The Collapse of the American Family: Is Television to Blame?

Television and the effects it has on individuals and society as a whole seems to be a constant source of research and debate. In Marie Winn's essay "Television: the Plug-In Drug," the author clearly states her opinion on the negative effects she believes that TV viewing has had on the framework of the American family. The central theme of her account of how television has played a key role in the decline of family relationships is that television viewing monopolizes the free time that a family used to spend interacting with each other, therefore weakening the fabric of what could be an engaged and interactive family (Winn, 2007). On the surface, Winn's claims seem to hold a great deal of merit, but the question remains: Is the decline the American family a result of excessive television influence or is the high rate of viewing a result of the decline of the family?

The first television to be introduced in the United States was a mechanical version of the modern day electronic version we are all familiar with. This happened in the late 1920's and was followed by several advancements ending in the introduction of the commercial television that was made available to the public around 1941 (Genova, 2001). These dates are significant to the opinion of TV that Marie Winn has, when you take into account the fact that she was born in 1936. Winn lived through the birth of television and was therefore present during pre and post television America. This fact alone might contribute to her bias against television.

Throughout the history of our country, social changes have often been a source of contention between those of us who were here before the change occurred and those of us who were not present until after the change was complete. While the modern day opinion of many would coincide with the notion that excessive television may contribute to families spending less time together, there are a undoubtedly a large number of people who may agree that television is indeed something that can bring people closer together.

Growing up I spent a great deal of time at my neighbor's house. They were a very close and well functioning family. Almost everyday they would gather together and watch the game show Jeopardy on TV. They not only enjoyed this time together, but I can only assume that the presence of this television show did not take any time away from them as a family. On the contrary, I am fairly certain that without it, they would have all occupied this time doing other things individually.

My brother and I had a very close relationship growing up, and we remain very dear friends today. As kids, we would anxiously sit together and watch Saturday morning cartoons. This was a special time for us and our relationship. We would watch, talk, laugh, and play. We always looked forward to this time that we spent together as children; to this day I know we both hold those mornings eating cereal together watching cartoons as fond memories of our childhood.

Winn herself states, "Of course television has not been the only factor in the decline of family life in America. The steadily rising divorce rate, the increase on the number of working mothers, the trends towards people moving far away from home, the breakdown of neighborhoods and communities..." (Winn, 357). Morals and ideals are constantly changing, shifting, and being put to the test. Commonly accepted modern day practices such as divorce were far more taboo in the past. Women were homemakers with little or no prospects of careers or social standing, often staying home to care for the children. These are only a few examples of changes that have occurred in society that have contributed to, or perhaps caused the decline of the modern day family.

Television has since its birth, been the focus of a large amount of negative criticism. This is more or less a "chicken or the egg" argument. It is hard to say which came first. Is excessive television leading to the decline of family, or is this decline leading families to excessive television watching due to the lack of family relationships.

If you do choose to believe that large amounts of television viewing causing the decline of families across America, then perhaps you can at least agree that television itself is not to blame. It is impossible to determine what the relationships of families would be had the television never been invented.

It is important to consider that television can arguably have some very positive effects. It entertains us. It can make us think and feel. It can expand our horizons in ways that pre-television society probably never imagined; educating us and allowing us to see things that are a world away at the click of a button.

It goes without saying that the average person probably does watch television more than they should. The fact that Winn refers to television as a drug in the title of her essay is something that most people could undoubtedly agree with. It seems to be part of modern day human nature for people to overindulge ourselves in everyday things such as working, shopping, eating, watching television, surfing the internet, etc. We seem to have the ability to take everyday necessary actions and activities that are normal and can be positive, and make them seem negative by their disproportionate presence in our lives. Television may be the focus of more time than it should be in many people's lives, but considering all the other factors that are in contention with the development of strong relationships in contemporary families, excessive television viewing seems more like a symptom of a much larger problem, rather than the root cause.

Works Cited

"Faq-Frequently Asked Questions." Television History- The First 75 Years 9 April

2002 http://www.tvhistory.tv/index.html

Winn, Marie. "Television: The Plug-In Drug." Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 10^th ed. Eds. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007: 351-8.