The concrete base behind the cultivation theory states that viewers tend to have more faith in the television version of reality the more they watch television. So, television acts as a socializing agent that educates viewers on a separate version of reality. There are two types of effects that result from this theory: Mainstreaming effect is where viewers who watch television heavily become convinced that the content on television is what the real world is like. Secondly, resonance effect is when the content on television resonates with real life experience that viewers went through which results in a more cultivating effect on those viewers.

For me, I liked watching TV shows like “Caught on Tape”. It’s basically about people behaving stupidly in real life caught by hidden cameras. Some of the things they did were so disgusting that it changed my attitude about certain situations. For instance, there were restaurant scenes where cooks, waitresses/waiters were spitting, sneezing, and even urinating in customer foods; and especially worse for those picky customers who sent their orders back. That totally changed my mind about eating in restaurants especially very late at night when its about to close or being too picky with my orders. Nowadays I mostly prefer preparing my own meal.

Likewise, TV shows like MTV or Hip Hop shows create a fantasy of freedom and an ideology of the way that youngsters should act, dress, and look. Youngsters are very susceptible to influence, and youngsters who watch such material from an early age will likely develop a construction of reality for themselves based on ideas they learn from the shows. Most youngsters nowadays wear baggy pants almost falling off their buttocks, which definitely is a hip-hop trend. These days, you ask a child, what do you want to become when you grow up? The answer is mostly to become famous. This shows how the glamour on TV has polluted their minds in thinking that being famous is a profession.