Is Watching TV Make Us Smarter?

 In the article “Watching TV Makes Us Smarter” the writer Steven Johnson’s argues that watching TV in a way can develop our brains and improve our thinking skills. Johnson’s supported his main point by claiming that some dramas such as, 24 episodes, involves a lot of thinking to understand what is happening. He states that people need to pay attention, to make inferences and to keep a track of the shifting social relationships in order to make sense of any complex TV drama such as, 24 episodes. In other words, he wanted to say that watching TV puts our brains in charge and  make us think hard about what we are watching to connect the events and get the show’s point. Moreover, the author indicated that watching TV shows or playing video games can benefit different generations of people. For example, he mentioned that a parent and his kids can learn different technological skills or terms by watching a particular show or playing a specific video game.

         

Dana Stevens in “Thinking out Of the Idiot Box” is taking the opposite side of what Johnson’s think. She believes that watching TV cannot people smarter. She claims that people choose what they watch based on advertisement not on what is more suitable and beneficial for them. She thinks that this kind of shows just block people brains and make them dis-sociable and inactive in the community around them. It also make them addictive to watch more and more without thinking what is good for them. 

By Nour.