Television in the Information Age Essays - 2768 Words

Television in the Information Age Introduction Television. Most Americans today cannot imagine life without it. It is how we relax, laugh, learn, and stay up to date on current events. The inventors of television may not have realized the impact of combining sound with moving pictures. For the first time in the history of the world we were and are able to peek into the lives of people we will never meet and visit places we will never go. It has even changed the way we communicate with each other in our everyday lives! Who has not heard or used the phrase coined by the sitcom, Seinfield, â€Å"†¦not that there’s anything wrong with that†¦.†? This analysis will first examine the origins of television and the evolution†¦show more content†¦TV provided only black and white images until the first color TV was released on the market in 1953. Of all the information communication devices created in the Information Age, TV had, and remains to have, the greatest impact on society (www.vislab ). Furthermore, TV is the most passive of all the information communication devices of the information age in that it employs only one-way communication (www.vislab). It is interesting to note that computers were invented in the 1930s, around the same time as TVs; however, the two technologies are just recently beginning to meld together. Once TVs hit the marketplace, the job of TV technology innovation shifted from traditional scientific research to the research and development departments of the corporate arena (www.mit.edu). As consumers demand continuous advancements in TV technology, TVs and TV accessories will necessarily become increasingly sophisticated and capable of processing a larger amount and a greater variety of information. The only way to practically achieve these capabilities is to utilize digital technology, therefore, we are on the cusp of a revolution in the TV marketplace; a revolution that will likely result in the merging of TV with traditional, computer t echnology and information systems (digital technology). Current TrendsShow MoreRelatedNeil Postman s Exploration Of This Issue1737 Words   |  7 Pageshow information was obtained and current issues were discussed prior to this century they come to find that the contrast between now and then is so outstanding. It’s completely clear why many people aren’t aware of what has been happening. The reason the difference is so profound is because our discourse has gradually been dumbed-down since the beginning of the information era, and people are treating the serious issues that arise as entertainment. The most powerful culprit being television, hasRead MoreThe As A Visual And Television Culture1209 Words   |  5 Pagesthe age of typography to the age of visual media and how it has greatly impacted the American culture. Postman points out several reasons to support his opinion that the transition has indeed proven to have a negative effect on the American people. How did, what was once almost entirely a typographical culture, become so completely a visual and television culture? Postman begins explaining this transition by first describing what life in the 1800’s looked like. â€Å"Until the 1840’s, information couldRead More Psychology Of Television Essay923 Words   |  4 Pages Psychology of Television nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Today many people think that television is the cause of violence in todayamp;#8217;s youth. Many have pondered that television disturbs traditions as well as interferes with the minds of adolecened children who can not yet comprehend the truth of fiction and reality. Thus television has become a widely talked about controversy, mainly because of the fatal incidents that have been occurring during the past couple of years. Questions are beingRead MoreThe World Of The Age Of Medi Entertainment And Relevancy985 Words   |  4 PagesLiving in the Age of Media: Entertainment and Relevancy The significant presence of electronic media has gradually become a crisis of society’s problems. Though it seems to go unnoticed by most, the obtainment of our information that we are receiving is a mere means of entertainment thanks to the universalization of media and television. Postman discusses the consequences of living in a technologically advanced age by discussing four aspects of society that are most affected: the news, religionRead MoreTelevision - Friend or Foe?1630 Words   |  7 PagesTelevision – Friend or Foe Communications technology is expanding through the entire global community. Children everywhere are born into a world of images and messages. In society today storytellers are rarely parents, grandparents, and teachers, but instead there are a handful of tar-away forces with something to sell. The media has become part of our culture as well as our identity. There are many different kinds of media, which comes in many different forms. For example, television, radioRead MoreThe Effects Of Television And Video Game Violence On Children899 Words   |  4 Pagesfollowing paper will examine the negative effects of television and video game violence on children who watch and play these games. Speculation as to the causes of the recent mass shootings in American schools and other public places motivated me to pay more attention to violence on television and in video games and write this paper. Most of these horrible attacks on innocent people occurred by a teenager or young adult. Flipping through television channels, I started paying attention to what typeRead More1984 By George Orwell Literary Analysis1625 Words   |  7 Pagesas their information overload desensitized the public into acquiescing this seemingly friendly, but not any less damaging, worldview. As the world enters a new age of modern technology, many of Huxley’s notions are beginning to become more realistic, rather than Orwell’s fears of cultural oppression. Throughout Amusing Ourselves to Death, author Neil Postman speaks in favor of Huxley’s prophetic vision of the future of popular culture and public discourse by explaining how television has vastlyRead MoreThe Visual Arts, Technology, And Philosophy1683 Words   |  7 PagesOne may wonder how much did The Information Age really contribute to society and, more specifically, the visual arts, technology, and philosophy. The Information Age, as defined by Gloria K. Fiero, is â€Å"dominated by radical changes in th e technology of communication and the way we receive and process information† (Fiero, 476). The Information Age paved the way for several brilliant artists to not only share their work, but create their work. Artists, such as Andy Warhol, expressed their artistic abilitiesRead MoreSocialization As A Function Of Media1561 Words   |  7 Pagesmediums that project news and information, greatly affect what and how we learn about the world around us. In particular, television has become the outlet with the greatest socialization impact in its influence on young viewers. The distribution of information has become a part of the process by which people learn about societal values and behaviors and come to understand cultural expectations. Through entertainment and news programming, mass media such as television have become powerful influencesRead More The Social Benefits of Mass Communication Essay1729 Words   |  7 Pagesbreaths life into this organism called the mass media machi ne. From the earliest time periods in human history mass media was communicated through â€Å"word of mouth,† and it was that very relationship that spawned small town gossip in the middle ages , where information like what the local lord was doing and if he was hanging anyone that week for insubordination. Word of mouth continued until the invention of the printing press in 1436 when the news of the town could be told and recorded forever. A present-day