Introduction
Technology and science are never separated with society. Always, the change in one (either science or society) triggers changes or advancement in another. Lenski (1998 as cited in Anderson and Taylor, 2007) believed that societal changes are triggered with the discovery of new technology. It changes every vital aspects of society such as religion, law, culture, institutions, and interactions. The television, for example, has a very influential effect to the world. It continuously alters culture and values and has affected social and psychological aspects of people’s lives. This paper will explore on the invention of television and will evaluate the different social effects and influences it has on US culture.
Inventing the Television
The creation of television was also at the same ear of the creation of transmitter for audio signals (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013). For almost a hundred years, inventors have researched different ways to transmit visual images. The invention of cathode ray tube and scanning disks in Britain in the 1880’s was one of the earliest versions of visual transmission. In part, inventors around the world were racing to invent a workable tele-visual transmitter. For example, a legal patent battle between Zworykin and Fransworth started in Russia and ended in US. In 1920’s, John Logie Braid, a Scottish inventor, was the first to explore regarding color television. He also held controversial public demonstrations in a London department store. Braid was also an active contributor in the explorations regarding transmitting television signal from London to New York (Abramson, 1987).
Before television was created, the development of photography came first. It became an important device for records and memory keeping for people. At the time of the invention of TV, people were already travelling and moving to places. During this time, wars were stretching the distances between loved ones. Thus, photography, letters, and radios were major communication modes among people (Williams, 2003). The two world wars also altered the way people live and the television was a great source of entertainment and stress reliever for all (Ibid). The social history of television was marked by multitudes of inventions and discovery in communication technologies. The increase in physical mobility among people and the expansion of science and society, paved way for the innovative television and the changing of the American culture.
Societal Effects of TV in US Culture
After WWII, 1% of the American population owns a television. A few years after that, the number grew up to 50% and by 1960’s almost 90% of the American population owns a television set (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013). In the early 1950s, the television was seen as an ‘electronic hearth’ where families bond together to watch the different shows aired. The establishment of this technological invention became a very influential tool to the US. Information released in televisions were more believable to people that information released in other media forms (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013), in part because they see it, rather than hearing it or reading about it only.
Accordingly, the onset of television comes with the promise of egalitarian and democracy at the time. Many believed that the TV will become an equalized especially between the literate and none-literate population. It is also affordable and has a great appeal across different kinds and classes of people (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013).
However, the television does not always have a positive effect. Many educators and parents are concerned with the content children sees in television. Serious concerns about violence, explicit images, or sexual innuendos were some of it (Srygley, 1978). There are also some literature pointing out the effects of television and fast-food adverts to the growing child obesity problem in America (Harris, Bargh and Brownwell, 2009). Nevertheless, the television has remained to be one of the most influential inventions, not only for the American society, but for the whole world.
References
Abramson, A. (1998). The invention of television. In A. Smith (Ed.), Television: An international history (pp. 9–21). New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/uricchio/Public/television/Abramson.pdf
Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2007). Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society (4th ed.). Belmont CA: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=bUcGAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Campbell, R., Martin, C., & Fabos, B. (2013). Media & culture: mass communication in a digital age. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin.
Harris, J. L., Bargh, J. A., & Brownell, K. D. (2009). Priming effects of television food advertising on eating eehavior. Health Psychology, 28(4), 404–4013. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2743554/
Srygley, S. K. (1978). Influence of mass media on today’s young people. Educational Leadership, 35(7), 526. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_197804_srygley.pdf
Williams, R. (2003). Technology and Society. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & N. Montfort (Eds.), The New Media Reader. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
