TV is a bad influence

Thanks for joining I will refute my opponents points and move on to mine "bviously, it does influence people well, or good. Now my opponent, will say, that is not what I am debating, bad, he did not say negative, he said bad, so it is a good at influencing people." I provide the definition of influence:the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself : the influence of television violence | I was still under the influence of my parents | their friends are having a bad influence on them. • the power to shape policy or ensure favorable treatment from someone, esp. through status, contacts, or wealth : the institute has considerable influence with teachers. • a person or thing with such a capacity or power : Frank was a good influence on her. • archaic Physics electrical or magnetic induction. verb [ trans. ] have an influence on : social forces influencing criminal behavior. PHRASES under the influence informal affected by alcoholic drink; drunk : he was charged with driving under the influence. DERIVATIVES influenceable adjective influencer noun ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from medieval Latin influentia ‘inflow,' from Latin influere, from in- ‘into' + fluere ‘to flow.' The word originally had the general sense [an influx, flowing matter,] also specifically (in astrology) [the flowing in of ethereal fluid (affecting human destiny).] The sense [imperceptible or indirect action exerted to cause changes] was established in Scholastic Latin by the 13th cent., but not recorded in English until the late 16th cent. Thesaurus influence noun 1 the influence of parents on their children effect, impact; control, sway, hold, power, authority, mastery, domination, supremacy; guidance, direction; pressure. 2 a bad influence on young girls example to, (role) model for, guide for, inspiration to. 3 political influence power, authority, sway, leverage, weight, pull, standing, prestige, stature, rank; informal clout, muscle, teeth. verb 1 bosses can influence our careers affect, have an impact on, impact, determine, guide, control, shape, govern, decide; change, alter, transform. 2 an attempt to influence the jury sway, bias, prejudice, suborn; pressure, coerce; dragoon, intimidate, browbeat, brainwash; informal twist someone's arm, lean on, put ideas into one's head. Moving on to my points: Sitting passively in front of the television leads to weight gain, increasing the chances of diabetes in children and heart disease in adults POINT SUPPORT: Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. STATISTIC: There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease. Each day, approximately 4,110 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States. Since 1987 the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent, while the death rates due to heart disease, stroke, and cancer have declined. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 224,092 deaths in 2002 Television programs model undesirable behavior such as drug and alcohol use or unhealthy relationships. POINT SUPPORT: Television shows kids to take drugs and to have unhealthy relationships when they always show the hero of the show having these. There is always one show that shows the cool kid smoking or the jock breaking up with his girlfriend, why should we let our kids see this and influence them to this behavior? STATISTIC: In one year 646,713 people died from drug abuse and it all started with TV. Kids would see shows where the hero would be smoking or drinking and then want to be like him and take drugs, why should we encourage this kind of behavior? This drop in verbal communication skills to an increase in television watching among youth at the expense of communication with their parents or other adults. POINT SUPPORT: Research indicates that students may be less able to engage in formal descriptions of events or objects than their peers in the past. Dr. Rosemary Sage of the University of Leicester's School of Education attributes STATISTIC: The average American watches television for more than four hours a day. A recent study found that children 6 months to 6 years old spend on average 2 hours a day watching television, using a computer or playing a video game. That is three times as long as they spend reading or being read to. As you see they drop most communication with other adults just to watch TV and play videogames. They do 3 times as much playing as they do reading with their parents. PEOPLE ARE LETTTING THE NATION KNOW ABOUT TV POINT SUPPORT: Conan O'Brien, host of the acclaimed Late Night with Conan O'Brien with shows like The Simpson's and Saturday Night Live on his resume, is a man who knows a thing or two about television. A year or so ago, in an interview with Charlie Rose, he said that he felt we were now living in TV's Golden Age. The writing was better than it had ever been, the production values were excellent and the acting superb but now the amount of viewers has gone down drastically. STATISTIC: And yet, recent estimates suggest that TV viewer ship in America is down by more than 2.5 million this year compared to last. People are voting with their feet. It's been fun debating you, Thanks,