These patterns of dancing phosphors try to make you laugh or cry, or at least feel entertained. Sometimes they ask for your love, and often get it. You become attached to some of these images and invite them back more often than your closest relatives. You become best friends with some of these electronic genies and visit them often for years. These genies of the picture tube have the power to change lives. They tell stories, teach you how the world works, show wonders you would see only in picture books; they try to sell you what they say you need, from deodorant to fast cars. Of course, you don't think of them as ghosts or genies; you call them television personalities or celebrities.
These tiny creatures that live in every household were unleashed around 1939. No one person is credited with inventing television, but it was introduced to the masses at the New York World's Fair. Hundreds of curious people crowded around a television screen not much bigger than this page to view fuzzy black-and-white images. Most thought the invention a clever novelty. The newspapers dismissed the gadget as a toy the masses had little time to support. These creatures, however, have changed the world. They have served well as messengers of news. And they turned out be wonderful storytellers. You often talk about them with ur friends. The stories they tell on the tube are the myths that shape society. If Shakespeare lived today, he would probably write for television. If Beethoven were a contemporary mposer, his themes might trumpet the network news.
However, as sometimes happens with a large group we rite home, some behave rudely. Some are violent. Others tell Ties that may be embarrassing. Many speak incessantly of Hy functions and dentures and panty hose and headaches they sell their wares. But we are patient in the face of their eness. Television is now in its fifties.
Some say television is the greatest invention of the tieth century, while others see it as a "vast wasteland" -ct steals time. Some blame television for teaching violence, while others claim TV turns viewers into couch potatoes. Still others see television as history's most effective educator, bringing knowledge of the universe to even the poorest citizens. Such education, they point out, was once available to the wealthy who could afford to travel and to attend the best schools. Children today seem to know more about the d than their parents or grandparents did at the same age. When asked for an opinion of television, some describe it harmless pastime that provides escape from the troubles daily life. Others argue that it presents a dangerously unreal picture of the world. For every convincing statement about the dangers of television, there seems to be an equally compelling argument about its benefits. To watch or not to watch- that is the decision. Each time you make that decision, you reveal values.
Clearly, we have long since decided that watching television is an important activity. Ninety-nine percent of homes in the United States have at least one television and most have multiple sets. The average set is turned on but not always watched) nearly seven hours daily. The typical sixteenyear-old will spend at least as much time in front of the TV as in school. That means those imaginary beings who live behind the glass may spend more time with you than your parents or friends.
