One thing we truly love other than eating and sleeping is watching television. In this age of advancing technology, the television industry has also undergone many modifications. This means we get to see many variations in TV models that allow us to enjoy astonishing features and incredible picture quality. The outstanding cable TV plans and channel line-ups, on the other hand, give us access to a variety of content of our choice. With providers like Cox cable TV, you always have a tempting range of cable TV plans and bundle offers at your disposal. Let’s see the Social Effects of Cable Television.
This increased variety and greater customization features enable people to enjoy all their favorite channels and TV shows at a more budget-friendly rate. Hence, the cable TV industry has been growing ever since its emergence. Given the significant role of cable television in our lives, and how it finds its place at the center of every American household, let’s not undermine its massive social impacts.
The fact is, you are what you watch. This means that the content you engage in, and the quality of shows you watch, molds your mindset and influences your thought process. It has an impact on your cognitive abilities, as well. Adults are still skeptical about the content they are watching, but children are not. As much as high-quality educational programs and channels can boost the learning and enhance their knowledge, any inappropriate or disturbing content can cause much harm to them.
Studies have shown that TV watching habits compete with the other main sources of human interaction including chatting with friends or family when it comes to developing your cognitive abilities and mindset. It also influences your beliefs and ideas about people, politics, culture, and the world around you.
So, without further ado, let’s look closely at the various social effects of cable television on the American culture:
Depiction of Racial Minorities
Back in the day, a majority of the actors were usually Caucasian. Be it sports, TV shows, news programs, or commercials, Caucasians dominated the TV landscape and were considered normal and appealing. The minorities, on the other hand, that appeared in various TV shows were usually in the form of any negative characters. For example, everyone knows that African Americans were mainly seen in the roles of servants or gangsters, while the Anglo-Americans took up heroic roles, like warriors, or leaders, etc. But with the growing awareness regarding racial discrimination, voices were raised regarding the absence of minority characters and roles on television. Thus, there was an increase in minority appearances as a result of various protests and campaigns for race equality, and consequently, the color barrier started to break.
Women’s Share of Cable TV
As far as the portrayal of female characters and women characters is concerned, we see a mixed record. The fact that as much as half of the American population is based on women, there ought to be more representation and appearance of a woman in the form of a more inspiring, strong, and empowered character on American TV. We have always mainly seen strong male characters being featured in police dramas, detective series, science fiction series, or superhero roles. These kinds of dramas almost always lack female leads or less regular female characters involved. Their appearances are mainly confined to the tragic roles of struggling housewives or crying mothers. But the rise of cable TV in recent times has seen an uplift of female leads and more interesting characters where women are seen playing more diverse and challenging roles with sheer brilliance. Even in sports, we have seen woman commentators making their way to the announcers’ booth.
Concept of American Family on Cable TV
Cable TV has always been considered the main form of family entertainment. It is more like a custom for American families to gather around the television and sit together in their lounge to enjoy their favorite TV show in the evening and relax. Meanwhile, it is a perfect way of bonding with each other and sharing some quality time. Therefore, the fictional TV families influence the real American families as they showcase their lifestyles, beliefs, and values on the screen. So, positive content in this regard can have a pleasant influence on the entire family and they can learn good moral values together, particularly when it comes to staying in one unit to fight against hardships and supporting each other in the highs and lows.
Wrapping Up
Cable TV has seen major improvements in recent times, in terms of wider coverage and better quality content to make a more positive impact on the lives of people. TV programs are made more versatile and flexible to cater to new cultures and depict an improved representation of various minorities and women, wherein lies the social impact of cable TV.
