By Sarah Al Hajjar | Contribution to Saudi Life

I’M sure everyone has questioned whether television has brought more good or harm to the society. It’s a topic tons tend to ignore. When adults see their kids in the living room watching The Little Mermaid, for example, they walk away without a second thought. But later they yell at their kids for not listening and are baffled by the blatant misbehavior. But if you take a look at what the kids were watching, you’d see that Ariel (a sixteen year-old mermaid who has a lusty crush on a human prince) is a role model for not listening to her father! Let me ask you, Do you think T.V. does more good or harm to the society?

In our present time it’s typical to see a T.V. in every room. In fact kids can’t imagine a world without the television set. We live in a generation where kids scream and slam doors because parents grounded them for not doing something as simple as washing the dishes.

I’m not saying that T.V. doesn’t bring anything good for the society; in fact it can be very beneficial. Television can help you stay updated on the news or help you memorize the surah you’ve been stuck on. In Martin Luther King’s time whites were mistreating blacks in America; T.V. helped people realize what they were doing was wrong.

It all depends on you as to whether television does harm or good for the society. It depends on what you want to do with your time. Do you want to waste away the day watching an unbeneficial movie, or do you want to use your time wisely and listen to Qur'an? Your choice makes a difference to the society.

Ibn Abbas narrated that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good." (Al-Bukhari, 8/421)

So let’s turn off the T.V. for a second and take advantage of our two blessings before they’re gone.