Television

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Television

About 90% of Ukrainians say watching TV is their favourite leisure activity. The average child watches about three hours of TV a day. That’s about the same amount as a British child, and an hour less than a child in the USA. Just imagine: on average people spend ten years of their lives watching TV. That’s a long time. What do Ukrainian young people think about TV?

Sasha: I watch TV for two or three hours a day. I like entertaining sports shows, like Igry Patriotiv (Patriots’ Games) or Velyki Perehony(Great Races).They’re really cool. I never watch reality shows – but my friends enjoy watching them. Tastes differ! I quite like quiz shows and comedies. They’re my favourites. It’s fun when you go to school the next day and you can talk about your favourite programmes with your friends.                                                                                                                                                         

Liuda: Last year I had time to watch a lot of TV but now I’m very busy at school and I have a lot of homework. The best programmes for me are soap and cartoons. But I hate adverts, they’re much too long. I usually go into the kitchen and make a cup of tea while the adverts are on. I love watching documentaries from morning till night.

Vlad: I watch sports programmes for about two hours every day. They’re fantastic! Then I watch Euronews, and, of course, I enjoy comedies. I’m also really into learning foreign languages and I try not to miss films in English or French. Special educational programmes also help a lot, but films are more fun. No doubt, television is a great source of information and entertainment. We can watch the news and find out what’s happening in the world and enjoy sports events and concerts. Watching a film with friends or family is very fun. But studies show that teenagers are getting fatter and lazier because they often eat while watching their favourite programmes. Other studies show that children who watch a lot of TV make slower progress at school. So, we have to be sensible about how much TV we watch.       

Fewer Ukrainians regularly listen to the radio nowadays, although it is popular with drivers and office workers. It makes their working day more enjoyable and keeps them up to date with local and international news. The older generation enjoys listening to State Radio, which broadcasts lots of folk and classical music, as well as different programmes on politics, health care and culture. However, FM radio stations have become very popular in Ukraine, too. They playmodern music and hits from the past along with the latest news and, of course, traffic and weather reports. The popularity of a radio show depends on the contents of the show and who works on it. It has to be a good team!