subject: Has Television Replaced Conversation [print this page] Has Television Replaced Conversation? Has Television Replaced Conversation?
In the long history of the United States, people have always spent the time after dinner speaking with one another. Parents and their children would actually sit in their living rooms (in many homes folks sat in the kitchen) to talk about the days events.
Children would speak to their dads about all that took place earlier that day in school. Dad would tell mom all about his terrible work day. And mom she might complain to dad about how difficult it had been to stand over a hot stove for most of the day.
Talk wasnt always negative, of course. There were many days when everybody could discuss something positive that had happened. And when talk of the days events had ended, moms, dads and their kids might enjoy additional time together playing checkers or monopoly or even Charades.
All of this interaction took place nightly in millions and millions of American homes from the day America declared its independence in 1776 all the way up to 1948 and, perhaps, a little beyond that. It was in 1948 (or maybe 1947) that the United States and its people were introduced to television.
Its effect was marginal at first because most homes still relied on radio, board games and talking to one another for entertainment. There were very few homes with TVs. That changed quickly in a matter of only a very few years so that, before long, most homes had television sets and most people spent their time after dinner watching live entertainment.
It got worse with each passing year and resulted in the birth of the couch potato, an individual (generally good old dad) who just sat before the TV and watched it mindlessly. Kids have become like dad, too. They can lose themselves in a TV show or in a video game thats played on the TV. And as for mom, well some moms cant seem to get enough of The View or of Oprah.
So while TV has revolutionized and changed home entertainment over the last fifty years or so, it has also delivered a death blow to the art of family conversation. The sad truth is that people, family members and groups of friends, just dont spend much time talking to one another as they did BTV Before TV.
Clearly, the advancement of home entertainment through television had led directly to the demise of friendly conversation. Is that a positive development? I guess it depends on how much you enjoy talking.
