In my country, people have called television sets as 'fool's boxes' since it seems that people look like fools when they watch television, they think or say nothing. Variety of television shows make people unable to stop looking at the screens. Some people might believe that it has positive influence in entertaining people and relieving their stress, but I strongly believe that television has blocked the communication among family members; it has taken not only interests toward each other away, but also time to spend with family.
People are no more interested in family members but only interested in television shows. Television screens show us the images of beautiful actors and actresses, exotic countries, luxurious celebrities’ lives and other things which look more fascinating than our everyday lives. Consequently, people relish watching television screens with full of enjoyment and forget about their family members and do not ask them about how was their day. In the past, when there was no such thing, people were interested in each others’ lives with different experiences that they never had. However, since television shows almost every, or more things than incidents that can be experienced by individuals, people are more interested in the electric device rather than person itself.
Furthermore, people spend their whole free time in watching television. They love sitting on sofa, eating potato chips and watching films, commercial advertisements, and talk shows through small screens. They get rid of their stress by this passive hobby which takes time for exercise or meals with family. According to a study conducted by Seoul National University in this year, almost 80 percents of people in Korea watch television in their spare hours. Considering that other 20 percents are comprised of playing video games, reading books and so on, it shows that television has taken the biggest part for family communication in our lives. Therefore, people have less time to improve family relationship due to television watching.
In conclusion, ‘fool’s boxes’ have made us become ‘fools’ who value family less than electric devices. Television has given negative impacts on us since it has reduced our affection toward family members and time to spend with them. Therefore, we should be aware of watching too much television and giving less chance for family communication than the past. In this way, sooner or later, we will be able to get back the happy time with family.