A television can be found in almost every home. At present, we cannot imagine a life without a television. People at different ages watch them. Children watch cartoons, adults watch news and movies and old people watch family TV plays. However, the question about whether it has good or bad effects on children has been in heated discussion for a long time. Televisions contain various kinds of content. There is no doubt that there are both advantages and disadvantages of children’s watching television.

Of course, watching television can be good for children. It can give them a broader window to the world. For example, their information about the world can be updated by watching news. They can know about the important things which take place in the world every day. For the children who don’t go to school, watching educational programmes or cartoons provides them with basic education such as alphabet and colour. Besides, it teaches them good behaviour, such as being honest and respecting parents.

On the other hand, televisions can have a negative influence on children. There is a great amount of violence on television. The violence is often “glorified (美化的)” and made to look both exciting and rewarding. Children tend to copy the behaviour of the characters on television and act as they do. A lot of studies have shown that watching violence on television has led to an increase in crimes, especially those committed by children. Needless to say, this influence has serious negative effects on society as a whole.

Finally, effects of watching television on children differ. To some children, they can be useful. But to the others, they can be harmful. This is why movies in the United States have had ratings (等级评定) to help guide parents as to which movies should not be seen by their children. Parents should allow their children to watch beneficial programmes only.

France, which prides itself as the global innovator of fashion, has decided its fashion industry has lost an absolute right to define physical beauty for women. Its lawmakers gave approval last week to a law that would make it a crime to employ ultra-thin models on runways. The parliament also agreed to ban websites that advocate excessive thinness by promoting extreme dieting.

Such measures have a couple of uplifting motives. They suggest beauty should not be defined by looks that end up threatening health. That's a start. And the ban on ultra-thin models seems to go beyond protecting models from starving themselves to death --- as some have done. It tells the fashion industry that it must take responsibility for the signal it sends women, especially teenage girls, about the social tape-measure they must use to determine their individual worth.

The bans, if fully enforced, would suggest to women (and many men) that they should not let others be arbiters of their beauty. And perhaps faintly, they hint that people should look to intangible qualities like character and intellect rather than dieting their way to size zero or wasp-waist.

The French measures, however, rely too much on severe punishment to change a culture that still regards beauty as skin-deep -- and bone-showing. Under the law, using a fashion model that does not meet a government-defined index of body mass could result in a $85,000 fine and six months in prison.

The fashion industry knows it always has a problem in focusing on material adornment and idealized body types. In Denmark, the United States, and a few other countries, it is trying to set voluntary standards for models and fashion images that rely more on peer pressure for enforcement.

In contrast to France’s actions, Denmark’s fashion industry agreed last month on rules and sanctions regarding the age, health, and other characteristics of models. The newly revised Danish Fashion Ethical Charter clearly states: “We are aware of and take responsibility for the impact the fashion industry has on body ideals, especially on young people.”

Relying on ethical persuasion rather than law to address the misuse of body ideals may be the best step. Even better would be to help promote notions of beauty beyond the material standards of a particular industry.

Nowadays in the society, many people, especially girls, blindly pursue the light skin. They hold a biased view that light skin may be seen as a mark of beauty and elegance.

The result is that skin-lightening has become a common activity across Africa, Asia and other areas of the world. More and more people with dark skin are using skin-lightening products, even if it means they may face health risks.

They believe that having whiter skin will improve their lives. Many people think they will have a better chance of getting a job or marrying into a better family. Or they want to look like what their society generally considers beautiful.

Some beauty care products and soaps contain chemicals that make skin lighter. This is also called bleaching. But some of the chemicals are extremely dangerous. One of the most dangerous has been connected to kidney damage and some kinds of cancer. It also causes low birth weight in babies when mothers-to-be use it during pregnancy. At first, bleaching products make the skin color lighter. But after long-term use they can cause problems. They could even make some skin darker. The chemicals in the products block and break down the natural process that gives color to skin. The skin loses its natural barrier to protect against sunlight. Then the skin can become thick and discoloured. Usually, the person will use more of the product in an effort to correct the problem, but this only makes it worse.

Experts say some people who change their skin color suffer emotional damage. They feel regret and sadness. They feel that instead of risking their health, they should have learned to love and accept their skin color as it was.

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