shows. Myself, as a parent, I believe that television can be a great educational tool and that certain shows can be utilized to supplement to my childrens expanding knowledge base. For instance, when my children were toddlers I readily embraced the benefits of them hearing the constant dialog from television programs, even if the programs seemed silly, and I truly believe this aided their languageShow MoreRelatedWatching Tv Makes You Smarter, By Steven Johnson898 Words   |  4 Pages Television is a great source of knowledge and it interests many people. Some people have the same belief while others do not for many different reasons. In the first article â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter, Steven Johnson argues why and how television can make you smarter. In another article, â€Å"Thinking Outside the Idiot Box, Dana Stevens contradicts everything Steven Johnson said in his article about television making people more intelligent. Steven Johnson s argument is that television can actuallyRead MoreWatching Tv Makes You Smarter, By Steven Johnson872 Words   |  4 PagesIn the article â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter, Steven Johnson argues why and how television can make you smarter. In another article, â€Å"Thinking Outside the Idiot Box, Dana Stevens contradicts everything Steven Johnson said in his article about television making people more intelligent. Steven Johnson s argument is that television can actually make you smarter because when you watch a show, you are trying to understand everything that is happening. Today’s shows have a lot of action and scenesRead MoreThinking Outside the Idiot Box by Dana Stevens vs. â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter† by Steven Johnson1125 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Jessica Tursi English Comp I Kayal 11/5/13 TV Does Not Make You Smarter There is no doubt that television holds a purpose in our society today, but is that purpose brain-numbing or actually beneficial to our brain development? The television, also known as: TV, the boob tube, the idiot box, as well as many other nicknames, has been around for almost a hundred years. Ever since cable TV became popular in the 1950’s, there has always been a worry that people watch too much TV. Most people believeRead MoreWatching Tv Makes You Smart Essay1218 Words   |  5 PagesIn the article  Watching TV Makes You Smarter  by Steven Johnson, the author argues that by watching television shows various television shows, people actually become smarter and how it has a big impact in our lives. He feels that watching TV makes us smarter because why we view things we might have never heard of before. He also uses dialogs to explain for example he used dialogs from the show ER to break down what’s happening between the characters, what words and sentences t here using. On responseRead MoreDoes Television Make Use Dumber? Essay535 Words   |  3 Pages Television is a big part of society today. The shows on television entertain most of America, along with conveying information to viewers. Many people today look down on television and blame it for problems we have in society along with making viewers dumber. Johnson’s Watching TV Makes You Smarter and Stevens’s Thinking Outside The Idiot Box have near opposite positions on the issue of television, both describing what they feel is the right answer when it comes to television and society. ThroughoutRead MoreTv Makes You Smarter Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesTV Makes You Smarter Everyday people watch some level of television. Whether it is the news, sports, a movie or a reality show, it is a pastime that people look forward to and/or come to rely on in their daily routine. There are some programs that have a lot of violence and perhaps should be watched minimally or by an appropriately aged audience.   However, there are many other programs that do not have violence and actually educate us, working subconsciously, without us even knowing it. For thisRead MoreCan Tv Be Making You Smarter?1444 Words   |  6 Pages Can Tv be Making You Smarter In Steven Johnson’s â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter†, he argues the growing complexities of contemporary TV shows through time. Johnson explains, because of the developing intricacy of TV plot lines people are having to spend more time paying attention to the TV episodes. To show this, Johnson compared shows from the past and more recent shows to  display how on screen intelligence and off screen intelligence of shows have developed to become more challenging and realisticRead MoreTelevision : An Important Aspect For People s Life1276 Words   |  6 Pagesamount of time in people’s life. People can spend hours in a day just watching t.v. mindlessly, however, is this time spent watching t.v. making a person smarter? The television shows that people watch today are a primary form of entertainment for a majority of America, along with conveying information to viewers. For years now people have wanted dumb, simple tv, but as the culture began to develop more cognitively people want complex and intelligent television. I believe contemporary t.v. is an importantRead MoreWatching Tv Makes You Smarter967 Words   |  4 PagesWatching TV Makes You Smarter In his essay â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter, Steven Johnson - an author specializing in media, pop culture and technology - claims that watching TV is actually healthy for the viewers mind as contemporary television requires more cognitive thinking than it did previously. Johnson supported his claim by explaining about his sleeper curve throughout the essay. â€Å"The most debased forms of mass diversion – video games, violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms thatRead MoreTelevision : A Blessing And A Curse940 Words   |  4 Pages Television: A Blessing and a Curse Televisions first came about in the 1900s, originally being used for advertisement and adult entertainment shows. When television began, one of its objectives was to present the news to society. It was a branch of broad communication, airing presidential news and news covering other states other than your own. Over the years this goal has altered, and now we can find all kinds of programs with different resolutions. There are many different forms of entertainment