(source: Li Xiaolai, TOEFL Writing Essays 185)
While television has been somewhat harmful in its effects, it has hardly"destroyed" communication am
ong friends and family, although for some people, the assertion that television has destroyed commun
ication among friends and family seems pretty plausible.
Television, invented in last century, with its wide availability, increasingly prosperous programs,
becomes one of the most powerful means of communication in the history, and is more and more difficu
lt to ignore. Television is as much a part of our lives as are our meals, work, or school; studies c
onsistently show that the average American child spends almost as much time watching television as d
oes he or she in school. We all have only 24 hours a day and it is clear that the more time one spen
ds on watching television, the less time one does with his or her family and friends. Hence the pass
age printed in the newspaper or magazine titled "Television took my husband away."
Tempting as such claim might be, it is hardly true. Instead of television, it is the increasing pres
sure of modern life that took her husband away. We have no definite evidence to say people nowadays
endure more pressures than did their counterparts in the past, but it is absolutely true that people
nowadays undergo great pressures that come from various directions, including work, school, economy
, and so forth. Investigations show that people who earn more than RMB 50, 000 annually spend at lea
st 60 hours on work per week, much more than those who earn RMB 20,000 annually. Today a bachelor's
degree may no longer guarantee a decent pay, more and more companies post their want ads claiming th
at applicants must have at least master's degrees, which take two or three years longer.
People nowadays have very little time for anything; television is merely among many other factors th
at affect communication, and is definitely not the main cause of degradation. It seems that the more
one is educated, the more one is aware of the deleterious effects that excessive television causes,
and either deliberately avoid it or actually do not enjoy it. On the other hand, there really are m
any people addictive to television. But the fact is, were television not existent, surely these peop
le would have found other escapes, such as alcohol or gambling for example. In other words, people a
lways find a way to do what they want to do. Therefore, I can hardly agree that television has destr
oyed communication among friends and family.