Do you agree that TV is an IDIOT BOX...???

most of the time i watch animal planet, discovery channel, or national geographic. i agree that most things on tv are a waste of time and that is why i watch educational things. i use my little brother as proof because he watches the stupidest things and he is now acting like that all of the time.

yes to certain extent it is a idiot box .but we can try to make proper use of it instead of wasting our time by watching news .if we watch the tv around 3 hrs a day and watch proper channels like discovery ,aaj tak ,sports channel etc we can make proper use of tv

I don't know ... watching TV for me is pretty much a bore. I see a lot of reruns over & over again. Also the news these days is utterly depressing! If I want to watch the tube for entertainment purposes I'd rather just go to BlockBuster or Hollywood Video and rent some good action movies! I know people who pay over $100 per month on services like cable and I just don't feel that watching TV is worth that much.

Actually no, I don't agree. I can't begin to tell you how much I have learned from watching TV each day. Everything from how an Elephant's memory works, to scenes of the latest new dolphin they have discovered, to new recipes I can try for dinner, or what country certain cities are in. I learn about different cultures, decorating ideas, ways to live more "green" and what the latest news in medicine is. I learn about global warming, poverty in foreign countries, and how polar bears are faced with extinction thanks to global warming. With all that out there and so much more to learn - how can anyone call it an "idiot box?"

Most people watch TV for entertainment reasons, not to gain knowledge. As far as the 24 hour news channels go, the reason they repeat the news over and over around the clock is so that when you come in after a busy day or night at work you can turn on the TV and not have to worry about missing any of the news of the day. And reading a newspaper isn't necessarily a better source of news than the news channels. In fact I believe they can supplement each other. Also, some people prefer the TV over the newspaper for their news, because they can listen to the TV while doing other things. It's kinda hard to read the newspaper and do something else at the same time. Some people probably do spend too much time in front of the TV, but then again, that's their prerogative. The TV may be an IDIOT box, but it's probably the most used appliance in most homes around the world.

hi friend I really agree with you.

No, I don't believe TV is an idiot box. I think TV gets unfairly slammed all the time. I agree with the other poster, that people normally watch tv for entertainment purposes. And, there's nothing wrong with that. Knowledge is wonderful, but no one goes their entire existence doing nothing but learning. Everyone wants to have fun, and life would be a sad place without it. I'm not saying everyone's entertainment and fun comes from TV, but it's not a lesser medium because the main function is enjoyment. And, people always harp on the bad programs, but I find there are very intelligent and interesting shows. That's the same with any artistic (and yep, I use the word artistic) medium. Books, movies, plays, music. You can always find bad, even idiotic examples. There are some pretty dumb books out there. But, with those, people criticize the bad, but praise the good and don't toss out the whole thing because everything isn't wonderful. Except TV.

I would term the TV as an idiot box because I can control my time with it. If one is addicted to the TV, then who is the idiot? TV is a great source of information only when we are viewing the right information. It is also a danger when we are viewing the wrong programmes.

yea, to be honist i havent realy learned anything from watching TV but i have learned so much online. I dont even use the TV for entertainment as I watch any show or film online aswell, even live sports i watch online lol i realy dont see the need to have a TV and when i move out i wont bother geting an areial and paying the TV lisence as i wont use it.

nope. I don't agree with you. I'm not a big TV watcher, more a reader, and I never watch or read the news, as it's just miserable. but you CAN get knowledge from watching television. I have seen some amazing programmes exploring different parts of the world, or the ocean, or cultures virtually untouched by the modern world, or the lives of animals, some of which it is just shocking that they can even exist. I have seen fish that have light sensors on their back and light emitters on their belly, so that they match the sunlit water above them and don't stand out as a dark shadow to predators below. I've seen a great white shark somehow launch it's vast bulk out of the sea altogether to catch a seal, and herds of animals migrating distances I couldn't even imagine in my head. the scale of the world out there is so huge, and there are many programmes that teach you about the vast creativity of Mother Nature, and leave you awestruck at the ability to survive that some creatures have. so I would completely disagree that watching TV cannot teach you anything. to read these things is not the same as to see them. you don't get the same sense of scale.

Hi! well, I don't agree with that. TV is a means of communication. As a receiver of the communication, I get to choose what to see and hear. I may even choose whether to turn it on or off. Waste of time? not really because TV is a window to a world of sound, color, motion, and life in general. If I may say, television technology and its contribution to our lives has gone a long way.

hi friend, iam not believe with you. why you tell like this. TV is not an IDIOT box. most of the people saw televison for movies and programes and news, etc. Now a days TV is one of the main things for human life. Iam not imagine my life with out Televison. take care have a nice day.

TV is not an idiot box.... I use it mostly for entertainemnt with a slight bit of news.... i like to watch sports and it's just like everything... Sometimes their will be a gem and some other time there won't be..... I try not to watch out of boredom but rather "commit" to what I wanna see.... when this logic is used I don't believe it can be called an "idiot box" Yann

Well...I think the average American watches a bit too much tv. And if I am being honest with myself - I watch a bit too much tv at times. I love to watch the educational programming available. I love Forensic Files, Cold Case Files, almost anything on the History Channel and Discovery Channel. I occasionally will partake in wasting my time with a few cartoons, here and there. I like the nostalgic feeling I get when watching Scooby Doo or some other nonsense! I do not watch "reality" shows or entertainment "news" shows. I will watchh CNN and MSNBC on occasion. And love a lot of the shows on PBS. Currently...I am trying to cut back on my television watching. There are days I don't even turn it on. I am increasing my book and magazine reading and trying to focus on other things. I do agree tv CAN become a problem. We can use it as a babysitter...I hate that! I understand the draw of using it that way...but it is not a good habit to start for anyone (the parent using it as a crutch or the child getting in the habit of sitting in front of it all the time) invovled. There is so many POSSIBILITIES and OPPORTUNITIES out there in the world. We just have to turn off the tv occasionally and get out there and LIVE!

I have to agree with one of your other responses, that for the most part people watch tv just for entertainment. It's cheaper than going to a movie, and you can see old movies, which are great. My s/o and I just watch two old movies the past two nights, 'Mr. Deeds goes to Town' and 'Monkey Business' with Cary Grant. As for gaining knowledge, I have to disagree with you. Channels like The History Channel, The Learning Channel, DIY, and others show very interesting topics, and you can learn things from these channels. However, for the most part, the tv is actually off in our home, until in the late evening. Even though I'm home all day, I rarely watch tv. And when my s/o gets home from work, we usually spend at least a couple of hours outdoors, if not longer. It will be getting dark earlier soon enough.

No I don't agree. Sure I watch TV for entertainment but not solely, I also watch it for information like news and informative shows like nat geo, discovery channels and add to that also some documentary and health shows. So I wouldn't agree that TV is an idiot box.

I disagree. I learn a lot from tv. I am always learning new words from my fave shows. And there is a lot of learning shows too, especially now days. I always watch kued. I learn a lot of interesting stuff on there.

Hi! :D For me, I don't think that TV is an idiot box. It really depends on the person watching if the TV becomes a tool for education and information or just a plain idiot box. Would you call it an idiot box if a little child watches Dora and other educational TV shows on it? Or a person watching documentaries, animal, and nature-related shows on Discovery Channel? I suppose not. If a person watches TV shows that provoke thinking and reasoning, then I think it's not an idiot box after all. As for the news...yeah, they do repeat is at night. It's a waste to see the same news again, unless of course the person just came from work and didn't see the earlier airing of the news. I respect your opinion though, and that reading is better in gaining information than watching the television. I think it's up to a person which medium he/she would like to use.:)

i think tv is just a time pass activity if we have no work and if we want to some entertaionment then we go to watching tv and when we envolve in some crative activity or in our work then we forget about tv but some time tv looks like a ididotbox BEZ it dont give the right information and also lead us in a wrong direction and sometime it makes the feticious news which gives the wrong direction

Well, I don't agree that TV is an Idiot Box. First, there are channels on TV that can give us MORE information about a certain thing. I've learned a lot from Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other channels with "Do-it-yourself" programs. And I'm also updated with different news not just on my country, but from different places as well. And TV was made also for entertainment purposes. I guess it will just be an IDIOT BOX if you wouldn't use it properly.