The trouble with television

television is an enormously powerful tool. A decade after the internet really became established in the lives of ordinary China people， the television set remains the center of almost all homes in this country. And the programs that are broadcast through the televisions remain a crucial part of the lives of Chinese people， providing information， entertainment， opinions， perspectives and prejudices.

Normally， I don’t watch television. I use a laptop computer all the time. Both devices have a screen， but the crucial difference is that a television viewers relationship to the device is fundamenetally passive， while the person at the computer is active. You control the computer， the television controls you.

Occasionally， I get to watch some television， in people’s houses， in public places， and so I do have a sense of the overall nature of Chinese TV. I watched excerpts from the Gang of Four trial in 1981 in Beijing. I have seen the talent show The Voice several times， once including a friend of mine（he lost）.

The television dramas particularly have a big impact on people’s lives， and this is true around the world. Top American TV shows today are in many cases superior to movies. That is why so many Hollywood stars are now to be found acting in TV dramas.

Overall the format of Chinese TV today is slicker， more “international”than in the past. The news readers now wear western suits. The production quality of the documentaries and television dramas shown on Chinese state television channels is of course dramatically in advance of what was available in the 1980s， or the 1990s.

But in terms of content， there are questions. I cannot comment on the individual TV dramas because I don’t watch them， But I do sense there is a homogenous feel to all the content on all the channels. All the Qing dynasty costume dramas look much the same， for instance. So I asked a Chinese friend for his comments on the TV dramas that absorb so much of the time of China’s people.

“Recently， I have been discussing the problem of the scripts of TV dramas with my neighbors，” he said. “We are concerned.”

The problem seems to be the quality of the story telling， the plots， the characters and the moral underpinnings of the story.

“We are concerned about how these TV dramas will impact on the sense of values of the younger generation，”my friend added. “You turn on the TV and all you get are poor TV dramas and meaningless variety shows. The worship of money is becoming more and more of a problem， which means increasingly there is no bottom line for Chinese people in doing business. Money being above all else results in the product quality we face because lower quality provides higher profits.”

The internet， of course， offers a huge range of alternatives. You can stream TV shows and movies from around the world， you can play games， read books， take classes， chat with friends， waste your time – the choice is yours. But TV viewers in China， in spite of the limited choices seem to be puzzlingly loyal to the medium.

I asked my friend if there is a trend towards less TV watching， more use of computers amongst ordinary Chinese people.

“The vast majority of Chinese people watch television in the evenings，” he said. “No less than before， I would say.”

And while young people may go online more， they tend to be in a room with， or close to， a television set， and therefore have a semi-conscious awareness of what is going on， on the small screen.

What is the positive lesson to draw from this？ My view is that the family is the heart and the core of a person’s charge and sense of values. If parents focus on that in their own family unit， then the external influences have dramatically less impact. And kids who grow up with a clear and strong sense of values， and a healthy disregard for television， will be in a strong position in the great competition of life.