I was pondering what a post-television world would look like with video delivered over broadband on various big and small screens, when I came upon a Time magazine article that pointed out that much of the world is still pre-television. That's something that I never thought about. Surely everyone must have TV? The article states that only 60% of people from the developing world have access to television. Contrast that to the fact that there are more TVs than people in the United States. The implications for the growth of television in the developing world are significant, as research in India "found that when cable TV reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their husbands' permission and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make decisions over child health care and less likely to think that men had the right to beat their wives." In a post-television society, like ours, it might be interesting to consider how the medium has transformed our lives, and whether or not new media will have similar impact in the future. The Time article provides a link to the
most popular television shows overseas. Enjoy.
8 comments:
With a consistent reminder that there are more televisions in America than there are people, it is difficult to realize that much of the world is still pre-television. When I think about developing countries and/or areas, I first think about the food and housing situations and the difficulties they may face in this regard. I am likely to follow this thought with their work opportunities and availabilities. I rarely consider the way in which they do or do not receive information, nor have I concerned myself with their mode of entertainment. However, these ideas and they way in which they affect such places, is extremely telling of the influence that the television has provided.
I think for our country, television has worked to disseminate information and expose its viewers to new sights and ultimately opportunities. It has portrayed different sexes, cultures and nationalities, as well as, various parts of the world. While these portrayals are not necessarily accurate, they have provided a standard for what is acceptable. For example, viewing a woman as a news anchor shows that women are intelligent, independent, and capable of providing information. This in turn shows that it is not acceptable to regulate what a woman is allowed to do. Having recognized this, I can understand that television may influence women of developing areas to be more independent, both physically and intellectually. The television can give them information and show the way other women live. Furthermore, I believe all forms of media influence us and I think that as they continue to progress they will continue to impact the information we receive and the way we receive it, which will in turn affect our thought processes and actions.
It is hard to believe that when I am constantly surrounded by televisions, that there are places in the world that there are pre television. If you really think about it there are probably places in the US that do not have the television exposure we do in the cities and the suburbs. There is some link to television and education. Nowadays we sometimes learn more from television and internet than we do in school. On American television you can get anything from serious news to people doing ridiculous stunts for large amounts of money. We have whole channels designed for every demographic, so especially if you have satellite there is always something to watch. This is why media has such an effect on lives because television teaches us how we should act and what roles we need to play in society, sometimes positive, sometimes negative.
The study about India does not surprise me. Women in India have a very clear role in society and the male is supposed to always be the dominant figure in the household. Television is serving the women in India as education, which they might not have ever been exposed to before. All they have known is to be dependent and television might offer them a look into how a woman’s role can be different. Television is teaching them they can make their own informed decisions. For example in America you have the Lifetime network, which usually portrays women coming out on top and strong.
Looking at the most popular shows around the world, I could for almost every show name an American show with the same concept. There are probably obvious differences because these shows have to keep their target in mind and a lot of places do not have the same kind of humor or views on certain subjects. Obviously we enjoy the same kind of entertainment because they have shows like American Idol, soap operas, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Top Chef, etc. With shows having similar formats as American shows made me think, maybe we are more alike than we think.
Going abroad helped me to understand that the entire world is not as digitally connected as we find ourselves to be here in America. It is no surprise that there are more tv's here then people, however, as a whole, I would not say that it is something to brag about. As the world progresses, and technology does as well, there are far bigger issues to worry about then what's on TV that night.
With that being said, I also never took into account what Colleen had brought up; how people get their information. Aside from reality television, TV has a lot to offer consumers. With 40% not having access to what we take for granted, its hard to imagine how people are able to stay so connected.
I think that the villages in India are a perfect example of how the future of television will impact a society. Television and the Internet are our two main lifelines to the rest of the world. The media is constantly streaming through these two machines, therefore, the media is basically out lifeline. With the introduction of TV into the villages, the culture began to change. People began to act as they saw on TV because that was the what the entire world was doing. TV and the new obsession with the entertainment media has begun to westernize the entire rest of the world. Is this what we really want?
To me, it seems as though with this new fad of entertainment media, we are missing out on so much around the world. We pay less attention to our own lives and more time with the Kardashians or Gosselins. We are losing a part of our history, our heritage, and the foundations that our county once instilled in us as well as our own families. The morality of our generation has decreased drastically.
As long as the media keeps our attention on the insignificant lives of these "stars", the post-television world seems unintelligent, and selfish. I don't know about you, but to me, thats a bad combination.
I love television so I could not even imagine living in a pre-television society. Since I live in an area where TV. is readily available and everyone owns more TV’s than people in their house it seems normal. But we could be seen as abnormal for having so many unnecessary TV’s.
Television is a great tool for getting people the information they need. It provides entertainment and learning devices. When not abused, like anything, television is a great form of mass communication. However, those who do have television tend to abuse it. Television has become a means of isolation. People would rather sit inside by themselves (or even with others) and just watch TV rather than socialize. Parents use it to babysit their kids rather than playing with them.
As stated by others television has also given us insight into different ways of life. We see different people in powerful positions, or different ways of life throughout the country. This allows others to become more cultured and hopefully realize people live differently than they do, but that's okay.
Other forms of media will continue to influence us just as television has. Our society will always be influenced by media even as technology changes and new forms are created, because it is just the world we live in.
I recently came across an article in the New York Times that quoted a women from (I think somewhere in the Middle East) that lived in an area that did not have access to the Internet or television. This specific area was completely closed off from the free flow of communication.
About two weeks ago, I broke my phone and had to go without one for a week until my replacement came. I felt lost and confused at first but then became accustomed to not having one. I used other communication devices and became very dependent on facebook and email for communication purposes. For those that do not have access to any form of communication is difficult to imagine.
With that said, on the flip side, Americans are constantly surrounded by various forms of communication from the blackberrys/iphones to the Internet to television. We are constantly being updated with news and information. Although the television may seem outdated I think it is hear to stay. It represents something more than communication and entertainment. It is something that friends/families/coworkers crowd around to watch the news, their favortie shows, or mindless reality television. Although we could say that the computer is slowly replacing this, I firmly believe that their will be some form of "television" located in every household. The physical appearance may change but the concept of the "television" will remain. It will still be something that people will go to as their main form of communication and entertainment.
I could never live without television. Studying abroad in Spain was the first time in my entire life that I was without a personal television for over 6 months. I was able to keep up with my TV shows through online websites. One outlet that i truly missed watching was the daily news. I never realized how much i relied on the morning news to gain information on happenings around the world.
Television has become such a necessity in my life that i forget how it is not as popular in other locations. Television abroad in same did not have the same quality of programs compared to the U.S. Actually most of the shows i witnessed abroad were old programs such as CSI and movies that are dubbed over into spanish. It was crazy to see that people abroad were able to watch movies and never experience the real George Clooney as voices do not match the lips.
I think that the study in India shows the important information that is shared through television. There are many countries that ban programs which really can be reflected in the society. I think that we are very lucky to have so many media sources available at our fingertips.
I haven't studied abroad or even been away from any sort of civilization for an extended period of time, but I simply cannot fathom what it would be like without a television. The longest time that I was without television was when I went on a high school trip to the Caribbean island of Martinique for a week and a half. Even then, in the log-cabin-esque house that we had to stay in, we had a very old TV that received 2 stations (sometimes 3 but it would cut in and out). One of them was just French soap operas all throughout the day, and garbage at night. The other one had random US sports, but they weren't even ones that anyone would care about. It was like random baseball games from the west coast.
The point is, that when we were bored we still needed that television set on, even if we were just playing poker in the room or whatever, simply because it just felt right. If for nothing else we just needed something visual on in the background just so we could feel more comfortable.
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