Critical Viewing of Television

Abstract

Television provides people in technological societies with information of a completely different character than any other media. Compared to the activities of reading or normal interaction with our environment, the act of watching television is characterized by very little cognitive involvement of the viewer. Whether it is advertisements, sitcoms or even educational programming, the way that television is used to convey information inhibits the viewer's ability to critically challenge the information they are receiving. I propose two possibilities for television viewers to overcome this impediment to cognition - the first is to develop a personal means of facilitating a critical evaluation of the information presented on television, sometimes called critical viewing. The second possibility emerges from further advancements in technology where the viewer is enabled to take a more controlling and interactive role in the information they are receiving.