Assignment 5:Sara Ueland

Personally, I do not spend a lot of time watching television. I mainly watch sports or big events like the World Cup and Olympics. When I do watch TV, I am either beyond bored, or too tired to do anything else. And what sounds better to an American than sitting on your lazy bottom and doing absolutely nothing?  TV is mainly used to kill time or watch the news for information that is not always reliable.

I am not a big fan of watching TV because growing up we had 1 television for 7 people and being the youngest did not help my chances for watching Pretty Little Liars every week. Thankfully, my parents regulated our screen time to no TV during weekdays and 2 hours on weekends. While I resented them for placing this absurd rules, I am now grateful because it got me off my arse and spending more time outside.

While I hate to admit it, I have watched cringe worthy teenage shows like the Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars. These shows are purely for entertainment and are the epitome of hot dog water.  Today reality TV is toxic and sends bad messages to children. Can you really find your life-long mate on a television show full of planned situations and fake people? The problem with this is that we all know the premise behind it is corrupt, but we still watch it. Entertainment companies have mastered the art of manipulation and can draw in almost anyone.

I’m not saying that all television shows are awful and dishonest, but how are we supposed to know when people are being truthful or it is all a show just to gain attention?