Television is dangerous because it destroys family life and any sense of community; instead of visiting people or talking with our family we just watch television. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Ever since

television

became a core part of family life nearly 70 years ago, its usage has been the target of various attacks. While some people have focused on the physical or mental effects, I strongly concur with one of the most prevalent arguments about televisions decimating our sense of family and

community

since they discourage communication. On the one hand, there is little doubt that in moderation,

TV

can keep or even strengthen social connections as people can use it as a common topic to talk about. Unfortunately,

television

is rarely watched in moderation, which means its effects on social relationships are highly damaging.

For example

, rather than spending an evening socializing or doing some other social activity, the average family watches three hours of

TV

.

That is

to say, it adds up to twenty-one hours over the course of a week, which is nearly an entire day’s worth of

time

in front of the

television

that could have been spent interacting with the family or

community

.

This

acts as a stimulus for rising tensions and distances among one's social circles, in turn diminishing an individual's sense of

community

.

On the other hand

, it is

also

feasible to observe the serious repercussions of excessive

TV

usage by comparing it to other potential alternative

activities

like outdoor

activities

or even board games. Similar to

television

, these

activities

are primarily for entertainment purposes.

However

, both open-air pursuits and board games tend to be incredibly social and are almost an antithesis of quiet

TV

time

.

Thus

, not only do we spend a long

time

watching

television

on average, but

this

type of leisure pursuit is

also

replacing more social forms of entertainment that would be better at establishing healthy relationships. In conclusion, as a tremendous amount of

time

is spent watching

TV

yearly

instead

of participating in social

activities

, I believe that the attacks on

TV

for impairing our social relations are justified. If we want to preserve our family and

community

bonds better in the future, we had better start searching for ways to remedy

this

pressing problem.