Everyone agrees on how television affects viewers.

We have learned that, by age 65, the average American has spent eight solid years in front of a television set. Anything which consumes that much of an individual’s time can influence his/her ideas and perceptions, and there is considerable controversy in the US about the social role of television. Because TV holds such significant place in American culture, its effects have been thoroughly studied, but the results are still controversial.
    Even though we watch television for several hours a day, there is some evidence that it is seldom "a focus of mental concentration". Research indicates that people "watching TV" have their attention focused on something else for about one-third of the time. During commercials and news broadcasts, viewers look directly at their television sets only about half the time. While the TV set is on, one-fourth of the viewers are doing something else entirely, such as household chores, conversation or reading.
    There is also evidence that people don’t remember what they see on TV. In one study, viewers could remember only 1 out of 9 news stories when asked about them later in the same evening. When the stories were summarized for them, these viewers could remember seeing only about half of them. Nevertheless, even though viewers do not concentrate on television or remember program contents in detail, there is strong evidence that television influences people’s ideas about the world, especially their perceptions of distant places and events.
    The influence of television is particularly strong for young viewers, who rely on it for information about things outside their experience. Many people believe that television fails to provide an accurate or unbiased picture of the world. Some parents and educators also fear that children imitate the behavior they see on television and argue that TV does not provide good role models. Television is probably most often criticized for the level of violence it portrays in action-adventure series and in children’s cartoons. Adults worry that watching television will convince children that violence is an acceptable way of solving conflicts. Although many studies have been done on the effects of television violence on children’s behavior, the results are conclusive.
    Television is also criticized for its explicit sexuality. Up through the 1950s, sexuality was absent from television, and even married couples were depicted in separate beds. Things began to change during the 1960s as sexuality became an increasingly prominent feature of television scripts. In the 1980s a "family viewing" time was established, keeping sex and violence to a minimum before 9:00 p.m. In the 1990s, however, even family viewing time is filled with sexual innuendo and relatively frank discussion.
    Television has grown increasingly controversial over the past decade. One response of consumers has been to try to expand their choices though cable system which provides thirty or more channels. Some cable channels specialize in programs for children, educational features and reruns of older programs. Another response has been to turn to video tape. Some parents record unobjectionable programs for their children and replay them. Other parents have eliminated television altogether although this response is somewhat rare. If children — and adults — spend four hours a day in front of a television, there is little doubt that this medium can have a profound effect on American life.