Politics and Society

During class on Tuesday we had a discussion talking about how many people are addicted to television, and how it can be so negative for civic and social participation. Some students argued how it was incredibly biased and others pointed out that there are too many unnecessary advertisements. In some European countries, the government owns quite a few of the television networks. In Sweden, for example, the government owns many of the television networks and has strict laws prohibiting advertising to a certain age group and they also have very few commercials. That’s not the case in the US. If the government owned some stations here, would there be less of a bias on news stations or TV in general? Some students also argued that watching TV could in fact help social participation, because friends get together, watch shows and talk about them. According to Kathleen Jamieson of the University of Pennsylvania, “Although heavy use of media interferes with both political and civic engagement, the overall effect of media use is favorable for each outcome.�

Putnam, on the other hand, feels strongly that mass media has a negative effect on today’s society. He points out that television viewing has gone up 50 % since the 1950’s. Putnam stated that “…husbands and wives spend three or four times as much time watching television together as they spend talking to each other… � (p224). Here I think he is too quick to jump to conclusions. I don’t think he takes into account how much life has changed since then. Today, mass media consumes our lives. Whether it is good or bad for civic and social participation is up for debate.