What’s Dumbing Down America/4 Problems Media Depicts Poor People

While reading the chapter in our textbook, I found it interesting that adults consume more TV than teens and children.  The author also states how Sesame Street is technically a bad show for children to watch, due to the fact it makes them tired or hyper.  Although, kids look away from the TV 40-60% of the time.  As a result, they are not watching a show continuously since numerous children have short attention spans.  I don’t think that TV is “dumbing down America,” since kids are using different forms of media for entertainment.  For instance, texting has become main stream in the past years.  However, the average texting age is 38.  I found that age to be immensely higher than I thought it would be.  Ultimately, it seems that adults are having more difficulty with TV usage as well as texting.

The 4 problems with the way media depicts poor people stood out to me.  I didn’t realize that TV shows and news programs rarely mention the poor at all.  They are the ones who are struggling the most, and the media is trying to hide it.  Many individuals are born into poverty; as a result, it is difficult to come out of.  I think if the media puts out stories of helping the poor, than people may have a more positive outlook about them.  To sum up, the media is misrepresenting the poor by making them out to be horrible people who choose to live that lifestyle.