Television Street

            Before reading chapter ten of Amusing Ourselves to Death I totally loved "Sesame Street" since I only saw the positive side of it. Shows like "Sesame Street" are admired by parents of young children because it teaches them to count and spell as well as sing their ABC's without the parents being actively involved in the learning process.  This seems like a great idea to the parents because they just see the positive benefits of these shows, and their child will most likely be prepared for preschool.  
            The producers of "Sesame Street" know that with puppets, catchy tunes, and some teaching throughout their show, they can easily get a child hooked to the television show and their parents' approval.  In return they are able to have an adolescent sit in front of a television set for an extended period of time and learn while being entertained.  As a child grows up it is already accustomed to watching television since these companies used infantile shows as a precursor to insure that the child will watch television in its teenage years and adult life.
            I was amazed at this chapter because never in a million years would I have thought that "Sesame Street" beneficial and harmful for the children watching it. Since the child is already used to watching TV since an early age, in the future it will have no problems watching more age appropriate shows.  With bad habits that developed in their childhood the kid, now adult would probably prefer to be a couch potato than go outside and play a sport during its teenage years and adult life. This is where problems like diabetes and obesity develop which derived from something so innocent like "Sesame Street". In short terms shows like "Sesame Street" may do good to the children but in the long run it may do more harm than good. After taking note of the destructive side effects of these children aimed shows, in the future, would you let your child watch the show to learn or teach them yourself their ABC's and to read and write?