How Television Media Impact Society...

Television is not a luxury item again. Almost each house in Jakarta had television. Many private stations presented many programs, began at daybreak to dawn. According to one research, Indonesian resident finished 50 hours each week in front of the TV. Moreover, Indonesian children in general spent 4 till 5 hours in one day to watch TV. In holiday, that number increases until 10 hours a day. This fact can make we think how TV program become very potential media, not only to send information but also formed the people behaviors, both positive and negative, especially children. Could be imagined, the impact of television can influence people’s behavior, because of its special ability, can influence children’s behavior, and can loosened relationship between family members.

We can suspect that television can conjure up the community’s behaviors compared with the other mass media because it’s special ability. The special ability was the combination from the live sound and picture (the movement) that could be informative, entertainment, education, or even the combination of the three elements. A blog statement in www.ccc.1asphost.com reports that as the media audio visual, TV could attract 94 % the entry channel of the information in the spirit of humankind through the eyes and ears. Television was able to make people generally remember 50 % from what was seen and heard on television although it’s only presented once time or remember 85 % from what was seen in the TV 3 hours afterward and 65 % 3 days afterward (Dwyer).¹ For the easiest example, we know that things like the person's lament of hunger in Ethiopia and the crowded atmosphere of the campaign in the Hotel Indonesia’s roundabout appeared more live in the television screen. They only expressed well through the television broadcast, not through the newspaper or magazine.

Television can also influence children’s behavior. The child who did not yet have the high critical power, but spent many time to watch the TV, have a big possibility to be affected by the contents. This will affect their attitude and could be brought when they are mature. Children can copy the violence action. For example, we often see the child who just watched the cowboy film, then he run to yard, and yelling “dor..dor..dor” with the toy pistol in hand. Children also copied several of the sadist scenes, and sensual, that shown on TV.

Finally, television can loosened relationship between family members. Most of children watched TV more than 4 hours a day so the time to chat with the other family member usually was “cut off”. For example, when we were children, we prefer spending much time to watch cartoon to telling our mom about what happen in our school. Its impact is very negative because we can loose many advices and the warmth of the family.

So, we must realize that what shown in the television screen not always in accordance with the reality. The parents should always accompany their child in watching television and give them explanation about the scene. Communication between parent and their child was demanded to be fluent in and had good quality. The value and religious teaching were made the living base in the family. The condition will become the fortress for the child in refining the relentlessness of the presentation of television.

1 http://ccc.1asphost.com/assalam/programtv/programtv.asp