Television/ Cable

     I had the pleasure to sit down with my grandmother, Mrs. Carol again, and talk to her about cable television. We talked about what television was like for her growing up and how it is different for her today!
    
    Carol recalled to me her first personal interaction that she remembers with television. She told me that she remembers being very excited about the people on the screen, who turned out to be dancing. The dancing figures on the screen made her want to get up and dance and join in on the fun that they seemed to be having. Carol told me that television had a bigger impact on her because she could physically see what was going on instead on trying to visualize or listen to it. This statement in particular made me think of how television does have a big impact today, especially on teens and younger age groups. At those time frames of life, people are more likely to be influenced by what they see on the screen.

     Unlike the radio and the vinyl record player, the television set resided in a different part of the home. The television was put in her parents' bedroom. So, if Carol and her siblings wanted to watch TV, they had to go into their parents room to watch it. Because the TV was in that specific location, Carol and her siblings couldn't watch TV very often like they would have liked. Carol told me that because of this reason they used the radio and/or vinyl record player quite often. I thought of how today, we practically have a TV in every bedroom, while there was only one TV in the household. Technology has really boomed over the years.

 





     Carol told me that their overall viewing experience with TV went well. It became one of many ways that they bonded as a family. She told me that they always watched TV together as a family so their parents could censor what they saw. Carol said they weren't allowed to see any sexually explicit content, violence, and some degrees of racism. I can relate to my grandmother because my mom censored me from those things as well growing up. Carol said that TV now is greatly different that TV today. She said that she was appauled at the fact that there is more sexually explicit content and violence shown on TV today.

     As of today, Carol still watches TV. She does not use DVR or have any television programming online accounts, such as Netflix, Hulu, etc. She did admit that whenever one of her children come over to spend time with her, they will watch a movie or TV series on Netflix. TV has definitely changed over the last few decades in terms of content and censorship. What people see on TV today impacts how they live their lives forever.