（1993年度　本試験　英語　第５問）

In many parts of the world, the influence of television is a matter of increasing concern. For years, critics of television have concentrated on the issue of the program content ? particularly violence ? as it affects viewers. The problem seems especially serious with regard to younger children. There is evidence that TV does in fact lead people to accept more violence in everyday life. How could this not happen when it presents violent acts, often with guns and knives, as normal and common occurrences? 

In the last few years criticism of television has moved to a new stage by shifting the focus from the subject matter to the experience of the medium itself. The problem now with TV is not just what is seen but how it is seen. The way children watch it causes them to be passive, and some evidence suggests that such viewing might even affect the development of the brain in small children. 

However, the worst aspect of television is the way it can interfere with family life The “box” has too often become a substitute parent, taking over most of the work of introducing social and moral values to the child and developing them in him. Parents allow this to happen by using television like a drug for the purpose of keeping children quiet. Eventually the child comes to depend on the box and it becomes a necessary, lifelong habit. 

While many children go through the “television experience” and survive, many others are deeply affected by it. Much of the discussion of TV during the next few years will center on how to reduce the dangers which it presents, particularly to younger people. Already there are movements to try to ban TV advertising which is directed at children under a certain age. Perhaps this is just the beginning. In the end, some people may even go to the extreme of demanding the removal of such a powerful medium from the lives of young people. This might not be a practical solution, but we should not ignore the dangers of television.

(344 words)