::::Television Final Version:::::

Since television was invented, it has attracted viewers with its fascinated program. It has been estimated that in developed countries, more than ninety per cent of household own at least one television set (Sharif 1999). Statistics show that full time workers in UK spent most of their leisure time on television, video and radio compared to other activities (UK Time Use Survey 2000). Issues have arisen whether television viewing is beneficial or harmful. Therefore, I strongly believe that television viewing brings more harms than benefits such as it affects the development of thinking, leads to unhealthy lifestyle and hinders academic achievement.

Firstly, one of the negative effects of television viewing is that it can adversely effect the development of thinking process of children. At such tender age, it is ease for them to be influenced with the life and behavior portrayed in television. Programs like ‘Friends’ for instance, will encourage the children to think that problem can be solved easily (Sharif 1999). But as they encounter harsh condition in real life, they might end up frustrated and give up easily. Moreover, research has shown that children are desensitized to violence as they continually exposed to the violent programs. To worst, even some of the violence scenes are aired at prime time. Additionally some of them might imitate their favorite character such as Superman without thinking further consequences (Sharif 1999).

Apart from that, another negative effect of watching television is that it leads to unhealthy lifestyle. It takes very little effort to turn off the television but for others, it seems like every ounce of will power is needed to do so (Rutherford 2002). With a prolonged period in front of television, it is known that children are not physically active (Sharif 1999). Plus they tend to have a snack while watching television which further causes obesity and other severe health problem (Rutherford 2002). It is undeniable that this sedentary activity can be harmful if it is done constantly to the exclusion of other activities such as exercise.

Furthermore, watching television is one of the reasons that contributes to low academic achievement. It is proven that children who are heavy viewers are among the lowest achievers at school. As watching television is a passive activity, such children may not develop the imaginative skills (Leigh 2001). These skills are essential in order to create fictitious characters which important in developing problem-solving and organizational ability. Besides when television is on, it is difficult for them to focus on other things like homework as television programs has been designed to create undivided attention (Leigh 2001). This time-wasting activity has consumed the time allocated to do the homework (Rutherford 2002).

As a conclusion, the viewing of unsuitable programmes especially for long periods can affect children thoroughly. Again I stress that television viewing can bring more detrimental effects compared to its advantages. Nevertheless, watching can be beneficial too if a person knows what is best for him or her.

::::Television 2nd draft::::

Since television was invented, it has attracted viewers with its fascinated program. It has been estimated that in developed countries, more than ninety per cent of household own at least one television set (Sharif 1999). Statistics shown that full time workers in UK spent most of their leisure time on television, video and radio compared to other activities (UK 2000 Time Use Survey). Issues have arisen whether television viewing is beneficial or harmful. I strongly believe that television viewing brings more harms than benefits such as it effects the development of thinking, lead to unhealthy lifestyle and low academic achievement.

Firstly, one of the negative effects of television viewing is that it can adversely effect the development of thinking process of children. At such tender age, it is ease for them to be influenced with the life and behavior portrayed in television. Programs like ‘Friends’ for instance, will encourage the children to think that problem can be solved easily (Sharif 1999). But as they encounter harsh condition in real life, they might end up frustrated and give up easily. Moreover, research has shown that children are desensitized to violence as they continually exposed to the violent programs. To worst, even some of the violence scenes are aired at prime time. Additionally some of them might imitate their favorite character such as Superman without thinking further consequences (Sharif 1999).

Apart from that, another negative effect of watching television is that it leads to unhealthy lifestyle. It takes very little effort to turn off the television but for others, it seems like every ounce of will power is needed to do so (Rutherford 2002). With a prolonged period in front of television, it is known that children are not physically active (Sharif 1999). Plus they tend to have a snack while watching television which further causes obesity and other severe health problem (Rutherford 2002). It is undeniable that this sedentary activity can be harmful if it is done constantly to the exclusion of other activities such as exercise.

Furthermore, watching television is one of the reasons that contribute to low academic achievement. It is proven that children who are heavy viewers are among the lowest achievers at school. As watching television is a passive activity, such children may not develop the imaginative skills (Leigh 2001). These skills are essential in order to create fictitious characters which important in developing problem-solving and organizational ability. Besides when television is on, it is difficult for them to focus on other things like homework as television programs has been designed to create undivided attention (Leigh 2001). This time-wasting activity has consumed the time allocated to do the homework (Rutherford 2002).

As a conclusion, the viewing of unsuitable program especially for long periods can affect children thoroughly. Again I stress that television viewing can bring more detrimental effect compared to its advantages. Nevertheless, watching can be beneficial too if a person know what it best for him or her.

::::Television 1st Draft:::::

Since television was invented, it has attracted viewers with its fascinated program. It has been estimated that in developed countries, more than ninety per cent of household own at least one television set (Sharif 1999). Statistics shown that full time workers in UK spent most of their leisure time on television, video and radio compared to other activities (UK 2000 Time Use Survey). Issues have arisen whether television viewing is beneficial or harmful. I strongly believe that television viewing brings more harms than benefits such as it effects the development of thinking, lead to unhealthy lifestyle and low academic achievement.

Firstly, one of the negative effects of television viewing is that it can adversely effect the development of thinking process of children. At such tender age, it is ease for them to be influenced with the life and behavior portrayed in television. Programs like ‘Friends’ for instance, will encourage the children to think that problem can be solved easily (Sharif 1999). But as they encounter harsh condition in real life, they might end up frustrated and give up easily. Besides, research has shown that children are desensitized to violence as they continually exposed to the violent programs. To worst, even some of the violence scenes are aired at prime time. Additionally some of them might imitate their favorite character such as Superman without thinking further consequences (Sharif 1999).

Apart from that, another negative effect of watching television is that it leads to unhealthy lifestyle. It takes very little effort to turn off the television but for others, it seems like every ounce of will power is needed to do so. With a prolonged period in front of television, it is known that children are not physically active (Sharif 1999). Plus they tend to have a snack while watching television which further causes obesity and other severe health problem (Rutherford 2002). It is undeniable that this sedentary activity can be harmful if it is done constantly to the exclusion of other activities such as exercise.

Furthermore, watching television is one of the reasons that contribute to low academic achievement. It is proven that children who are heavy viewers are among the lowest achievers at school. As watching television is a passive activity, such children may not develop the imaginative skills (Leigh 2001). These skills are essential in order to create fictitious characters which important in developing problem-solving and organizational ability. Besides when television is on, it is difficult for them to focus on other things like homework as television programs has been designed to create undivided attention (Leigh 2001). This time-wasting activity has consumed the time allocated to do the homework (Rutherford 2002).

As a conclusion, the viewing of unsuitable program especially for long periods can affect children thoroughly. Again I stress that television viewing can bring more detrimental effect compared to its advantages. Nevertheless, watching can be beneficial too if a person know what it best for him or her.

===Junk Food Second Draft Woo~===

The term ‘junk food’ refers to food that contains low nutritional value includes takeaway foods, pre-packaged meals and sugary snack foods (Tran 2005). Over the past 30 years, the nutritional value of food eaten by Australian children has been falling tremendously due to the increased availability and consumption of junk food. Recently there is issue arises whether the sale of junk food should be banned or not. I go for banning because the consumption of junk food brings a lot of disadvantages than benefit.

One of the reasons I choose for banning is because junk food generally contain a high amount of fat, salt or sugar. This is the reason why junk food has a lot of flavor plus some of it contains synthetic flavor enhancers. Most of the junk foods has chemical additives which to enhance flavour and colour besides increase the shelf life (Smith 2005). It is proven that all these additives causes behavioural problems in children. Hyperactivity and poor concentration are some of the examples of it (Smith 2005).

Apart from that, junk food can contribute to the youth weight gain. The intake of potato chips, chocolate bars and instant noodles just to name a few can raise the kilojoules and lead to weight gain (Tran 2005). All these food is high in fat and sugar. Even most of the young people nowadays do not get enough physical activity which worsening the situation. Childhood obesity can lead to more serious cases in future such as heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. Plus, the sale of soft drinks in school has decline the dental health of Australia’s primary-school children (Tran 2005).

Another reason is the sale of junk food contributes to litter problem. The fast food packaging is the main contributor to this problem. There are cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastics containers everywhere around the school compounds (The Food Show 2005). As the litter problems arise, school has to spend extra money for the cleaning costs. If the sale of junk food be banned, the school grounds man will spent less time to clear the ground and more time can be spend on maintenance projects that benefits the school. School which has reduced the sale of junk food also reduced their litter problem. Indirectly, this can create a negative image for our communities (Smith 2005).

In conclusion, it is essential for students to get enough nutrients for healthy development and growth. With lack of nutrients, their learning ability might be reduced. Recently one particular school has removed the sale of junk food and soft drink in canteen and there are significance improvements in student’s behaviour in class. Students become much calmer after lunch time (The Food Show 2005). By banning the sale of junk food, school can educate and promote the students about the good nutrition and good eating habits as well. After all, school is the one who responsible for the welfare and safety of students including their health.