RESOLVED: Television has had more positive effects than negative

1. Public Health a) "Prolonged Television Viewing…" Harvard School of Public Heal (6-11). "For each additional two hours of TV viewing per day, the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality increased by 20, 15, and 13 percent respectively. Based on disease incidence in the United States, Hu and Grï¿½ntved estimated that among 100,000 individuals per year, each 2-hour increment in TV viewing per day was associated with 176 new cases of type 2 diabetes, 38 new cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 new cases of all-cause mortality." With over 300 million Americans, this amounts to 312,000 premature deaths per year directly attributable to television. Additionally, consider the huge economic impact of treating 528000 cases of diabetes and 114000 cases of cardiovascular disease. b) Health related TV shows misportray the realities of medicine. Shows instill unrealistic expectations that discourage long term health goals. Additionally, these shows are often used to market pharmaceuticals. This profit driven advocacy of pharmaceuticals is problematic since the patient's health is not the primary interest and the advocacy is not balanced with real expectations of the drug's performance. In a study for the Kaiser Family Foundation "The ‘Reality' of Health": "Reality shows may provide inaccurate or unhealthy information to viewers (for example, showcasing multiple plastic surgeries or more rapid weight loss than most experts would recommend). It is one thing to inspire and provide encouragement, yet another to foster the unrealistic expectations implied by many RTV shows. Watching somebody on The Biggest Loser drop 100 pounds in weeks may give the impression that it is a realistic and safe goal, when it is in fact neither. Viewers who see people accomplish such dramatic results may become disheartened if they can't duplicate them, and as a result such people may be less likely to commit to the long-term and much more gradual changes that are recommended by health professionals… Health-based reality shows also offer another opportunity for "stealth" marketing, with pharmaceutical companies and others placing messages in programming and on related websites. Some shows may also feed into the notion of a "magical" solution to the public's unmet health needs, by ignoring the sociopolitical context of medicine and health care." 2. Civic Disengagement a) The Civic Ideal Television in its present state in the US is antithetical to an engaged public citizenry. I posit the civic ideal: Citizens that are civically informed and active. This means citizens are aware of the issues that affect their communities and actively pursue the betterment of these communities. The civic ideal is crucial to a successful democracy- it teaches the character traits and knowledge needed to prevent democratic stagnation. (J.B. Watson, Austin State University, "A Justification of the Civic Engagement Model,") "The civic engagement of ordinary citizens with voluntary associations, social institutions, and government in local communities is a central feature of strong democracies. Further, a fundamental feature of democratic governmental structure is its relationship to civil society, defined as "voluntary social activity not compelled by the state" … Through voluntary participation in civil society associations at the local and regional level, citizens pursue activities that potentially serve the public good. Through this rudimentary civic engagement, citizens learn the attitudes, habits, skills, and knowledge foundational to the democratic process-(Patrick, 1998). Unfortunately, in 1998 the National Commission on Civic Renewal (NCCR) highlighted the declining quantity and quality of civic engagement at all levels of American life. A number of other studies concur on the decline of involvement in civic activities (Bahlmueller, 1997; McGrath, 2001; Putnam, 1995)." b) The key to solving this political disenfranchisement is civic engagement- active participation in the political system in order to reclaim a sense of ownership over politics on a global and local level. Civic Engagement doesn't just mean voting- it means participating in political dialogue and picking up the shovel to improve your community. The passive reception of political information from TV is radically opposed to Civic Engagement. c) TV News uniquely causes political cynicism when compared to print media: (Matthijs Elenbaas, Amsterdam School of Communications Research, "The Effects of Strategic News…" 2008) "We found that exposure to the main national evening television news bulletins, the public NOS (b = .12, p, .01) and private RTL (b = .08, p, .05), yielded signiﬁcant positive associations with political cynicism. In contrast, both the Nova and the press exposure measures proved insigniﬁcant cynicism predictors" d) Furthermore, the immediate and fast paced nature of TV news that Pro cites as an advantage is directly responsible for compassion fatigue- the exhaustion of an individual's ability to identify with global problems and maintain focus on any given political conflict. Compassion fatigue is caused by the bombardment of images of suffering and disaster and results in fatalistic apathy. (Keith Tester, Uni Portsmouth "Compassion, Morality, and the Media") "Compassion fatigue means becoming so used to the spectacle of dreadful events, misery, or suffering that we stop noticing them. We are bored when we see one more tortured corpse on the television screen and we are left unmoved as soon as we realize that the earthquake in Taiwan killed fewer people than…in Turkey. Compassion fatigue means being left exhausted and tired by those reports and ceasing to think that anything at all can be done to help…Compassion fatigue means certain fatalism. It leads to the conclusion that this is just the way things are and nothing can be done that will make a difference. Compassion fatigue tells us that giving money to help famine relief in Ethiopia will do nothing to stop the starvation next time…" f) Finally, TV directly trades off with time that could be spent engaging in activities that could benefit the community. Time expenditure is zero-sum- there are only 24 hours in a day and every hour you spend watching TV is an hour you could have spent volunteering at a soup kitchen or petitioning for a political cause. Americans spend on average 2.7 hours, or over 50% of leisure time, watching television (US Dept. of Labor 6/22/2011). This accounts for more than any other leisure time activity- notably reading, which takes up about 6 min. of an average American's day. Television amounts to a huge drain on society's civic capital. Con's case: 3. News/Disasters a)This argument directly supports my disengagement argument. b)Pro has offered no argument for how TV uniquely improves our ability to respond to disasters- his only claim is it could give viewers "possibly useful information." c)Political systems like FEMA and Americorps are much more important to effectively responding to natural disasters, and these depend on a healthy democracy. My disengagement argument is therefore more relevant. 4. Education: a)Research actually shows that television hinders the development of young children: (Children's Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes, Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005) "Using data from a nationally representative data set…There are modest adverse effects of television viewing before age 3 years on the subsequent cognitive development of children. These results suggest that greater adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that children younger than 2 years not watch television is warranted." b)Pro should take a look at the shows on channels he calls "educational:" 1-11 pm History Channel: American Pickers and Top Shot – 10 hours of antiques and guns. Discovery Channel: 4 hours of American Chopper and a mix of shows about antiques and guns.