With the concept of play at hand, we can now relate that to the influence of the television. Before we can endeavour to do this though, it is important that we understand and realize the scope of television within our culture (because often we do not realize its scope, even though it is right in front of us). The television is not limited to our homes,our private life. If this was the case, it would undoubtedly be much less influential in our lives. The television plays a prominent role in the public sphere of our environment, whether we know it or not. When we ride the subway, we see television screens broadcasting, when we shop at the local corner store, the proprietor is watching the news in the background, when we wait for treatment at the hospital we are kept occupied with a television, and when we go to the bank to pay our cable bill, we are given the benefit of watching the business channel with up an up to date stock ticker and business wrap-up
for the day (McCarthy, 2001). We cannot escape its influence. How then, does this influence, influence those that are prone to being influenced? With television everywhere, there is no doubt that it changes the way children grow up and the way they become socialized.