The good,the bad,the telly

l Highly informative and educative.

l Medium of communication.

l A wonderful entertainer and company.

l Source of knowledge on products and services.

Now,the bad aspects.

l Curtails physical activity of children.

l Imitation of bad behaviour,habits and immorality shown spoil character.

l Affects sleep of children and makes them lazy.

Joyal,Rawal International School

Children spend a lot of time in front of TV. This can have positive and negative impact.

TV offers entertainment and education. It exposes children to new ideas and can encourage them to make good lifestyle choices. On the other hand,children stay away from important activities such as homework,outdoor sport,family interactions and reading.

Children watching television continuously are more likely to have attention problems,behaviourial disorders and anger-related issues.

Divya Ambetkar,Laxmibai School,Mulund

Television has been a revolution that has helped the student community to a large extent. It not only entertains but also provides information on various aspects of life — culture,social values,health,education,exercise and so on.

In today’s world it is rather difficult to imagine a child not watching the telly.

The upbringing of children depends on this medium of communication.

Television has a direct impact on children and the channels they watch decide their behaviour. Sports,National Geographic,Discovery,etc,broaden outlook and make children sharp.

Eshwar Iyer,Father Agnel,Vashi

Television has become a part of our life,and it has a big influence on us. As children,we spend a lot of time in front of the idiot box. There are good and bad channels. If a child belongs to a good and educated family,probably they will monitor his time in front of television and the programmes s/he watches.

Channel locks prevent children from watching adult content. But if a child belongs to a family without moral values,s/he is more likely to spend a lot of time watching TV and will be negatively influenced.

In my opinion,television is a good tool if we choose educational channels such as Animal Planet and Discovery.

Sport channels are good too and motivate children to achieve goals in life.

Harshala Sanghavi,Arunodaya Public School

Watching TV has a bad effect on children. Three or four hours of TV increase chances of children becoming abnormal. They become prone to mental disorders. Excessive TV breeds laziness and makes one restless and impulsive.

Children imitate the unreal in real life and fail,making them psychologically and mentally disturbed.

The recent incidents of shooting of schoolchildren by a teenager and increasing juvenile crimes prove television harms the mind of children as they identify with bad characters and try to imitate them in real life.

TV has also killed the tendency to ask questions to parents,teachers and elders as children seek answers from the medium and end up doing things not approved by society or family.

Sanjana Deshpande,Laxmibai School,Mulund

Television is one of the most common electrical appliances in our homes and almost all individuals are exposed to it some time or the other. With regards to children,studies have shown they are among the extensive users of TV.

Children spend between 3 and 4 hours watching TV each day. This is harmful as it has a very negative impact on the minds of children,turning them aggressive when stopped from watching television.

Children copy actors and actresses in telly shows. Violence and aggression shown on TV make children indifferent or aggresive in real life.

Saurabh Shintre,Laxmibai School,Mulund

Television determines patterns of behavior of children. It strikes an emotional chord with viewers as identification with characters deepen involvement. TV has the ability to make viewers feel needs they never had and create dissatisfaction.

As most children spend more time viewing television than in any other single activity,besides school,it impacts their social development.

Nobody can deny that children,to an extent,learn fashion,speech,obedience,social interactions,values,morality and a host of behavioural patterns from TV.

Television restricts alternative activities such as reading,sports,religion and active hobbies. Depiction of horror,crime and violence on it makes one numb in real life.

Prakriti Iyer,Sri Ma Vidyalaya

TV is not only a means of entertainment but has also become tutor and advisor of children.

In fact,the very world of the child is his favorite cartoon programmes.

Action movies rush his adrenalin and educational DVDs provide him loads of information that registers quickly. Most children are not able to visit jungles or sanctuaries or rain forests. Animal Planet,Discovery Channel,etc,makes them aware of the wild.

This enhances bonding with the nature and affection for animals.

Jibran,Father Agnel,Vashi

Television is a very positive means.

Children watch a lot of cartoons and are left spellbound by the actions and ways of the characters.

This helps them identify qualities required to become strong,both mentally and physically.

Television helps teachers as well as parents to guide and educate children on family values,and socio-economic issues.

Mass media has conquered the hearts of children around the globe.

Shanmukhanand,Father Agnel,Vashi

Children find it fun to copy advertisements or jingles played on TV,especially if the advertisements are for children’s products. This helps children sharpen memory and observation power and co-relate.

Shashi,Father Agnel,Vashi