By: Megan Rolfson
Within the last 100 years America and other countries have spent a vast amount of money on televisions. When the TV first came out, it was a privilege for homes to have and now it’s practically a necessity. Due to this “necessity” even with economic drops America has had in the last decade the demand for TV’s have gone up.
Television companies such as Toshiba, Vizio, LG, and many other well known brands, have redesigned their television models. With the newly developed models they have become higher quality and more efficient, which makes the price go up. Even with a rise in price people of America still are purchasing the product because it’s a social norm to have this piece of technology in homes.
The acting industry has also helped this rise in the demand for televisions. With channels, shows, and movies people have become in essence dependent on them and they form a habitual attachment to that specific program.
Other technologies of this era help create a desire and need for a television such as Xboxes, PS2’s and PS3’S, and the Wii. With kids now a day’s, these game systems cannot be used without a TV and what better way to play video games than on a 70 inch LCD flat screen?
Lastly, the people of America are a bit more egoistical than perhaps other areas of the world or America in the past. It’s important to some people be modern with all belongings including the one thing that is in almost every home.
I do agree that Americans are trying to stay modern, and the thought of someone not owning a T.V would be out of the normal. Also you do bring up a good point that people with Wii's and T.V shows also promote sales for T.V in hindsight. Thus resembling a circular flow or relationship between the two. For example, say that the prices of T.V's rise drastically and people were unable to afford them anymore, which would result in a decline in the amount of people buying Xbox (etc); therefore, resembling a domino effect.
ReplyDeletePractically everyone I know has a T.V. and it would be extremely strange if someone did not have at least one T.V. in their home. What I have realized is that are general form of entertainment has been strongly influenced by the invention of television. It practically can amuse any individual because their are a multitude of different channels to pick from: music, drama, adventure and etc. With the T.V. maintaining its popularity throughout the century, individuals have made it become part of their culture practically. The one thing that may scare me in the future is over exposure to technology because some individuals may not realize how much time they spend using technology and will easily waste their entire day away. Time for several individuals has been faster than those who lived in the past because on average technology is used for at least four hours a day. Yes, having T.V. may maintain our economy, but its addictive power to entertain the common people may overthrow how important other things are in life as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting that television has become such a necessity for households. I mean, I can understand that cell phones create easier contact, and computers make work more efficient, but television, at least to me, seems to be mostly recreational. Like Tyler, I really don't like the dependency that America has developed upon electronics. Yes, it's part of natural development and the constant human want for something more, but sometimes it seems like our priorities have become messed up. Why can't we just be content with what we have? Why do we always have to find a way to do less work or to get ahead of other countries? There are better ways that people could spend money besides on a television (especially on multiple). There are better ways that people could spend time besides on the couch watching their favorite shows. In this day and age, technology seems to be both a blessing and a curse.
ReplyDeleteTV's have become an important part of our culture. Even with access to the internet, televisions are still a huge source of entertainment and information. Late night news shows and comedy talk shows are commanding huge audiences. Although the rise in popularity of netflix and hulu have converted many away from the ripoff that is cable or satellite television, there are many things those websites and apps cannot replace. Live television is something netflix and hulu will probably never have over televisions. Live sporting events, and concerts are something only accessed through attending the event, your television or, in a small numbers, on the internet. Although many alternative to television exist, not many jump at the chance to switch. Television has become engrained in our society, we have become dependent on those rectangular boxes that shout stuff at us.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, having a tv has become very important in our society. Everyone that I know has at least one TV in their house, and many people have multiple TV's. There is a ton of talk of peoples' favorite shows and movies, and is even something that people bond over. The dependence is also growing, with more and more children watching TV, instead of playing outside, or playing with their toys. I think we need to have more programs that help convince kids to get outside and exercise more, what do you think should be done?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the television as become an inelastic necessity. Almost every family has at least one television is their home. Some families have multiple televisions in their house. I think you bring up a great point about exercising Katlyn. Most of the kids I babysit want to stay inside and watch television when they should be going outside and exercising more.
ReplyDeleteThe TV has basically become a necessity, and most people rely on it for one reason or another. Some people own a TV for entertainment, and others own a TV for news or other information. Because of this, almost every family owns at least one TV, and most families have more than one. Now, with more and more shows, people are getting more addicted to TV's, especially children. While it is good for the economy that people are buying the TV's, many other toy companies may be seeing a decrease in sales because kids would rather watch TV instead of playing with other toys. So, because of how dependent we have become on TV's the overall economy will grow from all of these TV purchases, but certain companies, like toy companies, and parts of the economy will be negatively impacted.
ReplyDeleteBasically every household has at least one TV, whether it be a flat screen or the ones where you have to walk up to it to change channel, volume, etc. The demand for TV's has increased a lot since the very first one was invented and continues to increase as they come out with newer technology for TV's like being 3D. A lot of households have a TV in the main living/family room, one in each bedroom, and sometimes even have smaller TV's in their kitchens. The demand for TV's beyond their original location is increasing to places where TV's were never intended to be put. TV's aren't exactly cheap, the bigger the screen, the more expensive they become. And that's not including its 3D ability or whatever the next big thing is for TV's.
ReplyDeleteThe T.V. is unique because it is a gift that keeps giving. It started out as a big box that displays pictures, and now is a motion-detecting, HD, 3D sensation. There will continue to be new advancements in the television industry which will, as a result, help the economy grow. Like you said, Megan, people will always fall for buying the newest, biggest T.V.
ReplyDeletePriorities today are kind of screwy. Even if a family is struggling to put food on the table, they have a TV. The average American family has just under 3 TV's per household. According to my dad everything on TV is "crap" anyways, so why does everyone have one?
ReplyDeleteConsidering how one might look at it a T.V. can be considered to be a necessity and has become one of the most common things to see in a household no matter what kind of television that it might be. It helps to provide news and information as well as a big use for just simple entertainment. Seeing a household without a T.V. would be considered rather strange and questioned as to why one would not have least one. It is interesting to see where our necessities lie especially with the ever grown demand, production and ultimate 'consumption' of technology. Having the newest phone or game system or even T.V. has become a common thing and need among the people. So television has become an important aspect in just about anyone's life in the world.
ReplyDeleteI find this topic quite interesting. Since almost every home in America has a television set, it is nice to see, even though they are thought to be a necessity by most folks, what the future of television sets is going to be. Many people fall in hopes of buying that really big, high definition television when the new generations are right around the corner. The top companies, like you stated, LG, Vizio, Toshiba and others like Sony and Samsung have already announced and released their tier one television sets. These things offer an ultra high definition experience, which is supposed to be 4 times the quality of modern televisions. With that said, the price points on these are ridiculous, most in the tens of thousands of dollars. I’m just wondering where this industry will take us in the next decade or so.
ReplyDeleteYes, the television really has become a necessity. And not even just a necessity, but the TV used to be elastic. Now it has become inelastic for the most part. Not that everybody would buy a TV if prices were to rise drastically, but with price increases people are still bound to buy a TV. Television are also advancing in technology amazingly making the prices rise and people still buy them of course. For instance, the 3D TV came out not too long ago and now they are slowly popping up in peoples houses across the US. All in all, the TV has now become something almost every home has.
ReplyDeleteTV has definitely become a "necessity" in America's society. And it also doesn't look like the demand for it will be lowering any time soon either. We have become much too dependent on a product with each year that goes by. The TV has become a basic tool in almost everyone's home become it can easily be used for many many things. You used the example of Wii's, PS3's, and PS2's. But there is so much more. You could easily plug a Blueray player in and be connected to Netflix in just seconds. It is a building block to almost every piece of technology that we have nowadays.
ReplyDelete