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<title> Television- good or bad? </title>
There are not many homes in the industrialised world that do not include at least one television set. You often hear people comment that they would be much better off without television or that they are addicted to it. Some people feel it is a very important medium to receive information and to get new ideas while others believe it is detrimental to your health. Reflecting on these issues, you realise that there are both positive and negative effects from watching television.

Television as a means to provide people with information can be seen as both positive and negative. I think most people would agree that information in the form of news and documentaries are important and educating. When we are enlightened about what goes on in the world and in our own country we can also act for or against these things in one way or another to make a difference. However, we cannot really know weather what we see and hear is true or not. I am convinced that some of the information we receive has been twisted for us to sympathise with one side or another. Now that computer animation has become very advanced we face the danger of being totally deceived. There are already techniques to make video clips of people that were actually never filmed. Photos of a person can be animated to make that person look like he or she is speaking and moving. For entertainment and even educational purposes these techniques can probably be useful. Information tends to be more interesting and stick better in our minds when several senses are stimulated at the same time. Pictures, text and sounds on the television screen can help us create a positive atmosphere for learning. 

If we are to use television both for entertainment and educational purposes we need to look at the health aspects of doing so. Too much time spent in front of the television is damaging to our health in many respects. Just sitting down watching makes us both passive and physically unfit and I sincerely believe that the multitude of images in very short sequences will shorten our attention spans in the long run. We get used to everything happening really fast and outside in the "real world" it is not always like that. Besides, there is a risk that watching too much television will make people neglect, voluntarily or not, other important work that has to be done and some even use television to repress a problem instead of dealing with it, which I would call very unhealthy. On the contrary, comedy shows in a moderate amount can have a positive effect since laughter is said to prolong your life. 

Apart from comedy shows there are other programmes to enjoy, programmes that affect your creativity. Travelling, cooking and home decorating tips shown on television can work as a good source of inspiration and challenge you to try new and creative ideas. Often these things seem very simple on the screen while they take some practise in real life, but once you get started you may develop a new creative hobby. Unfortunately, I believe that most people who watch these shows do not actually use the ideas they get from them. Creativity in general probably diminishes because you choose to watch rather than do. How many people do not end up in front of the television after dinner when having guests instead of socialising? However when you choose to socialise with family or friends, you can always use programmes as foundation for discussions and such discussions may impact your creativity in a positive way.

From personal experience and from what I hear people say, television is abused and takes up too much of our time. There are many negative effects but in moderate doses, and if you choose carefully what you watch, television can be very useful.
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